1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,200
Welcome to Making Data Matter, where we have conversations about data and leadership at mission-driven organizations with practical insights into the intersection of nonprofit mission strategy, data, and whatever else we want to talk about.

2
00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:17,400
So I'm your host Sawyer Nyquist.

3
00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,080
And I'm your co-host Troy Dewek.

4
00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:24,880
And today we are joined by guest Jim Bennett. Jim, welcome to the show.

5
00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:25,960
Thank you.

6
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:31,760
And for folks just meeting you, Jim, for the first time, share a little bit about who you are and what you do.

7
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:45,280
Sure. Yeah, I am the Director of Business Operations and Technology at Camp Barrett Co. I've been working with data for a very long time, over 20 years at this point.

8
00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:57,800
And I get to use the skills that I have working in a camp ministry at this point. So it's a lot of fun. There's a lot of opportunity and a lot of challenges.

9
00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:06,280
Now those 20 years of data experience, that's not all in a camp setting. So give me a little more. And Jim, you and I know each other.

10
00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:13,880
But for everybody else, give us some context around like what does that 20 years of career in data look like? How's it all been at a camp in the woods?

11
00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:23,360
Yeah, yeah, that's great. Well, I actually got my start in data. I got a degree in computer science from Western Michigan University.

12
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:35,040
And while I was there, I was actually working for the intramural department, and they needed they needed some help with organizing how how sports are run.

13
00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:40,600
And so I got my first experience working with data with FileMaker Pro on the Mac.

14
00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:54,680
So kind of an interesting way to get started with working with data. But then I quickly moved into working at the university full time as a database administrator and database developer.

15
00:01:54,680 --> 00:02:07,200
Had several different database administrator positions through the years as I graduated and then moved on to different roles. I worked for a startup.

16
00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:15,280
I worked for a couple of health insurance companies, worked for a mortgage company that's, you know, a rather large one now.

17
00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:30,280
And then partway through my time at Quicken Loans, I was working with a really excellent team where we got to explore how to make data work well.

18
00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:38,560
And so I got to work with the at the time it was the business intelligence team, and we got to be crazy and build new things.

19
00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:48,960
And it was it was a it was a whole new world of analysis services and and getting things to work with reporting services and things like that.

20
00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,200
So that was a lot of fun. We got to do a lot of things there.

21
00:02:53,200 --> 00:03:02,360
And then after Quicken Loans, I went into consulting and did a lot of what we would now call data analytics consulting.

22
00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:14,320
I was an architect and worked on lots of different platforms and implementing projects for all kinds of different companies and all kinds of different industries.

23
00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:30,600
So you get to see challenges and work through challenges that were just kind of across the board and all over the map as far as working with data and how to make it work better and understand it and get teams to adopt it well.

24
00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:35,080
And so that that was that was 10 years.

25
00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:36,920
And that's sorry. That's when we met.

26
00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:43,880
And it was actually a really fun time back then, because this was like from 2010 to 2020.

27
00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,520
So Microsoft primarily worked with Microsoft products and platforms.

28
00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:55,960
And it was an interesting time to be in consulting because we were starting from everything was on prem.

29
00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:59,880
And then the big push was let's move everything to the cloud.

30
00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:05,120
And then kind of at the end of that 2020, it was like, well, let's move everything to the cloud.

31
00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:11,400
And then at the end of that 2020, it was like, well, maybe maybe hybrid is probably a good balance there.

32
00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:19,200
And so I got to see that whole transition over the across 10 years in the consulting space.

33
00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:26,680
So that was that was a lot of fun and an interesting challenge to work through.

34
00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:34,360
And then, yeah. And then we were called to come to camp here and I've been at camp for four years.

35
00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:43,080
Camp Camp Barricale is in northern Michigan, still in the lower peninsula, but definitely in the middle of the woods.

36
00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:51,120
I would like to say that we are an hour from the closest Wal-Mart.

