Death by a Thousand Cuts? Narrow Down the Definition of Success for Your BI Function

Karla Ortiz Flores
5 min readJun 28, 2022
Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

When it comes to business intelligence (BI), multifamily offices can often be their own worst enemy. Multifamily offices have a dizzying array of key performance indicators (KPIs) to manage and report on. There are so many that it can be paralyzing. How do you know which ones matter the most? Which ones should you focus on in order to improve your business intelligence (BI)?

You need to narrow down the definition of success for your BI function.

Narrowing Down the Definition of Success

The first step in improving your BI function is narrowing down the definition of success. What are you trying to achieve? Defining success can be tricky because it depends on your specific business and industry. However, there are a few general guidelines that you can follow:

- Set realistic goals: It’s important to set achievable goals so that you don’t get discouraged if you don’t meet them immediately. However, make sure that your goals are still challenging enough to push your team to its limits.

- Make sure your goals align with your company’s strategy: Your BI goals should support your company’s overall strategy.

- Measure progress regularly: tracking your progress is essential to ensuring that you’re on track to meet your goals.

- Celebrate successes: When you do achieve a goal, make sure to celebrate it! This will help keep your team motivated.

Now that you have a general idea of what you need to do, let’s take a look at some specific tips for narrowing down the definition of success for your BI function.

Pick the Right KPIs

One of the most important things to remember when defining success for your BI function is that not all KPIs are created equal. You need to focus on the KPIs that are most relevant to your business and are actionable. You also need to make sure that the metrics you are tracking are timely and measurable. Here are a few tips for picking the right KPIs:

- Pick metrics that are relevant to your business: Make sure that the metrics you are tracking are relevant to your industry. For example, if you’re a retail business, focus on metrics like sales, customer satisfaction, and inventory turnover.

- Pick metrics that are actionable: Make sure that the metrics you are tracking can be used to make decisions. For example, you might track customer churn rate to determine whether or not you’re losing customers.

- Pick metrics that are timely: Make sure that the metrics you are tracking are updated regularly. This will help you make timely decisions.

- Pick metrics that are measurable: Make sure that the metrics you are tracking can be measured. This will help you track your progress over time.

Creating a Successful BI Function

Once you have a clear definition of success and have identified the most critical KPI’s it’s time to create a successful BI function. This can be a daunting task, but by following some simple tips, you can create a BI function that meets your specific needs. Remember to be patient and don’t expect results overnight.

Here are a few tips:

- Establish clear goals and objectives: This will help you stay focused on what you’re trying to achieve.

- Define the roles and responsibilities of your team: each member of your BI team should know their specific role and what is expected of them.

- Use the right tools and technology: using the right tools and technology can make your job easier and help you achieve better results.

- Be patient: implementing a successful BI function takes time so be patient and don’t expect results overnight.

- Train your team: make sure to train your team on how to use the tools and technology you’re using. This will help them get the most out of them.

- Celebrate successes: as mentioned earlier, it’s important to celebrate successes so that your team stays motivated.

The key to creating a successful BI function is to focus on the right metrics and establish clear goals and objectives. If you do this, you’ll be well on your way to achieving success.

Continue to Evolve and Stay Ahead of the Curve

The landscape of the multifamily industry is constantly changing, so your BI function should be too. Once you’ve achieved success, don’t stop there. BI is a constantly evolving field so you need to be prepared to adapt and change as needed. This means regularly evaluating your goals and objectives and making changes as necessary. The key is to always be learning and growing. Staying ahead of the curve is essential to success.

And finally, why utilize the phrase “death by a thousand cuts,” you might ask? Because if you try to accomplish everything, you’ll end up accomplishing nothing well. Focus on the most important goals and objectives and don’t try to do too much. This will help you avoid death by a thousand cuts.

So, what are you waiting for? Start narrowing down the definition of success for your BI function and get started on creating a successful BI team. Remember to be patient and don’t expect results overnight.

To Summarize

- Define success: before you can create a successful BI function, you need to define what success means for your business.

- Identify the most critical KPIs: focus on the KPIs that are most relevant to your business and are actionable.

- Use the right tools and technology: using the right tools and technology can make your job easier and help you achieve better results.

- Train your team: make sure to train your team on how to use the tools and technology you’re using. This will help them get the most out of them.

- Celebrate successes: as mentioned earlier, it’s important to celebrate successes so that your team stays motivated.

- Stay ahead of the curve: BI is a constantly evolving field so you need to be prepared to adapt and change as needed. Staying ahead of the curve is essential to success.

- Don’t try to do too much: if you try to accomplish everything, you’ll end up accomplishing nothing well. Focus on the most important goals and objectives and don’t try to do too much. This will help you avoid death by a thousand cuts.

Multifamily Offices, define your success now!

--

--

Karla Ortiz Flores

Director of Technology and Data at a New York Multifamily Office | AI Tinkerer | Former Fortune 500 Management Consultant