1) Analytics is a critical function that enables organizations to make decisions at scale, speed, and lower costs by connecting insights from data. 2) For analytics to be successful, it requires clear strategic goals, tactical delivery approaches, and transforming the function into a sustainable evolution. 3) The strategic approach includes aligning analytics teams to business goals, defining expectations and success metrics, and monitoring performance.

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Building the ‘A’ team
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Image source: inproofs.com

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Image source: https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/Liam-Neeson-Taken

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Director, Insights at Visa, Inc.
Enable Decision Making at the
Executives/ Product/Marketing level via
actionable insights derived from Data.
RAMKUMAR RAVICHANDRAN
Disclaimer:
Participation is purely on a personal basis and does not represent VISA,Inc. in any form or matter. The
talk is based on learning from work across industries and firms. Care has been taken to ensure no
proprietary or work related info of any firm is used in any material.

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Before we begin, let’s anchor ourselves…

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THE OATH OF AN ANALYST…
My ultimate responsibility is my customer’s success– “going above,
beyond & far to deliver on my promises is my everyday nature”
My duty is to make my boss look good
My happiness is helping my team members & cross functional partners
develop
My pride is in seeing each & everyone on my team grow to be leaders of
their world
My promise is to the world of analytics and the people there that I will
share, learn and give back in whatever way I can
Intended for Knowledge Sharing only

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MUST HAVE TRAITS FOR A GOOD LEADER…
Creates more leaders - the Oracle of Omaha Buffet style
Inspire to dream big and enable to go after them – Jobs
Make everyone feel like “never before rock stars” – Satya Nadella
Push for 3S – Speed, Sustainability & Scalability – Zuckerberg
Be deserving of the responsibility- humble enough to learn but courageous
enough to push boundaries in pursuit of “something larger than life”
– Sergey Brin

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IN HIS OWN WORDS…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQKis2Cfpeo

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Quick recap of what it is
Who is a data analyst?

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THE DATA SCIENTIST VERSION
Quick recap of what it is
A data scientist is a person who is…
https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/The-Most-Interesting-Man-In-The-World

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BUT ACTUALLY IS
Quick recap of what it is
Someone who enables decision making at…
Scale
Speed previously not possible
Connecting dots beyond obvious
Eliminating bias with rigor of math, repeatability of science & structure of
logic
At a fraction of cost

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AND YEAH…
http://i.imgur.com/FZgL4bR.jpg

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Intended for Knowledge Sharing only
Quick recap of what it is
The fit, the value add & why is it so special?

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IS A CRITICAL IMPORTANT ENABLER IN THE ORGANIZATION…
Analysts
Customer needs
Company makes
promises to consumers
(value prop)
Various functions
execute to deliver
Analytics enables them–
how much delivered,
why & what to do
Focus on Big Wins
Reduced Wastage
Quick Fixes
Adaptability
Assured execution

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WORLD IS CHANGING AROUND US & TIME IS NOW GOLDEN…
Decisions have become intricately complicated
Luxury of time has evaporated
From “pull” economy to “push” economy as the competitive arbitrage
shrinks at a time of info overload
Customer, their needs & hangout channels are constantly evolving
Higher & higher demands on RoI and certainty of decisions

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Quick recap of what it is
But all that glitters, is not gold 

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“GOOD” ANALYST TURNOVERS WINDOW 18-24 MONTHS…
Not always for greener pastures as portrayed. Common grouses include,
I am not making any real impact
My work isn’t challenging enough
Processes and politics render making any contribution impossible
My career has stalled
My leadership lacks vision for Analytics
www.clipartbest.com

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Intended for Knowledge Sharing only
Quick recap of what it is
Uh oh, so now what do we do?

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LET’S LOOK AT IT AS AN ANALYTICAL PROBLEM
1 Strategic View
2
3
 Vision and the Goals
Tactical Approach  How to deliver against the goals
Transformation  Make it sustainable evolution

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STRATEGY: THE VISION & EXPECTATIONS, MEASURE & MONITOR…
Business Goals
Operating Goals
Learning &
Development Goals
• Hire and align to a specific business goal
• Total ownership of initiatives, relationship with customers, clear
expectations & support structure
• Monitor, Review and Rewards against goals
• Delivery Management goals- Quality, timeliness, impact, sustainability
• Customer, Peer & Manager Feedback (NPS)
• Soft skills: Work ethics, Initiative, Subject & domain expertise,
Influencing, Evangelizing, Innovation & presentation skills
• Progress against learning goals & impact of learning
• Growth in responsibility & delivery against next level goals
• Mentor-mentee relationships
…most importantly what would be did not meet, met & exceeded and if it was
a consistent improvement or not