37
00:04:51,120 --> 00:05:01,360
But I get to implement all kinds of technology here at camp because we're kind of starting from a from not a lot to work with.

38
00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:06,000
And we're building as we go. So it's a it's a it's a fun challenge.

39
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,600
Now, I love that just the diverse background in terms of like you worked with all sorts of organizations,

40
00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,680
all sorts of companies and sizes, small, medium, large.

41
00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:21,240
And and then you find yourself at a relatively smaller nonprofit organization, a camp in the woods.

42
00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:23,320
So maybe first off, I want to compare and address a little bit.

43
00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,400
Maybe first off, what kind of data does camp have?

44
00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,160
Like, what is it? What data does a camp need?

45
00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,960
What kind of things have you tried to explore there since you got there four years ago?

46
00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,680
Was there any data that was collected or managed before?

47
00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,400
Or you start would you start from scratch? Tell me about that, Jordan.

48
00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,920
That's a that's a great question. Yeah.

49
00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,080
So camps actually do have quite a bit of data.

50
00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:49,560
Well, I say quite a bit of data, quite a bit of data for camping.

51
00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:54,920
Coming from building enterprise analytic platforms, there's very little data.

52
00:05:54,920 --> 00:06:01,080
But it's but the data that we do have is really critical to how camping actually runs.

53
00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:06,400
So it's everything from we have a financial system that's that's on prem.

54
00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:14,000
We have a registration system that people can register for our events online.

55
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,240
And that's got data associated with it.

56
00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:24,600
In the summertime, we have we have our parents fill out health profiles through a vendor of ours.

57
00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:29,880
And that's all data that we use to manage summer camp really well.

58
00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:36,360
And then just in the past few years, we've implemented a we camp runs a lot on volunteers.

59
00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:42,480
And so implementing a staffing or volunteer management system.

60
00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:47,160
And there's all kinds of data associated with that to be able to have people come

61
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,280
and us to be able to organize all the information about them.

62
00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:56,600
So before we hopped on the call, you mentioned data projects was something you're

63
00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:02,920
really interested in right now as you're, I'm assuming, bringing some of that expertise,

64
00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:10,520
the frameworks and architectures you're familiar with from out there in the big data space, I say.

65
00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:14,960
And now you're working with smaller data sets, but they're just as varied,

66
00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:17,800
they're just as you're covering multiple domains.

67
00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:24,280
Every business kind of has these core buckets that regardless of how large the organization is,

68
00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:29,480
you still have it. You've got finance, you've got your customers or your clients,

69
00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:31,520
you've got your staff and your HR.

70
00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:37,960
So you've got those. But I bet your resources aren't what they were out there in the big data space.

71
00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:45,080
So how do you think through some of those data projects and how you scale them down to actually,

72
00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:50,520
oh, I'm not going to use the kind of frameworks and architectures I did out there in the big companies

73
00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,440
who could throw the resources at building something very robust and scalable.

74
00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,920
So what's that journey been like for you, Jim, to take all that experience and say,

75
00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:03,880
OK, now how do I fit it in a slightly smaller box?

76
00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,640
Yes, in a very smaller box. Yes.

77
00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:12,600
So, yeah, I'm basically from a technology standpoint, I'm an army of one.

78
00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:20,840
So going from consulting and working with teams, it's a very different mindset where solutions

79
00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:27,800
that need to be implemented have to be implemented in a way that it can be hands off.

80
00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:36,040
Like once it's going, it just needs to run by itself or have very little interaction just because

81
00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:37,280
I'm only one person.

82
00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:43,680
So I guess in a broad sense, there is camp software out there and there's

83
00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:45,960
there are platforms out there and they're good.

84
00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:53,640
We make good use of the vendor space where we where all camps.

85
00:08:53,640 --> 00:09:00,840
And I've talked to several other camps that are in the same boat where we have trouble is data wrangling.

86
00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:05,720
OK, so we've got one system to do health profiles and we've got one system that's a registration system.

