How do you go from being just another accountant in the company to someone who's leading BI transformation on a global scale
Power BI is a big part of it. But as Pam shares with us today, there are a few other secret ingredients.
Pam Baker is the manager for planning forecasting and analysis at Volvo truck operations
And this interview I know is going to be one of my favorites.
Pam shared with such an open heart her journey with Power BI the number one tip
she has for others who are just starting out and the biggest key to deploying Power BI in a large
Organization. That one might surprise you
We also talked about women and Power BI why they are underrepresented
But shouldn't be. It's stories like Pam that get me excited stories from real people just like you and me
Using Power BI to make a real impact.
These have the Power BI pioneers if this video inspired you in any way
please leave a comment and let me and Pam know and make sure to subscribe and click the bell
So you're notified whenever I go live to help you in your power bi journey now, let's hear it from Pam.
Hey Pam, how are you doing today? Hey, I'm doing great today doing great. Awesome
Well, so I'll dive right in I know I've known you for a long time
But tell me how power bi has impacted your life day to day and maybe the bigger picture career tell me about it
Well get started back in early 2015 that was back with a power pivot
I was before the desktop rolled out back in 2015
So in that timeframe, we it's just really blown up
You know, I've blown up at my company. A lot of people are using it
So it's really starting to become popular in my everyday work
I'm starting to use it much much more building a lot more
Complex data models and pulling in more information and working with it. So it's really been a great tool
It's helped me a lot in my in my position making my life easier for me
So it's really been great Wow, so I know you've been in finance and accounting for a long time
How did that change or transform the kind of impact you had around you and your team in your company?
before kind of power bi and after a bar bi I
Think the best part about power bi is that you can you can build things and make your work more efficient
so the time that we had spent
Working with Excel sheets and updating them every month and pulling information together
We would spend maybe 80% of our time just pulling numbers together and then 20% of your time actually
Analyzing so just from a time standpoint
It was huge
Savings to be able to have that information to have it there have it once have your formulas written and refreshed and you're done
So that was a huge impact
In accounting a lot of times we look at information
With we look at what happened for that month, and we're going to our management team and we're explaining
This is what happened in the business and the business operations
So we're really good explaining to pass what happened what happened, but now we're moving more toward
Seeing things in real time and live and quickly see things faster
So now we're better able at maybe predict saying this is what we're seeing today. And this is what we think is gonna happen
So move forward thinking so that is that's huge in our area. That's a that's a big impact
So that that best was really what changed well more on top of the day-to-day what's going on?
that sounds
Incredible I'm flashing back to my days. I was never a finance guy a guy myself, but worked pretty closely with them and
And I think there's a fundamental shift that you're talking about
And and and I want to talk about kind of two things here one
Is clearly as you talked about you you you you used assi used we so clearly is
not just you you've been able to kind of
Impact and influence and evangelize and bring other people onto the power bi train, which is pretty exciting
I want to know more about that but
But the BART were you sad that we're not just looking at the past and it's more current
So the part where you said that you can look at something so at Microsoft
Our data believe it or not was delayed by two and a half months
So if you're looking at something in March it happen in January, it's crazy
Right and yeah, we were not the only ones right
So but if you go from there, do what you see daily
it just changes completely how you run your business because now you feel the strength you feel the the courage to
Experiment stuff and say hey, let's try this and we'll know right away if it worked or not
Time is money in any business. You have to move quick you got to make decisions quickly and just the speed
I mean that's just huge to be able to see things faster. Yeah, that's just has a huge impact
That's right, and I think nowhere
Is it a bigger travesty than in the finance growth? Because often you have a group of very highly qualified
Highly skilled people and if you have them in the mode that you described what 80 percent times just crank on reports
All right, exactly
you're using your brainpower on these type of things instead of just the
Mundane tasks that you have to do that you just have to roll it out
exactly and and and the vision now I think is it and every
Finance team finance professional has to step up to that is that you can't be the number a guy anymore?
You have to be a true
business exactly
That's exactly right and and being in finance
I mean, we're kind of guilty of that because we have to you know
We have to explain those results those financial results in it. And that's what it comes down to
Exactly. What changed? Why did it change who changed, you know get back to that number that variants number?
So I mean historically that's just what we've always done
Yeah
But now I'm like I said to be able just to get to that that variance or that change fast quickly
Within an hour instead of a day and just see it if it's roll down into it and start to you know
and ask questions
I mean that's key being able to ask questions quickly and that short time frame that you have to explain your results
You know, it's huge and a lot of times you you have information at your fingertips
Now you're not having to go ask other people in other departments. Hey, why did this happen? Why did this happen?
