The National Association of Electrical Distributors and SPARXiQ reached an agreement to allow the association and the company to split the use of Mark McGready, McGready will remain as the Director of Strategic Analytics for SPARXiQ, but take on the additional title as Independent Data Insights Advisor.
In his role with NAED, McGready will work directly with distributors to help them analyze their data, including the data they receive from the Market Data Program, the Economic and Industry Sector Outlook, PAR, and any research NAED provides to its members. McGready hopes to create a group for companies with data analytics teams to help share best practices and use data for strategy and analysis.
McGready agreed to answer a series of questions from tED magazine about his expected role with NAED:
Q: Explain the role you will be serving at NAED, and how it will be used to help members?
McGready: I’m here to help companies better understand how they can use data in their business. Most reporting today can tell you where your business metrics are, but may not tell you why you’re getting the results you’re getting, or what to do about them, or how and when to respond. Being able to transform data into meaningful, actionable insights is a critical skill set I hope to help develop.
Q: Why is data insight becoming more and more valuable in the coming years?
McGready: Companies are getting more complex, having to do more and having more facets to business. As such there’s just more to monitor, more decisions to make. Added to that relying on institutional knowledge or experience is becoming harder and harder as our playing fields keep shifting. Data is the roadmap from where you are to where you can go, data insights are the means to read that map.
Q: Why should NAED member companies create a position of Chief Data Officer (CDO)?
McGready: The role of understanding an interpreting data is a relatively new one. In the same way a need for an IT officer appeared when we understood software and process was one of or core business requirements, so to will become data analytics. It’s not a finance or sales or IT role and trying to put data analytics under one of those umbrellas taints it’s purpose to the goals of that division. It should stand separate but equal as it has influence on those other departments.
Q: What are some of the events and practices you would like to set up to help NAED members build their data analytics?
McGready: I’d like to help members become more comfortable with data interpretation, and connecting data together to see whole pictures of their business. I’d also like to help data analytic pioneers within our member companies today become more confident and learn more about what they can and should do. Most companies have a data person right now, but many are self taught and isolated. It would be ideal if I could help build a community to help raise all ships, like we’ve seen in other distributor workforces.
Q: How will the current NAED products fit into your new role as Director of Data Insights (PAR, Economic Outlook, Market Data Program, etc.)?
McGready: I’ll be getting involved all of these programs. My primary goal will be to help members understand how to use these tools in their organizations. I think too many don’t see the value, or don’t understand how they can use them to steer their internal workforces. Each of these products is essential in modern distribution, but like anything it can only become essential is used correctly. If I can act as the bridge builder between the analytics and the actions that would be ideal.
Tagged with Mark McGready, NAED, SPARXiQ