87
00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:09,640
And some other camps would have multiple registration systems.

88
00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:10,920
How do we get it all together?

89
00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:18,760
How do we actually manage camp in a way that makes it seamless for the campers or the guests?

90
00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,680
But behind the scenes, the data is coming from all over the place.

91
00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:27,080
And so that's definitely a challenge that we have.

92
00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:35,440
But that said, like that's kind of where my space or my experience has been is getting systems to talk to each other.

93
00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:45,720
And so being able to take some strategies and implement patterns of, OK, well, if I can build a solution that doesn't require a lot of

94
00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:52,000
technical expertise so that I can hand this off to another team member, but then it just kind of takes care of itself.

95
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,720
And I only need to fix it if the data source changes or things like that.

96
00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:03,840
That's strategies like that are really what need to be implemented at camp to be able to make it run right.

97
00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:04,960
Yeah, great.

98
00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:10,440
I'm wondering if you even mind sharing a little bit about what that strategy has looked like so far for you.

99
00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:15,560
Is it utilizing a master data management system or is it something more homegrown?

100
00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:23,600
I know you're trying to avoid too technical of a solution, so I'm assuming it's got to have some low code effort baked into it.

101
00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,920
So share a little bit about what that strategy is, if you don't mind.

102
00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:34,200
Yeah, so there's been many projects and some of them are.

103
00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:40,560
So I've actually I've implemented a data warehouse here, but it's running on SQL Server standard.

104
00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:45,800
We've got a tabular model and we've got some power BI that kind of sits on top of it.

105
00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:52,480
And again, it just kind of like it runs, it takes care of itself and our leaders love it.

106
00:10:52,480 --> 00:11:00,080
But then I also have things like implementing using a lot of power query, actually.

107
00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:09,200
So I'm getting my team and the whole staff more acquainted with Excel and being able to say, hey, you know what?

108
00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:13,640
I've got this I've got data from other places, these other systems.

109
00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:19,280
And if you just run this report and say, refresh the data.

110
00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:23,440
Hey, you know what? This this spreadsheet will work a lot better for you and it'll be up to date.

111
00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,960
And that's actually gone a really long way.

112
00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:37,520
And I've seen like real operational results, even just from simple things like getting running a comma separated file out of a system

113
00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:43,160
and then handing it off to my facility team leader and saying, you know what?

114
00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:48,640
This will tell you how many buses you need to drive downstate this weekend.

115
00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:57,360
And so we see real results using the data that we already have and just using it in new ways.

116
00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,200
That's cool. And the world still runs on Excel, right?

117
00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:08,400
So the fact that you're just able to accelerate their knowledge and use of the tool, so it's even better.

118
00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:12,280
That's that's a great opportunity in that kind of a setting.

119
00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:22,680
And one thing that I'll say, like it was only eight years ago that camp switched to even just registering people using a database.

120
00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:27,360
Nine years ago, everything that was registration based was on paper.

121
00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:38,960
And so we've come a long way from we're managing paper registrations to now we're a we're becoming a data driven organization.

122
00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:47,320
And albeit we don't have fancy tools, but we have Excel and we have these systems in place that we're trying to maintain well

123
00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:52,760
and have the information that we need and be able to use the information that we're collecting.

124
00:12:52,760 --> 00:13:03,280
So what does that look like for the staff who were there before you had data implemented, any of these systems or more technology solutions there?

125
00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:12,320
What's it like for them to transition from maybe I used to working with paper and for maybe you, Jim, to help guide them into a world of, hey, we can use Excel for this.

126
00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,280
We can use Power BI for this. And how has that transition been?

127
00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:21,720
How how did you help them along that journey? And what are the what are some more results of that?

128
00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:25,840
Yeah, that's a great question. It's it's been interesting.

129
00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:33,280
I've got some people on staff that are really embracing the new technology like, hey, this is this is great.

