Hi. My name is Jeff Plattner. I’m an Analytics Consultant with DataDrive in Minneapolis, MN. My professional career began back in 2006 where, for the better part of six years, I worked in the sporting industry before making the transition into analytics. Over the next eight years, I found myself in a variety of roles at a variety of companies. One thing all of these companies had in common was that they were large, with employee counts in the thousands, and in some cases, the tens of thousands. Midway through 2020 and a few months into the Covid-19 pandemic, I felt like I needed a change.
Meanwhile, I had been admiring a small consulting firm from a distance for quite some time. After months of contemplating whether or not I was ready to take a leap of faith, I woke up one fall day and asked myself, “What am I waiting for?”. We were in the middle of the pandemic, and with so many uncertainties the one constant I had was work. At the very least, in that part of my life, I knew what to expect each day. The idea of starting a new job, in the middle of a pandemic, with remote onboarding, remote everything else, and with two young children (one at home with me, distance learning) was overwhelming. I found myself waiting for the perfect time to tell DataDrive I was ready to join the team. When I finally realized there was never going to be a “perfect time,” it seemed silly to wait any longer.
And so, several months later, here we are! I’m entering my sixth month with DataDrive and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to join this amazing team of data nerds! In this blog post, I will share a few of the things that have made consulting at DataDrive such an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Learning new skills, as well as keeping up-to-date on the skills we already possess, is a vital part of being a consultant. DataDrive’s approach to professional development is what initially piqued my interest a couple of years ago.
Having come from a consulting background himself, when Luke Komiskey founded DataDrive he did so with an emphasis on family and balance. As a DataDrive consultant, I deeply appreciate working for someone who understands the importance of family. I love my job, but my wife and two kids are absolutely the most important part of my life. In roles prior to joining DataDrive, my professional development would typically occur late in the evenings or on the weekends when my kids were napping. In other words, during my personal time.
I love our values at DataDrive. But what I love even more is the fact that they are at the core of everything we do. Having been in prior roles where values were part of an onboarding package and then more or less forgotten about, it has been refreshing to see the DataDrive's values incorporated into our daily work lives.
Our team is constantly giving shout-outs to one another for demonstrating our values and it feels good to both give and receive that recognition.
DataDrive operates on the Entrepreneurial Operating System or EOS. This is a system that more than 50,000 companies worldwide operate on to help them achieve their vision and goals more effectively. As a consultant in a company operating on EOS, it has provided me with a well-defined structure in which to grow. Since we’ve implemented EOS, I feel more fulfilled in my work. I love how the system helps me achieve my personal goals while also allowing me to contribute to the business. To learn more about how EOS works, feel free to check out their website, here.
The ability of our team to stay connected in the remote, disconnected world we’re currently living in has been amazing to experience. Whether it’s through our numerous Slack channels, weekly team meetings, team lunches, or other special events, the way our team stays connected and supports one another is a thing of beauty. Despite having only been to the office three times (all in my first week... and fully masked up), the team at DataDrive already feels like family to me!
If you’re interested in learning more about DataDrive and potentially joining our awesome crew of data nerds, you are in luck, because guess what? WE ARE HIRING!! Learn more and search/apply for open positions here. And if you do not currently work in consulting, but are wondering if it’s the right career for you, check out “6 Questions to Help You Answer: Should I Go Into (Analytics) Consulting?” by fellow DataDriver, Kaela Dickens.