Creating a Data Culture Using Power BI with Brian Julius - Ep. 01

Sam McKay talks to Brian Julius on how to integrate data culture in one’s own organization. Brian is an Enterprise DNA expert who has a thriving career as a project management lead for Power Platforms in the public sector, where he uses data to improve government processes. They discuss further how data culture can improve one’s organization and speed up its business decision-making processes, and how people can leverage data to perform their jobs well. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 3:44 Brian shares how his interest in data science started, and how “everything you see in the world is governed by a data generating process.” 5:27 How Sam made the shift from the finance industry to data science. 7:46 Sam and Brian discuss how data science tools have become more accessible now than they used to before. 10:00 How Brian got involved in the Enterprise DNA community, and how it became a tremendous learning experience for him. 11:17 The power of an online community. 14:38 Brian talks about the data culture initiatives in his organization. 17:57 “If your current tools don’t meet people’s needs, the smart people are going to build their own solutions to do their jobs well.” 20:48 Understanding the self-service structure of Power BI. 28:11 How long it took Brian to successfully implement an analytics tool in his company. 33:16 How Microsoft has “democratized” advanced analytics through the Power BI platform. 36:45 The struggles Brian experienced that slowed down the implementation of Power BI in his team. 41:10 “Before you attribute something as a DAX problem, make sure your data model is set up correctly.” 46:08 Brian's grand vision for the future with regards to the implementation of Power BI. 48:16 “With Power BI every month feels like Christmas, where you get a new release and you don’t know what’s inside that release.” 50:02 The long-term impact of Power BI on users. 50:52 Power BI is going to fundamentally change what people do during their day, where time-consuming repetitive tasks that take up a significant chunk of time will be lessened. 59:00 How you can build up your own analytic mind and grow your analytical skills. 59:52 The 5 strategies to improve one’s DAX toolbox through structured practice. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/data-culture-using-power-bi/