Welcome to Mining Your Own Business Podcast. Each episode will bring in data and analytics gurus from around the world as they regale us with their data analytics stories and enlighten us with their secrets for how to turn data into actionable insights.

In this episode we are joined by Jay Lanterman, Senior Manager, Operations Performance Analytics & Insights at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

In this podcast, Jay shares how data analytics is being applied in the hospitality industry to create operational efficiencies. Evan and Jay discuss some of the specific project areas where analytics can be applied and how teams can work together to across the business to ensure lasting impact.

They also discuss the impact COVID had on everything from customer experience data to demand data and how they think about forecasting moving forward.

Key Takeaways
How data analytics is being applied in the hospitality industry
How teams can work with other functions, across business units, and with franchises
How to convey insights to non-technical stakeholders to encourage implementation
How to think about forecasting as we come out of COVID

 
Quotes
That's what analytics is for, it is to guide the business and help them focus rather than tackling everything all at once. - Jay

if I had a magic wand, it would be great if we all use the same system and we could get the cleanest data and everyone would operate on it and set it perfectly - Jay
 
Featured in this episode
Evan Wimpey
Director of Analytics Strategy at Elder Research.
Company website: www.elderresearch.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-wimpey-40469b47
 
Jay Lanterman 
3rd degree connection
Senior Manager, Operations Performance Analytics & Insights at InterContinental Hotels Group
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Jay-lanterman-36641b86
Company Website: https://www.ihgplc.com/en/
 
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:16 Jay’s background
03:06 Projects and types of data in hospitality
06:00 Challenges of accessing data from franchises
08:30 The value of the data architecture team
10:04 Collaborating with teams across the business
11:58 Putting the recommendations into action
15:01 The challenge to conveying insights to non-technical stakeholders
20:06 Getting data from the "front lines"
22:38 Forecasting post-COVID
25:57 If there was a magic "analytic success" button, where would Jay use it at IHG? 

Find more show notes, transcripts, & more episodes at:
https://www.elderresearch.com/resource/podcasts/

Welcome to Mining Your Own Business Podcast. Each episode will bring in data and analytics gurus from around the world as they regale us with their data analytics stories and enlighten us with their secrets for how to turn data into actionable insights.

In this episode, we are joined by Liping Wu, a Senior Manager of Data Science at Advance Auto Parts.

Liping and Evan discuss how the many applications of data science that the enterprise analytics team is deploying at Advance Auto Parts, how the enterprise team achieves success with the different business verticals, and the advantages and disadvantages of having an enterprise data science team vs a team embedded within a business function.

You will hear how the the pandemic has impacted their data, the models the use, and the initiatives they work on. Liping specifically discusses the opportunities in improving supply chain demand forecasting.

Key Takeaways

• Where Advance Auto Parts is applying analytics in their business
• How the enterprise analytics team achieves success working with the different business functions
• Advantages and disadvantages of having an enterprise data science team vs embedded teams
• The impact of the pandemic on their data, models, and analytic initiatives
• The opportunities for using analytics in supply chain forecasting

 
Quotes

• Folks like us who have similar skill sets find it easier to cross-pollinate the technologies as it evolves because the design is changing and we need to keep learning every day. - Liping
• The auto parts industry had record high DIY sales after the dip in March and April In 2020 - Liping
• We did find that simplicity is the virtue in these changing times - Liping

Featured in this episode
Evan Wimpey
Director of Analytics Strategy at Elder Research.
Company website: www.elderresearch.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-wimpey-40469b47

Liping Wu
Senior Manager, Data Science at Advance Auto Parts
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liping-wu
Company Website: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/
 
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:50 Liping’s background
03:34 About Advance Auto Parts
06:12 How the enterprise analytics team works with the different business functions
09:33 How the Advance Auto analytics team is structured
13:27 Pros and cons of enterprise data science team vs teams embedded in verticals
19:31 The impact of the pandemic on their data science efforts
26:02 If there was a magic “analytic success” button, where would Liping use it at Advance Auto Parts?

Find more show notes, transcripts, & more episodes at:
https://www.elderresearch.com/resource/podcasts/

Welcome to Mining Your Own Business Podcast. Each episode will bring in data and analytics gurus from around the world as they regale us with their data analytics stories and enlighten us with their secrets for how to turn data into actionable insights.

In this podcast, we are joined by Korri Jones, A Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer and Innovation Coach at Chick-Fil-A. He discusses his background and his career journey that lead him to be a Machine Learning Engineer working at Chick-Fil-A.he also talks about what it is to be a Machine Learning Engineer and what are the usual works and tasks every day. He also shares how he manages his teams such as the Data Science Team and the Data Engineering Team to be more productive and dynamic with each other. He also answered the big question in this show, given an ideal scenario, what would you focus on? Lastly, Korri describes what it looks like working with Chick-Fil-A.