130
00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:37,080
I can I can do this now. I can actually do do my role better.

131
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:45,480
I've got other people that are just cautious about, you know, are do we really need to do this?

132
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:52,000
And so sometimes it takes a little more coaxing and or maybe I should say coaching

133
00:13:52,000 --> 00:14:04,960
and doing training and kind of just raising the whole level of the baseline of where where are where is our staff, where are our technology skills?

134
00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:11,480
And then how do we continue to improve and then use the data that we have to make the whole thing run better?

135
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:19,360
So even down to like when I got here four years ago, not even everybody even had an email account.

136
00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:29,880
And now everybody is on Office 365. We're actually all using SharePoint and we're we're kind of doing an implementation of Teams.

137
00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,040
And we're starting to collaborate more, which is great.

138
00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,920
That's that's what digital transformation is all about.

139
00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:44,680
So, yeah, it's it's a it's a fun experience to just kind of come into an organization that really does

140
00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:50,800
need guidance into into the data driven space.

141
00:14:50,800 --> 00:15:01,400
I think it's really neat that you're describing full end to end solutioning of technology and not just standing up a power report

142
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:06,720
or standing up the data warehouse to have the data flowing here so you can get reports in other ways.

143
00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:10,160
You're talking about Teams, Office 365.

144
00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:18,360
I'm curious, what is your role been like as you are helping the organization think through this?

145
00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:23,360
Ultimately, we'll feed data into a place to help you make better decisions.

146
00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:29,440
And so what has that been like when are you the tech guy or are you just the data guy?

147
00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:36,440
And what's that look like where your role bleeds into the other roles within the organization as you're communicating with leadership,

148
00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:42,040
as you're communicating with peers, just curious if you could give us more of a picture into that.

149
00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:49,360
Yeah, and I think as I introduced myself, I it's it's business operations and technology.

150
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,840
And so it really encompasses both.

151
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:57,040
And I would say I would I would almost say it encompasses them both equally.

152
00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:09,360
So it really is business process and the organization of how to how to run and administer a small camping ministry

153
00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,680
or maybe a larger camping ministry, but a smaller organization.

154
00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,840
But then also all the technology that's associated with that.

155
00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:18,920
So it's not just data.

156
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:23,960
In fact, I would say maybe a third of it is data.

157
00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:31,080
Some of it is network and some of it is just server administration and just, you know,

158
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:35,680
tech administration in general and desktop administration and things like that.

159
00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,200
But it's all it's all aspects of technology.

160
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:46,480
But in a smaller organization, that's actually good because I can actually see end to end all the needs

161
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:53,360
and be able to satisfy those using any layer of of the technology stack that's required.

162
00:16:53,360 --> 00:17:01,360
So it could be I have this problem, but I can solve it at the desktop level or I can solve it at the server level

163
00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,640
or I can solve it at, you know, using using tools.

164
00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:11,400
And so it's it's really a unique position to be in to be able to guide that.

165
00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:20,680
And I am working with other leaders in the organization and kind of leading those efforts to to make all the different

166
00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:24,760
teams integrate well with with the data that they have.

167
00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:31,880
I think about the listeners for this podcast and the audience is leaders who are in a nonprofit world,

168
00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,680
tech leaders, data leaders, people who function there.

169
00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:40,480
And a lot of them have found themselves in this place of I'm in an organization that doesn't have any sort of tech

170
00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:46,800
maturity or maybe everything's still paper registrations and maybe the place you found yourself in four years ago.

171
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:53,240
What how do you think about prioritizing the types of tech initiatives you want to step into first?

172
00:17:53,240 --> 00:18:00,840
Because there's a huge list you could come up with of ideas of what to do next and of needs that could be solved by technology.

173
00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:06,440
But as a as a one man band doing it all, how do you think about prioritizing both from a budget perspective

174
00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:13,360
and your bandwidth of taking an organization from low tech technology adoption to to something more mature?