You can actually access the same information that they're accessing
So let's huge you can ask better questions. Oh, that's incredible
So tell me a little bit more about that journey where you kind of discovered these tools
But as they spread out and you started into interacting with other people maybe
Showed them how to talk to them about evangelize it tell me about that journey
And specifically I'm really interested in if you met some resistance along the way and how did you deal with that?
well
Like I said, it started to get more popular a lot of people started getting interested in it. So that was a good thing and
Where I work, you know
We we started doing more demos and we start showing people and that really got people interested and engaged
because once they saw it, they were interested and want to try it and they thought oh
You know the techniques you're using maybe I can use it in my department
So that that was a great tool just just to show them
So getting their attention was the big thing and getting them engaged in it and then helping them along
Like I said, I do a lot of working with the other other groups other departments
I help them get started because that's the hardest part is just figuring out. Okay, you know, what are my data sources?
What am I trying to do? It was my ultimate goal. Yes
That was just trying to help them get did get to the starting point. So
Yeah, that that's the hard part I think for most people is just getting started
You know I couldn't agree more but it's also amazing and you talked about the to just not always said if you do help them
You kind of unlock it right where the eyes go wide
and you know
I pulled your data and all this stuff and they go well and and and
often a great sign is when it opens a floodgate of questions was
That's exactly right great
And helping other groups, I mean
It is really awesome because I really realized helping all these different groups within my company. I was learning the business, you know
Things that I was never exposed to before these different groups within my company, you know
I didn't have that one-on-one interaction and you know talk to them finding out. Well, what are your KPIs?
I mean, what do you look at? How do you want to see the information what's important to you? Who's learning the business?
Yeah me that was that was great. I mean because all of a sudden he was all this new information
That was so interesting, you know, and not only that I saw old there data sources and I thought wow, you know
I didn't know this was out here this piece of data, you know, I could use this
Okay, you know I have something maybe you can use you know, and he's starting to talk and it really opens up all this
Insight are this opportunity, you know that you didn't even know was out there. Yeah, you know I
love that and gosh is so much to let me see if I can collect everything that's going on my head because there was so
Much goodness in there and what you just shared so two things one. I mean data is power
I mean obviously not raw data, you guys can word it to like go through and information knowledge, but it's it's so powerful
so if you can tap into it and you can help others tap into it it just
You know makes your influence or 100x
and and and we we talk about this dynamic in in our Student Computing to learn power bi where
We were maybe summer for us
we're used to I know I was of being the data guy kind of chained to my desk and cranking out reports all day and
and what I'm talking to kind of my students my community, is that you
Don't want to be just the data guy
but now using power bi and I think what you just described as a key factor in there where you gotta
Open up a little bit and and not just you know gonna hunker down and work on your report
Go talk to all the departments and clearly now
It seems a lot more people know you you have helped a lot more people in your footprint and impact inside. The company is just
Astronomically higher as opposed to if you just stayed kind of focused on perhaps just UI stuff, you know
That's how you really learn the more you do the more you work with other people or build help build animals
That's how you really learn because what might work for you and your area and maybe a whole totally different concept different
Information different ways of pulling it in different ways of looking at stuff
So, I mean it's twofold in the benefit that you learn so much about your company, but you're you're getting better
You're getting better at it love that
So so there's that piece where you said that you experience new things new challenges, which is true
but I think another learning comes in and maybe you experience that this way is that
sure, it's all new and they're new challenges and so forth, but
There comes a point where you start detecting patterns where you say. Oh I've seen this before
I mean not exactly a format, but I know honestly
That's that's always a good sign that's very true that's very very true
If you can learn the patterns and the techniques my gosh it can it can pretty much apply across the board
Yeah, and and you know
and you know
I still agree that the best way is to just apply it and if you apply it enough you you will start becoming
Kind of very natural at it. Yes. So great. I'm you know loved the whole journey, but I know
Some of her followers who are probably just starting out in the journey. What did Weis would you have for them?
I mean, sometimes they look up and say oh man. This is the dahle mountain to climb. What would you say to them?
