The end of the year is a great time to check in with yourself. Honestly, this is something worth doing regularly during any project — but year-end is when you can step back and look at the bigger picture.

When it comes to driving impact with data, there’s really one question that matters more than all the rest:

Not what was measured.
Not what was tracked and documented.
But what was done differently because the data and thinking was there.

The first step of any meaningful behavior shift is recognizing there is room to grow. This is the moment to be honest — not to judge past work, but to set yourself up to be more impactful going into 2026.

To do that, here’s a simple way to pressure-test how your data showed up this year.

These aren’t rules. They’re reflections.

Each one asks whether your data reached its full potential — or fell short somewhere along the way.

Think back on the past year:
Were decisions explicitly defined before analysis started?
Where did data show up only after a direction was already chosen?
Where did it quietly become a way to delay a hard call?

Data is often treated as a safety net — something to justify decisions after the fact.

If data wasn’t shaping decisions upstream, it wasn’t driving impact.

Be honest:
Which dashboards were actually relied on?
Which ones looked impressive but didn’t change conversations?
What could be deleted tomorrow without consequences?

Usage isn’t a vanity metric. It’s a signal of relevance.

If no one depended on what you built, it wasn’t a valuable data output — it was documentation.

Ask yourself:
Did stakeholders bring decisions they were trying to make?
Or did they mostly ask for metrics without context?

When analytics is treated as a reporting function, impact stays limited.

The biggest shift happens when analytics becomes a thought partner — not an order-taker.

Look at moments of friction:
Where did stakeholders push back?
Was the concern accuracy, relevance, or the implications of what the data suggested?

Data that isn’t trusted becomes optional — no matter how correct it is.

Reflection isn’t just about outcomes. It’s about pace:
What took weeks but delivered minimal value?
Where would “good enough” have created more movement than perfect?

Precision matters — but timing often matters more. 

Too late is the same as not at all.

If this sparked reflection, don’t stop at thinking — capture it.

Take a few minutes to write down your responses to the questions above. You don’t need perfect answers — just honest ones.

Once you’ve done that, the next question naturally follows:

That’s what we’ll tackle in next week’s Data Drop — how to turn these reflections into concrete changes in how you scope, build, and deliver data so it drives more impact in the year ahead.

It’s the result of intentional effort — especially in analytics, where knowing how to use data matters far more than having it.

Thanks for being here. More next week.
- Michelle