175
00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:15,160
How is that part of this meant for you?

176
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,960
So you aren't you just saying how do we find a Jim Bennett?

177
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,720
That's what I want at my company.

178
00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:28,200
Yes, yes. Every nonprofit out there is like, can I have somebody like Jim to help us go from paper registration to to some sort of

179
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,880
maturity with a warehouse and IT systems?

180
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:37,520
Yeah, so I would say I have three initiatives that I've really been focused on in the past four years.

181
00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:39,680
The first one is digital transformation.

182
00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:44,200
And we've been talking kind of in that space a little bit and we can talk more about that.

183
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:51,200
And then the second one would be just responding to input from the community, the barricade community.

184
00:18:51,200 --> 00:19:00,360
So parents, guests, how do we make camp fit where where our constituents actually are?

185
00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:04,360
We want to we don't we that's why we moved away from paper.

186
00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:10,480
Like we're we're trying to respond to to the input from our community.

187
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:17,120
And then the third one is just building the technical skills of both my team and the whole staff in general.

188
00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:20,400
So those are kind of the three initiatives that I've had.

189
00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:30,720
I guess where I started four years ago was camp didn't even have a network throughout camp itself.

190
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,320
So we've got many buildings throughout camp.

191
00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:46,840
I didn't have a way to actually other than the office itself here, I didn't have a way to actually have any sort of high speed Internet to some buildings that people work out of every day.

192
00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:51,640
We actually had DSL modems when we started to actually provide network to different buildings.

193
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:59,560
And so one of my one of my first priorities was building a foundation of stability with a network itself.

194
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:09,200
So actually, I had to learn how to implement a fiber optic network and like bury it in the ground and terminate everything.

195
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,880
Literally getting your hands dirty like with a fiber.

196
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,080
It was getting my hands dirty.

197
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:26,640
Yes. But but once you have a network infrastructure, OK, now we can actually really start talking about providing services and collecting data and working with data.

198
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:49,120
So it's it's everything from OK, well, now my team has the ability to on their laptop or on their device, be able to connect to SharePoint or be able to work with a spreadsheet that's that's saved in SharePoint or work or be able to even access the Internet for that matter.

199
00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:59,720
Down to even so I implemented a project a few years ago about all of our buildings have fire alarm systems.

200
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:05,080
Well, that's great. It gets the people out of the building if there's a fire.

201
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:12,640
But campus pretty there's a lot of buildings here and we we would really like to know if a building is on fire.

202
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,360
But the panels just get people out of the building.

203
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:30,800
Well, with a with a network in place, we can actually we actually implemented a little Raspberry Pi solution where we hooked up directly to the panel, like the contacts in the panels, wrote a little Python script.

204
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:36,800
I ended up building a small little web service that all the all the Raspberry Pi is dumped to.

205
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:47,600
And it all dumps into a database and hey, we've we've actually have visibility now with an operational dashboard to say here's the status of all of our buildings.

206
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:54,920
And not only that, now I can tell, like, are we having a power problem in the building because things aren't reporting in.

207
00:21:54,920 --> 00:22:05,200
And so we can we can take better advantage of things like that and be able to collect data and use that data effectively to manage camp better.

208
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:15,120
Obviously, the these types of initiatives, though, like take financial resources and they also have some sort of ROI attached to them sometimes, perhaps.

209
00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:20,600
I mean, it's hard to measure the ROI of knowing when a building's on fire, but even some more more tangible things.

210
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:29,640
So how how has budget played into, hey, we need to invest more in this idea of the structure of last four years to do this digital transformation.

211
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,960
And is there a return on that or is it just an efficiency upgrade overall?

212
00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:40,160
How have you thought about investing money into this space and then seeing results from it?

213
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:54,600
Sure. Yeah. When I first started, I are our technology budget was so most organizations technology, at least in the nonprofit space, is somewhere between 10 and 15 percent.

