Strong and Weak Data and Finance Teams

Strong and weak data and finance teams have always existed. They fundamentally differ in how deeply ingrained their knowledge is of the data and the business, ultimately manifesting in how they work and influence the organization.

Here’s how the two key knowledge vectors break down:

- Data Awareness:

1. Strong teams don’t just know where the data sits—they understand the entire data generation process. They’re fluent in the numbers, able to recite them in their sleep, and know how they’re derived, structured, and used.
2. A telltale sign of a weak team is when analysts can never remember the numbers, even recent metric trends, and are always fumbling around in meetings looking for a dashboard.

- Business Awareness:

1. Strong teams couple their data knowledge with a comprehensive understanding of how the business works. They know the processes, business models, key drivers, and levers.
2. Weak teams stay distant from the business. They treat it as a different skill set they don’t possess or will never possess, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

These two vectors ultimately shape how strong vs weak data and finance teams influence the organization and how work gets done, which is the ultimate differentiator:

Strong teams seek the ground truth along with the business teams to drive decisions and shape strategy. Weak teams are passive observers, merely generating reports as asked.

The real differentiator of a strong vs weak data or finance team is the force multiplication of data and business knowledge.

‍