Being “helpful” won’t save your data team. Being essential will. No amount of etl creates job security.
If your data team disappeared tomorrow, what breaks? Not "what becomes harder", what actually breaks? 💣
For most, nothing breaks. Decisions still get made. Products still ship. Revenue still comes in.
That does not make you a necessity, that makes you an option.
Stop waiting for requirements or asking "what data do they need?" Start asking "what revenue am I responsible for?"
The strong data teams aren't building fancier dashboards. They're building things customers and partners need. They decide what sells. They decide what gets seen. They own the pricing algorithm. They're not supporting the product, they are the product.
People avoid this path because it means being accountable for business outcomes, not just “data quality”. It’s riskier. You can get fired for missing revenue targets. You rarely get fired for “delivering insights.”
But that's exactly why one role survives and the other doesn't.
Can you point to a number on the revenue sheet that your team directly owns? Not influenced. Not supported. Owned.
If not, you're the first budget line to disappear when money gets tight.
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