214
00:22:54,600 --> 00:23:01,240
That's pretty normal. And I would say we were on the low side of that, even if we were on the low side of that.

215
00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:10,800
But part of that was because not because we were investing a lot in technology, but because we were investing a lot in a solution that wasn't working well.

216
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:27,960
So we were we had contracted with a with a not a cloud provider, but just like a a rack space type of not rock space, but a rack space type of provider to host our financial system.

217
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:39,040
And so when I first came, I'm like, well, we can just host it here and ended up buying a server and it paid for itself in a year.

218
00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:46,880
And now we have lots of extra resources to use on other things.

219
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:55,440
And so it's things like that where it's looking at the whole solution or the whole implementation of technology and saying it is a priority thing.

220
00:23:55,440 --> 00:24:00,280
And yes, I need to make sure that I have I'm planning for a budget.

221
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:14,320
And our director is very understanding of needing to make sure that we're moving in a direction that that includes technology in the processes that we're building.

222
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:19,240
So I haven't had to have a lot of challenge in that area.

223
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:26,480
But what it really does is it focuses now on like, well, great. Now, what do we actually need to build?

224
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:32,520
What do we need to actually implement so that things are things actually do improve and are better?

225
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:44,360
And so it's through through the years, it's been definitely just providing computing resources to the staff in general.

226
00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:53,080
Again, making sure that we have the right systems in place. So this volunteer management system, again, that was all done on paper before.

227
00:24:53,080 --> 00:25:02,520
So, hey, let's actually find the right system and implement it in a way that not just works for our volunteers that are coming,

228
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:14,320
but also works for the staff that are here and be able to use that information and manage it in a way that makes like our summer staff recruiting process easier.

229
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:22,080
And seeing where our entire volunteers are really are in the process.

230
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:27,600
All of that's really important. And it helps us actually run the place better.

231
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:36,200
So now I'm going to cash in on a rare opportunity where I'm on a call with someone who knows Sawyer almost as long as I do.

232
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:48,200
So, Jim, I want to go a totally different direction in the conversation for a moment and just tell me some cool things about Sawyer as he was getting into the data space.

233
00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:59,920
I want to hear a little bit about that story. How did you guys meet and what was it like to teach this young upcoming data guy the first tricks of the trade?

234
00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:07,680
So Sawyer and I actually met here at camp and he I think it was you came to a family camp, right?

235
00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:09,680
It was a family camp.

236
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:21,160
And I we were we were not quite here yet, but we were we were raising our support to be able to be here.

237
00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,600
And so we got introduced that that weekend.

238
00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,840
And then, I don't know, it was like three weeks later, something like that.

239
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:37,400
I had I was doing technical interviews for the company that we ended up both working for Blue Granite.

240
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:45,880
And I'm like, wait, are you the same Sawyer Nyquist that I just met like three weeks ago?

241
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,480
And so we had a we had a laugh about that.

242
00:26:49,480 --> 00:27:01,440
And then, yeah, it was it was bringing him on the Blue Granite team and I was as I was his coach for the first six months or so.

243
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:07,560
So that was a lot of fun just kind of seeing working with Sawyer just kind of in those early days.

244
00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:15,600
And it was it was very clear to me just from the beginning, like, oh, yeah, this is somebody that belongs on this team.

245
00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,360
If there was ever a risky hire, Jim Jim took it on me.

246
00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:25,000
So it was it was one of those very, very surprising instances where I met Jim.

247
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:29,960
I don't think we didn't talk about the company or Blue Granite where I was interviewing at all.

248
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,240
I didn't know you worked there until I see two weeks later.

249
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:37,000
Oh, look, Jim, that's my interviewer. That name sounds familiar.

250
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:41,880
And then I was even more nervous because I was like, oh, no, this person has interacted with me outside of this.

251
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:53,680
I'm stepping into an interview for a job that I really wanted. And again, I don't think I had the credentials or the any sort of all the skills required for that job.

