If data is in a pool that only keeps getting deeper as data inventory is accounted for, when is the exact moment for a business leader to jump in to do something with all the accumulated information? Leaders who care about data appreciate that it’s necessary to take stock before analyzing and strategizing. But taking inventory could be all one does because, whether it’s in a small or large business, the amount of data is only increasing. Mara Reiff, the Chief Data Officer of FreshBooks, suggests to account for enough data to begin the work and then to dive in.

Main Takeaways

• Taking Stock and Then Activating: A company must take inventory of its data, of course. But taking stock of data is a perpetual process. So, the trick becomes knowing when enough data has been collected so that you can move to applying that information to solve particular problems on behalf of customers.
• Being a Data Advocate: With so much data at any singular organization, there can be a natural tendency to want to put one person in charge of all data and for that individual to have total responsibility, Reiff made the point that it’s impossible to be responsible for all data if one is not in control of who is adding all the data. Over time, she has come to see her role as being a leader who advocates for all the company’s data to be used in a responsible and constructive manner.

• A Scientific Data Mentality: Accumulating data at a business is not done for its own sake. Whether one has a science background or not, using data to help customers is about hypothesizing, testing, making a case, and then acting on that basis. Sometimes it’s about finding a particular customer with an issue that needs addressing; other times it’s about anticipating customer needs and acting accordingly to address them.

• ML and NLP: Many leaders in the data field are excited about the prospects of machine learning and natural language processing. One area to zero in on as a benefit is how NLP can really help in the area of translation; particularly for companies that operate in many countries. The mission for FreshBooks is to make accounting easier for small businesses, which the company serves in 160 countries. Translating language accurately and efficiently would certainly smooth and simplify accounting practices, among many other applications for other industries.

For a more in-depth look at this episode, check out the article below.

Article Notes

If data is in a pool that only keeps getting deeper as data inventory is accounted for, when is the exact moment for a business leader to jump in to do something with all the accumulated information? Leaders who care about data appreciate that it’s necessary to take stock before analyzing and strategizing. But taking inventory could be all one does because, whether it’s in a small or large business, the amount of data is only increasing. Mara Reiff, the Chief Data Officer of FreshBooks, suggested to account for enough data to begin the work and then to dive in.

“The comment that I make often is if I were to go tell my boss, give me three years and I’ll give you something, I think I wouldn’t have a job for much longer,” Reiff said. “So along the way, what you really try to do is say, ‘Okay, well, but what’s also the value that I can bring from the data that I do know that I have.’ So often people are so focused on, ‘I don’t have this, or I don’t have that,’ without saying, ‘Well, let’s look at what I do have and what can I do with it?’ Because I think there’s a lot of some quick wins you can get with just what you have already and what you know that you have, and then you start to build on it.” 

On a recent episode of IT Visionaries, Reiff explained how FreshBooks is using its data to support small businesses with their accounting needs. She described innovations concerning data that she’s excited about generally and how they may apply at FreshBooks. Reiff also chatted about how her background in science guided her along her journey into the data world.

Reiff shared how she currently sees her role at FreshBooks.

“10 months in, I see myself as the advocate for our data,” Reiff said. “And really with that means is, how do we make sure people are taking care of it, understand what it is, and are using it appropriately? By appropriately, that’s things like using it intelligently, but also are we taking advantage of it, [and] of what we have, and are we being responsible with it?” 

Taking inventory of all the data was an initial step for Reiff at FreshBooks and then it was about applying that information in helpful ways for small businesses. For instance, FreshBooks is now looking at how to help small businesses better understand the supply chain and act in their interest accordingly.

“We’re actually partnering with a university in Canada, [and] working on trying to understand supply chain so we can understand aggregate supply chain partners,” Reiff said. “Who are people buying from? And then when you start to think about some of the global economy supply chain problems we’re having, how do we start to let customers, or a contractor, for example, [know], ‘Hey, wait a second. Like, you might want to order that yesterday because you’ve used the project tracking future. You’ve created an estimate for it, but just so you know, it’s on backlog.’”

Creating partnerships as well as a culture of innovation in one’s team are essential aspects in being an effective data leader. 

“What I like to do with my team is I like to say that especially in the data science area, about 20% of their time should be exploration,” Reiff said. “How do we start to understand the data that we have and come up with ideas, and it’s a partnership, right? I think there’s this notion of you need a business stakeholder and you want the business to be bought in. But you also have to help the business stakeholders come to ideas.”

For Reiff, it seems that having a data scientist mindset is about exploring partnerships to use the data but also imagining use cases that attracts future partners or solves problems for clients that, perhaps, they are not yet even able to articulate.

To hear more about how the Reiff and FreshBooks are using data to make accounting easier for small businesses, check out the full episode of IT Visionaries! 

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