Key Takeaways

What is a machine learning engineer and when they get involved in a project
The value that an innovation coach brings to a team
Where project ideas originate & how they are decided upon
How they operationalize projects at Chick-fil-A
The unique culture of the Chick-fil-A team
 
Quotes

I want people to do what they are hired to do and really just crush it. I don't need a data scientist doing all of the engineering work. I don't need the engineer doing all the data science work. - Korri
 
Some people talk about thinking outside the box. We help to make sure that there is no box in the first place. And so you don't have to try to think inside or outside of a box. - Korri
 
Featured in this Episode

Evan Wimpey 
Director of Analytics Strategy at Elder Research
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-wimpey-40469b47
Website: www.elderresearch.com

Korri Jones 
Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer
Innovation Coach at Chick-Fil-A 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/korri-jones-mba-780ba56 


Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:39 Korri's Background
04:00 Korri's Career as a Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer
07:01 Balancing the technical side and business side
09:01 What is an innovation coach?
11:36 Getting the ideas from the data science team or others
14:02 When does a machine learning engineer get involved
16:44 How are projects decided upon
19:11 If there was a magic "analytic success" button, where would Korri use it?
22:51 Working With Chick-Fil-A 
25:10 Outro

Find more show notes, transcripts, & more episodes at:
https://www.elderresearch.com/resource/podcasts/

Welcome to Mining Your Own Business Podcast. Each episode will bring in data and analytics gurus from around the world as they regale us with their data analytics stories and enlighten us with their secrets for how to turn data into actionable insights.

In this episode, we are joined by Alex Cunningham, Manager of Advanced Analytics at Church & Dwight. Alex and Evan have a thought-provoking discussion about how to drive analytics successes, build momentum, and develop partners. He also discussed their strategy to develop a good product and the team's secret to integrating that process. Alex also touches on what makes the analytics team at Church & Dwight special and the most important traits they look for when growing their team.
 
Key Takeaways
What the analytics center of excellence group of Church and Dwight is.
How to build momentum and develop partners early on.
How to prioritize projects and implement them into production.
What traits they value in their analytics team.
Where Alex would use a "analytic success" button if he had one.
 
Quote Takeaways
We went out to folks and invited them to join the circle as partners. Then, once we've established ourselves, it gets better. We don't need to do much to attract people; they're drawn in because they've heard about our successes and achievements and want to be a part of it. - Alex

Empathy and humility. Two closely related traits are what allow us to become those good partners to folks in the business in that internal consulting type capacity. - Alex

Being a lifelong learner is one of the qualities I believe is essential for a successful data scientist. The learning component is something that strong data science groups truly value. - Alex

Speakers of this Episode
 
Evan Wimpey | Director of Analytics Strategy at Elder Research
www.elderresearch.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-wimpey-40469b47

Alex Cunningham | Manager, Advanced Analytics at Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
Churchdwight.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-cunningham-297a8a39

Timestamp
00:00 - Intro
01:43 -  Alex's background and career history 
04:50 -  How Church & Dwight structures their analytics capability 
06:06 -  How the analytics group has integrated in the business & built momentum 
11:33 -  How they prioritize & implement projects 
19:05 -  The important aspects of their team 
23:43 -  If there was a magic "analytic success" button, where would Alex use it? 

Find more show notes, transcripts, & more episodes at:
https://www.elderresearch.com/resource/podcasts/

Welcome to Mining Your Own Business Podcast. Each episode will bring in data and analytics gurus from around the world as they regale us with their data analytics stories and enlighten us with their secrets for how to turn data into actionable insights.

In this episode, we are joined by Gerhard Pilcher, the CEO of Elder Research. He is also the author of the book titled Mining your Own Business. In this episode, he talks about his book and the possibility of a second edition. He also discusses the challenges of the new analytics approach, as well as how it compares to previous models. Gerhard underscores the key components needed to drive change and adoption. He also discusses the similarities and differences between successful and failed projects that he has seen in the past. He then ended the conversation by answering the question, “If there was a magic button, where would you use Analytics?”

Key Takeaways
-Discovering what the book "Mining Your Own Business" is all about
-The possibility of a second edition
-What are the  challenges of the modern model of analytics
-The commonalities of successful and failed projects
-What Gerhard hopes to learn from future episodes of this podcast
-If there was a magic "analytics success" button, where would Gerhard use it?

Quotes From The Episode

"Success is when the team is willing to be have their norms challenged." - Gerhard

"Exploring why the analysis is counterintuitive can lead to some of the most significant breakthroughs. However, I believe that people who are unwilling to be questioned may miss out on a tremendous chance." - Gerhard

Books Mentioned in The Episode

Mining Your Own Business

• https://www.elderresearch.com/resource/books/mining-your-own-business-how-to-use-analytics-in-your-business/ 
• Amazon ->https://www.amazon.com/Mining-Your-Own-Business-Understanding/dp/0996712100 

📌Speakers of this Episode

Evan Wimpey | Host
Director of Analytics Strategy at Elder Research
https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-wimpey-40469b47

Gerhard Pilcher | Guest
Chief Executive Officer at Elder Research
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerhard-pilcher-a3583122/

Timestamp

[00:00] Intro
[01:24] Gerhard’s Background
[06:32] Gerhard’s Book, Mining Your Own Business
[06:15] Making the 2nd edition of Book and What is the Goal of the Book
[10:47] Challenges for the New Model of Analytics
[18:02] Commonalities on Successful and Failed Projects
[20:03] Topics to Expect in Future Episodes
[24:51] If there was a magic button, where would you use Analytics?
[29:03] Conclusion

Find more show notes, transcripts, & more episodes at:
https://www.elderresearch.com/resource/podcasts/