This week’s episode of Conversations with Kip is a conversation with Alex Hume, a controller at a large regional bank, discussing data and three simple ideas:

(1) Choose a language. Data is about communication. Communication in a common language is much more efficient than translation processes.

(2) Keep the detail of what one records. Don’t throw away the data you capture. The granular data answers important business questions, and those questions require extending the data from the finance domain to operational and other lexicons.

(3) Strengthen and adhere to the language over time.  Extending that language and integrating it to the other domains has a cumulative beneficial effects over time; the richness and efficiencies generated from common language are powerful.

I’ve watched over the last five years as Alex has been tenacious on adhering to these principles, and is reaping the benefits from having been dogged about it. I would recommend the same to many other organizations.

This is Episodes 110 of Conversations with Kip, the best financial system vlog there is.