252
00:27:53,680 --> 00:28:04,760
But I think based on Jim cashing in a lot of internal internal credibility with me, he got he pushed me through and got me the job, which I was been very grateful for.

253
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:16,800
That was part of my job, though, was to find those those those rare diamonds in the rough and be able to recognize that and say, no, no, we really need this guy.

254
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,920
So what what skills was it? That's that's what I want to know.

255
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:27,840
A lot of times we hear about people breaking into the data space and they feel this need to be able to say they got SQL and Python.

256
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:35,720
They're, you know, three years experience in a particular data stack doing something with Tableau or Looker, whatever it is.

257
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:40,280
You know, and we name drop languages, we name drop tech.

258
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:53,800
So what was it about Sawyer that maybe he didn't have all the tech and the languages that came to the surface in those interviews and just encouragement to those who might be seeking those diamonds in the rough?

259
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:58,240
It's more about finding these things, not so much the tech.

260
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:00,080
I'm curious how you would respond to that.

261
00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:06,760
Yeah, there's a really there's a fine balance in there because part of it is the technology.

262
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:15,880
But part part of consulting is interacting well with other people, being able to organize your thoughts well.

263
00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,280
And I'm not saying that Sawyer didn't have all the technology chops.

264
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,360
I was I was saying that.

265
00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:25,480
It was his career that was that was expected.

266
00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:34,520
But it's really the looking at the whole person and saying there's a there's a whole broader view of fit here.

267
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:42,040
And then a lot of what I would do in interviews is, yeah, there's there's technology questions for sure.

268
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:45,880
But a lot of it is methodology and a lot of it is principles.

269
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:55,480
Like it when I talk about building a data warehouse, I mean, yeah, we can we can talk about the different technologies that are associated with that.

270
00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:57,480
But let's talk about methodology.

271
00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:02,400
Let's talk about what are the approaches that you take to building data warehouse?

272
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:07,960
What who do you even need to talk to to make sure that you're you're going to build one well?

273
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,840
And what are the conversations you need to have?

274
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:13,480
And then what are the principles of of building data warehouses?

275
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:17,440
And then we can actually start talking about the technology itself.

276
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:20,640
And that's how you build successful solutions.

277
00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:25,840
And so that's kind of how the interviews go is like, let's let's not just talk about technology.

278
00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,000
Yes, technology is important, but let's talk about methodology.

279
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,200
Let's talk about how we interact with people and all of that.

280
00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:37,960
So one of the things that Sawyer and I both agree about when it comes to data is the soft skills,

281
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:46,160
the ability to interact with people and recognize that many of our problems in processing data,

282
00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:52,800
in analyzing data and presenting that data are people problems, not data problems.

283
00:30:52,800 --> 00:31:04,160
And that's because it comes down to can you communicate well, can you understand the requirements of the business and understand what the leaders are actually thinking they need?

284
00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:07,320
And then you translate that back into a tech solution.

285
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:18,760
So many times data projects or data products have failed because we've taken a very wooden requirement and coded it and delivered on it.

286
00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:27,920
But it wasn't actually what they meant because we didn't take the time to sit and marinate in what was valuable to the business.

287
00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:34,040
So I appreciate you bringing out some of those soft skills as it's just as important as the tech side of things.

288
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:35,400
So thanks. Absolutely.

289
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,640
And then also, I 100% agree with you, Troy.

290
00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:44,280
And then I would go a step further and say, once we have the solutions, we also need adoption.

291
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:50,040
Like, how do we actually make sure that, OK, great, we've got this technology solution.

292
00:31:50,040 --> 00:32:00,960
But if our staff can't use it well or don't know how to use the tools the right way, it's playing the radio in the Ferrari.

293
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:05,080
And so, yeah, that's definitely a part of it, too.

294
00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:13,840
And when you're an IT team of one or even two or three in smaller organizations, you don't have the luxury of just fiddling with servers and code all day.