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AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE- STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT OF TEAM
Sl. No.
Corporate Strategic
Focus Areas
Goals & KPIs RACI
Roles &
Responsibilities
Requireme
nts
Success
Criteria
1
Expand the Patient
user base
Awareness and Consideration
Team
Member 1
Sign-up Channel performance
Geo Performance
2
Ensure Top Quality
Care for Patients
#Patients visiting hospitals
Team
Member 2
Actual usage of Preventive
initiatives
#Return visits per Patient
Feedback from Patients –
Doctor, Care, etc.
Uptime of service availability
3 Return per Patient
Cost of service per Patient
Team
Member 3
In Hospital Stay vs. On-call
treatment options
Risk adjusted Premium
Availability
4 Expand Offerings
Research & Development
Team
Member 4
Strategic Tie-ups
Preventive Healthcare
Re-insurance

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AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE- GROWTH PLAN
DELIVERY TRACK RECORD
TECHNICAL KNOW HOW
PROBLEM SOLVING, DECISION
MAKING & AUTONOMY
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT &
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL
1
LEVEL
2
LEVEL
3
LEVEL
4
LEVEL
5
SCORE
Score = Sum(weight of dimension*Feedback scores*weight of
reviewer)*%target met*(1+YoY)
• If Score>particular cutoffs = Exceed/Meets/Not that
decides rewards
• If high scores on next level needs and YoY growth on
them, that should decide growth

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THE TACTICAL APPROACH: ENSURE EVERYONE THEIR FIT…
Strategy
Data
Instrume
ntation
Data
Platform
Reportin
g
Analytics
Research
Optimiza
tion
Data
Products
For each Customer Business Unit
Cross Goals to foster team mindset,
end to end delivery efficiency &
sustainability
Ensure rotation for complete
learning, exposure, development &
Cross pollination of ideas
Co-development of analytics to
ensure participation of customers &
more actionable outcomes
Encourage innovation & iterative
learning via knowledge management

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MAKING IT A SUSTAINABLE EVOLUTION
PEOPLE
• Profile the employees and customize the solutions according to the need
• Jack of all allied trades: Data->Analysis/Testing/Research->Insights->Recos
• Identify, nurture and engage the “2/20” employees, “Long/Short”,
“SME/Generalist”, “Detail oriented/big picture” correctly
PROCESS
• Iterative Learning & Co-development of Analytics
• Customized Delivery
• “Operationalize” the standard analytics: To focus on next big thing
• Innovation & Company Knowledge Sharing:
• Encourage Shadow IT but come up guidelines for absorption
• Not only Business Objectives but also Learning Objective Focused
• 90-10 formalized
• Analyze the “Analytics” function and improve

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MAKING IT A SUSTAINABLE EVOLUTION CONTD…
TECH
• Extensible, Modular & Dynamic Technology Framework
• Workday, custom Share point installations, Collaboration tools
CULTURE
• Business Enablement
• Customer Needs Focused
• Entrepreneurial

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Quick recap of what it is
Putting it all together…

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NEEDS FOR IT TO BE SUCCESSFUL…
1 Executive Support, sponsorship for this experiment and a strong partner in HR.
2
Charter, vision & execution plan that inspires the employee trust, adoption and follow
through.
3
Investment (time, energy and passion) and focus on engagement initiatives and follow
through.
4 “Time, environment & learning” adaptability of the engagement model with employees.
5 Cultural fit with the company values

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SUMMARY
• “Know” Analytics is not labor intensive but skill & impact intensive function. Bell
Curve is the biggest ill afflicting Analytics.
• “Must have” Goals clearly laid, the action plan & demonstrated progress
• “Ensure” relationship approach vs. transactional approach of management
• “Develop” ‘leadership at every level’ mindset
• “Prepare” for ever evolving world of analytics and keep updating the employee
engagement model

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Quick recap of what it is
Appendix

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THANK YOU!
Would love to hear from you on any of the following forums…
https://twitter.com/decisions_2_0
http://www.slideshare.net/RamkumarRavichandran
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCODSVC0WQws607clv0k8mQA/videos
http://www.odbms.org/2015/01/ramkumar-ravichandran-visa/
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ramkumar-ravichandran/10/545/67a
RAMKUMAR RAVICHANDRAN