Financial Institutions

People who could come to the table to bring you diversity of thought and fresh perspective:

• Veteran employee

• New hire

• Loan officer

• Customer service representative, whether it’s a teller, branch manager, or call-center rep

• CEO and/or another executive team member

 

The data they should bring: 

• Number of loans closed each month and the type of loans

• Number of customers that came into branches versus digital banking

• Number of multiproduct households

• What products are bringing in the most revenue

 

The stories you might find behind that data:

• People who provide you the most business

• People you want to impact but don’t seem to be reaching

• First-time homeowners

• Retirees who have used your products and services to build a nest egg so they could enjoy their golden years

 

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Education

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People who could come to the table to bring you diversity of thought and fresh perspective:

• Veteran employee

• New hire

• Faculty—teachers and administrative professors

• Advancement team member

• Alumni board member

 

The data they should bring: 

• Students in a program you want to elevate

• End-of-semester surveys from students

• Instructor hours of instruction versus hours put into research

• Instructor-to-student ratios

• Final grades

 

The stories you might find behind that data:

• The demographic of students who are enrolled in your classes/program/department

• Students you want to impact but don’t seem to be reaching

• If your curriculum is achievable, whether it is lacking in some areas, or too difficult to grasp in others

• Whether you need to elevate enrollment numbers or build a stronger relationship with people currently in the program (from instructors to admins to students)

B2B SaaS

People who could come to the table to bring you diversity of thought and fresh perspective:

• Veteran employee

• New hire

• Executive team member

• SaaS platform developer

• Customer service/IT help desk representatives

 

The data they should bring: 

• Number of users

• Geography breakdown of where users are located

• Customer journey or how an end user finds their way to the end product

• Surveys/feedback from the end users

 

The stories you might find behind that data:

• People who provide you the most business

• People you want to impact but don’t seem to be reaching

• People who have gained experiential knowledge from the platform and have accordingly gone on to build a new career or grow their business

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Retail

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People who could come to the table to bring you diversity of thought and fresh perspective:

• Veteran employee

• New hire

• Executive team member

• Salesperson

• Customer service representative—online or in-person contact with the customer

• Customer service/IT help desk representatives

 

The data they should bring: 

• Number of sales

• Point-of-sale data to track the most popular and weakest link on where sales are happening

• Geography breakdown of online users or in-store customers

• Surveys/feedback from the buyers as well as surveys from your internal team

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The stories you might find behind that data:

• People who provide you the most business

• People you want to impact but don’t seem to be reaching

• Stories your customers share with your salespeople at checkout that give you a closer look at motivations and the psychographics of your customers

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Biotechnology

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People who could come to the table to bring you diversity of thought and fresh perspective:

• Veteran employee

• New hire

• Executive team member

• Researcher(s)—computational, life sciences, etc.

• Administrative team member, be it finance, human resources, etc.

• If you’ve gone to market, a sales representative or someone who works with the end user

 

The data they should bring: 

• Number of journal publications and earned-media hits

• In what journals and media outlets your research can be found

• Business partnerships—how many you have and with whom

• Surveys/feedback from end users and internal team members

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The stories you might find behind that data:

• In what area you are showing up as subject matter experts/who is paying attention

• Whether your message matches what you hoped it would

• What your business partners—the people you work alongside—reflect about the company you keep, and how they can help you elevate your work

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Nonprofit Organizations

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People who could come to the table to bring you diversity of thought and fresh perspective:

• Veteran employee

• New hire

• Executive team member

• Volunteer

 

The data they should bring: 

• Donor dollars raised

• Who your donors are

• Where your donors are located

• How many programs are currently running

• Number of people taking part in and impacted by each program

 

The stories you might find behind that data:

• Why the people you impact sought your services in the first place—how you helped them move forward

• Impact on the people who live in the communities where your programs run

• How people view your work and its importance

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Startups

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People who could come to the table to bring you diversity of thought and fresh perspective:

• Founder

• If you have employees, one that is as “veteran” as you can get

• New hire

• Business partners or collaborators

 

The data they should bring: 

• Investment dollars so far

• Who is investing in your company

• Month-on-month data to show where trends are starting to emerge

• Surveys from end users

 

The stories you might find behind that data:

• Why investors chose your business for their investment dollars—, the answers they give you will help you build your brand voice.

• Where you have strengths and where you need to pivot

• How you have been responsible with investment dollars and how investments went toward reaching your desired outcomes