You’re creating value in a system that wasn't designed to capture it.
The challenge most D&A leaders face isn't creating value — it's that their
organizational structure and operating model make proving that value nearly impossible.
Scenario 1
Federated or decentralized spoke teams use the enterprise platform to do analytics work and deliver business outcomes. But centralized platform costs are disconnected from the federated value they create, fragmenting the ROI analysis and obscuring the complete value story for D&A leaders.
The Result?
You're perpetually vulnerable.
When budget season arrives, you defend a cost line with no corresponding value narrative. Business units celebrate wins powered by your infrastructure, but those wins don't appear on your scorecard. You're left justifying investments whose returns are credited elsewhere — making every budget cycle a fight for survival rather than a discussion about growth.
The Path Forward
You don't need a complete overhaul, just a smarter engagement framework that captures value, coupled with stronger stories that connect platform investments to business wins.
Better structure enables proof. Story makes it memorable. Together, they create undeniable value.
Scenario 2
In this scenario, a centralized D&A team does the heavy lifting to build models or deliver insights to a business-facing team. So the problem isn't creating value — it's proving you created it.
The Result?
By the time business outcomes appear, the connection to your work has faded.
Was that revenue increase from the segmentation model your team developed…or from Marketing's new campaign strategy? Did costs drop because of your optimization insights…or Operations' process changes?
The answer is usually "both," but your contribution gets lost in the complexity. Without clear attribution mechanisms, you're stuck arguing for credit rather than accumulating evidence — turning value demonstration into an uphill battle fought after the narrative has already been written.
The Fix
Don’t rebuild your entire op model. Instead, focus on building intentional partnerships that improve your line of sight to outcomes, and shift the mindset from delivering analytics to business teams to co-creating with them.