The Data Driven Leader: A Powerful Approach to Delivering Measurable Business Impact Through People Analytics

PRAISE FOR THE DATA DRIVEN LEADER

"The Data Driven Leader offers an engaging parable that brings to life the value of analytically–based people decisions, and helpful guidance for leaders to enhance those decisions."
Dr. John W. Boudreau, Professor and Research Director, Center for Effective Organizations and Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

"One of the most profound changes in business today is the vast amount of people–related data we have to analyze. This book will help HR and line managers understand their opportunity to apply analytics to many of the people decisions we make every day."
Josh Bersin, Industry Analyst, Principal and Founder, Bersin by Deloitte

"One of the key questions for the future is the impact of artificial intelligence on human work. Here′s a great contribution to that debate. Jenny Dearborn and David Swanson, through engaging examples and in–depth analyses, show how data analytics can properly empower the workforce for the future."
Chris Anderson, Head of TED

"You can′t build an organization where people want to show up if you don′t truly know your people and you can′t truly know your people if you don′t have a people analytics strategy in place. Start by reading this book!"
Jacob Morgan, Author of The Employee Experience Advantage (2017), The Future of Work (2014) and The Collaborative Organization (2012), Speaker and Futurist

"The Data Driven Leader is an essential guide for leaders who want to navigate complexity with brilliance and win in the new game of work. This insight–packed book will show you how to ask the right questions, gather intelligence and enable your team to find the best answers."
Liz Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author of Multipliers and Rookie Smarts, Founder, The Wiseman Group

"Effective leaders care about truth: the organizations that they really have, not the ones they think (or wish) they have. Moving a company forward requires patient and accurate insights into what people are really doing. This valuable book provides practical and clever tools for this analytical work, demystifying the application of data analytics to HR processes that serve the entire company."
Dr. Charles Galunic, Aviva Chaired Professor of Leadership, Professor of Organization Behaviour, INSEAD Business School, FRANCE

"We live in a world where data overload and data integrity is questioned every day. Rather than running away from it, we need to boldly step up. Consequently, the ability to synthesize information, analyze data and offer compelling insights and recommendations is one of the most critical skills required by the workforce of today. The HR function has the opportunity to lead and make a huge difference in this space. The Data Driven Leader is an easy–to–read, insightful book that provides great ideas for practical application across many parts of a business."
Karen Gaydon, SVP, CHRO and Corporate Marketing, Synaptics

Acknowledgments xiii

Preface xv

Chapter 1: Playing the Blame Game 1

Chapter 2: Leading with Business Outcomes 25

Chapter 3: Starting with Analytics 49

Chapter 4: Early Discoveries 83

Chapter 5: Diagnosing What s Wrong 111

Chapter 6: The Road Ahead 147

Chapter 7: Results Win Support 175

Essential Reading 199

References 223

About the Authors 229

Index 231

JENNY DEARBORN is the Chief Learning Officer and Senior Vice President at SAP. She is recognized as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology and is an industry thought leader and authority on applying data and analytics to workforce development and human capital transformation. Dearborn is the author of Data Driven: How Performance Analytics Delivers Extraordinary Sales Results.

DAVID SWANSON was most recently executive vice president of human resources for SAP SuccessFactors. He has over 25 years of experience in global technology companies. He is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist on the future of HR, focusing on how human resources can impact business through analytics and big data.