I supervised twenty-four analysts, managers, and directors. There were many times when I valued my opinions over data-driven arguments from analysts.

1 – Unaudited, Flawed Data. The analyst performed work that was simply flawed. The analyst failed to audit results for data accuracy, or had cells in spreadsheets that linked incorrectly, causing the data being presented to simply be incorrect. Once Execs feel like they cannot trust the analysts, Execs go with gut instinct. An analyst can go a long way to gaining credibility by simply making sure that the data being presented is 100% accurate, all of the time. This isn’t hard. If you are measuring conversion rate, and you know that conversion rates on Cyber Monday were 10%, make sure that the conversion rates in your presentation are 10% for Cyber Monday. Easy!

2 – External Data. Too often, analysts would cite Forrester Research data instead of in-house data. I don’t care that Forrester Research predicts that mobile commerce will be a six trillion dollar industry in 2023, I care about selling something next month. The analyst has greater credibility when using company-specific customer data. Too often, analysts default to cute infographics from research companies, bloggers, or trade journalists. Analysts who use in-house customer data, and make insights/inferences supported by in-house customer data tend to be trusted more by analysts. There’s nothing wrong with external data … but be sure to tie it back to in-house data.

3 – No Solution or Invalid Solution. I supervised numerous analysts who were able to criticize anything/everything, they’d present data to prove everything wrong about what a company is doing, but couldn’t provide a viable path to the future. Execs, not surprisingly, want a viable path to the future. Analysts can solve this problem by partnering with an Exec, finding a mentor if you will. The analyst can ask questions of this Exec, in order to gain context, this context is used in subsequent presentations with perceived HiPPOs.

4 – Confidence, not Arrogance. Execs have a sixth sense for detecting confidence. The analyst knows more about analysis than just about anybody else, so be confidence about this … not arrogant, but confident. If the analyst doesn’t know something, simply say “I don’t have the answer to that, sorry.” I can’t tell you how often Execs are disarmed by that sentence.

5 – Motivation. Execs are compensated differently than analysts are. At the companies I worked at, Execs earned bonuses, often for eighty percent of annual salary. In other words, if an Exec earned $300,000 a year, the Exec could earn an additional $240,000 at the end of the year if certain performance objectives were met. In most cases, company profitability is the biggest component of the bonus payout. So, if you want the Exec to do what you are saying, make sure you are speaking the language of the Exec (profit), and make sure your data leads to increased customer profitability. Link your outcomes to future customer profit, and you’ll have Execs who are much more likely to listen to you.

6 – Geekspeak. Too often, analysts would tell me the war stories associated with getting data to plug into a simple table in Excel. The Exec isn’t interested as interested in how the data was acquired, the Exec cares far more about what should be done with the data. I realize analysts go through heck to get information and want people to understand what it takes to get to an answer — keep that secret when presenting to an Exec.

7 – Context. This is a big deal, and analysts aren’t exposed to this often. The analyst presents findings that the Exec wants to implement, but the Exec cannot implement the findings because other Execs in other departments won’t partner with the Exec. So the Exec defaults to a gut-instinct-based decision that is offensive to the analyst, but is more likely to move the needle among Exec peers.

8 – Not Always Right. I led 24 analysts/managers/directors. If I gave the same problem to 24 people, I’d likely get twelve different solutions and twenty-four different recommendations. Execs understand this. What seems like science to one analyst is opinion to another analyst. Execs have to make judgments about science/opinion, which, to one analyst, seem like a “Highest Paid Person’s Opinion”, but to another analyst, seems perfectly reasonable.

Thanks,
Kevin

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Thanks again for the great post and Resources, Rich!

Fallon

Will Devlin
Digital Marketing Manager
Gander Mountain/Overton’s (IR 500 Retailer)

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