My advice I gave is just be patient. I mean be patient with yourself
You know, you're not gonna learn this overnight. You're not gonna learn this by taking one training class
It's just not gonna happen
you know, I think some people go into this and they see these demos or they see things on the web and they're like
Oh, well, I'll just do it today. I'll build a dashboard
Our learning is easy and it's like Excel, you know, I'll just dump it, but it doesn't work like that
You know, it's gonna take time, you know, there's a learning curve and and you really need to get good training
I mean that is the key isn't with good training
You really learn how best practices to set up a data model
You know best practice about writing formulas and and dax calculations. That's what you really are
You have to learn and you gotta practice, you know
I tell it when you got to practice on your own data, and you have to work with it
you're just gonna put the time in so
That's my best advice and tell your company to be patient with you
You know, it does take time, you know
Realize that it's gonna take you a while to get up and running
It's gonna take you a while to learn and you know, you may hit a brick wall and realize. Oh no
I'm really stuck. You know, I can't move any further
I'm gonna need some help from somebody to help me before I can move on
So yeah, so a lot of good points. Let me kind of recap some when you said be patient with yourself
Getting a good training is always a good idea and gosh that apply it right. I mean apply it use it
That's a good way to learn but tell me
talk about more about - because I I do I
Definitely see my father's my students experienced that when they hit the wall and if he's so
Frustrating and I see them posting comments. Like I
Haven't made any progress I couldn't figure it out
I had to go back to excel and solve it and all that stuff and they're being so hard on themselves
At any advice for that moment when you're just pulling your hair out. I don't know how many moments to experience that
That's true. And I had people at work will tell me the same thing, but you know, I tell them
Somebody has solved this same problem somewhere. I mean this is you know, someone has the answer to this don't get discouraged
You know, you know you may have to go reach out
You know to other people to get to help insistence that you need but yeah, it's very possible
I like that and of course, yeah, I mean power bi that's one thing that I've truly enjoyed
amongst kind of so when I meet with other
Microsoft for such an awesome community and general power bi thing is great and in a way
I've tried to kind of mirror that inside my class just to have like a small group of us and that isn't a is an
Amazing group and of course includes bambe as well that makes it cool. So so that's
So let me ask you what are maybe some of the unexpected things you encountered on this bar be a journey. Yeah, yeah
like I said when I
really learning it and being exposed to it and being
Being on the top of new technology at my company
It really opened doors for me, you know, cuz all of a sudden I was working with new people
I was looking in your
departments and
Being first, you know at this you really get just you you get it
Yeah, it opens up a lot of opportunity, you know
And I work for a huge global company and just to think that now I know people all over the globe
You know people call me people know my name, you know Here I am, you know
Of the company and I've got IT people that I talk to business intelligence people
Yeah, so I know people from different areas different groups within the company, you know, I would have never had that opportunity
So really just open up all this opportunity, so that was a great
I mean that was tremendous that you know, and you know, it just happened along the way so
It's great. I mean that's one thing that you wouldn't if they expected just learning something like this sharing that knowledge. You really learn
Oh boy. I love it. I love it
I think and and I think about that in in kind of my own business and and I feel like I
Use this analogy where there is a bigger version of me, right a bigger better version of me
And I think it's already there
You just have to kind of you know
let it shine through and and I think somehow power bi just allowed you to kind of
grow that role and I kind of step up and
Step up in a big way. That's great. So so the last thing I want to ask you is that
So we've in the recent discussion this there's a lot of spotlight on kind of women in in science and technology and so forth
What's your take on a woman in power bi I mean I do see
Generally a healthy ratio. It's almost 50/50 inside my class, but what's what's been your take on it? I
Think it's great. I'm a great opportunity for anyone, you know, especially for women. I mean, why not?
You know, there's no reason, you know, they we're all all doing this type of work. So it's a great opportunity
It's like I tell anybody, you know, it really opens stores
I mean that is just huge anytime that you could use something that no one else can do in your company
They're gonna notice, you know, that's the best
I mean if you can show them something they've they've never done or
Or you show them insight even better that no one knew in the room, you know
Sometimes you know you think you know the answer but the backs are showing you something different
That's a big deal and it really opens up opportunities. So
Encourage people now's the time perfect time, you know, since it is still new and a lot of companies
That's a perfect time to jump in. Oh, gosh, I love that so much
So so yeah, so if anybody so I I get some people so you're right and you absolutely right a lot of companies
It's just stepping into there
so it's it's one you yes growing really really fast now is the time to do it and
Some some I do come across some people. They're like, oh gosh
and I should have jumped on it two years ago whenever and
but my my brother has the best coat he's like that the time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and now
It's a perfect time now is the time great love it BAM listen anything on end things on that note
thank you so much for
Thank you so much. Okay, that was one of the most heartfelt interviews
I've done
That's what makes Pam a pioneer
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Until next time power on my friend