295
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:18,240
Like, you're even your role, Jim, as a business operations and technology.

296
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:29,760
Like, there's a you have to be interacting with all the different members of the different teams and staff at camp and be able to listen, understand, adapt and innovate alongside them.

297
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,640
And it isn't you can't just do tech techie stuff all day.

298
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:34,840
No, absolutely.

299
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:45,360
We glossed over this a little bit in your introduction, Jim, but you had a very successful career, a lot of meaningful direction and like a lot of.

300
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:49,680
Yeah, I'm going to call you a very successful data person and technologist.

301
00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:54,720
Most people don't leave that career to go run away to the woods in northern Michigan and run in a small camp.

302
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,320
So tell me a little bit, what does camp mean to you?

303
00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:04,200
How did you end up there and why like why is camp important to you from that perspective for you to make such a big transition?

304
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:05,600
At a point in your career?

305
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:07,200
Yeah, that's a great question.

306
00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,040
We I actually came to camp when I was a kid.

307
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:17,960
So I started coming to camp in the summer times when I was eight years old and loved it.

308
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:24,280
I came back when I was in college and was on was a counselor for two years.

309
00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:33,000
I actually I met my wife in college and she came back for a year and counseled for the summer and counseled with me for a second summer.

310
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:40,560
And then through the years, we've been both coming to camp just as adults and as a family,

311
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:43,120
but then also volunteering at camp.

312
00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:49,960
That's been a really important part of of who we are is volunteering and camp is a big part of that.

313
00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:54,200
And so I we've been volunteering for a long time.

314
00:33:54,200 --> 00:34:04,440
And so during the consulting years, I was I was basically volunteering on nights and weekends for camp.

315
00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:12,280
And that was a lot of fun. It's a little overwhelming sometimes when you're on the road and then doing some more volunteer work.

316
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:23,040
But in general, really a few years, we were probably five years, five or six years into the consulting time.

317
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:38,400
And we really just felt a calling to to kind of step away from our current path of this data analytics consulting world and lots of new projects and travel and all that sort of stuff.

318
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:44,920
And really felt a calling to just come and help run this organization here.

319
00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:49,200
And that calling was it was really powerful.

320
00:34:49,200 --> 00:35:18,000
And we we talked to lots of people. I think I even talked to you, sorry about it and talked to lots of people, talked to our pastor and really just felt like it was a it was a calling to come here and and be able to take the experiences that and those little nuggets that we've that I was been working through for years and years and years and be able to just apply it here at camp.

321
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:27,160
In in a much smaller ministry, but a much needed ministry. So it's yeah, I'm assuming today's your question.

322
00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:39,560
I have a follow up on it, maybe to dig a little deeper, but to think about calling and to feel drawn to something, I'm assuming that's because you really believe in the mission of that organization.

323
00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:51,800
So maybe just for those listening in, what is the mission of the camp? You know, a lot of times we think of it is to provide an opportunity for a lot of fun in the summer.

324
00:35:51,800 --> 00:36:01,480
But I believe it's probably more than that. So share what it was about the mission in your own words that really did tug on your heart to make that change.

325
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:04,240
Sure. Yeah. So so camp camp.

326
00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:16,400
Barricade has been around for over 80 years at this point, and it started out as a pastor noticing his the teens in his church were just not paying attention during the sermons.

327
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:33,200
And so he said, you know what? Let's take him camping. And that's how this ministry started was getting kids to really be able to have real conversations about about who God is and, you know, what Christ has done.

328
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:39,840
And that's that continues to this day. We have many thousands of people that come to camp each year.

329
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,800
We have many a couple of thousand volunteers that come.

330
00:36:42,800 --> 00:37:02,400
And it's all to basically proclaim the the ministry work of of Christ and be able to take kids and bring them into the wood, the Northwoods and kind of get them away from technology for a week.

331
00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:09,520
And experience the Northwoods and hear good messages that are Bible based.

332
00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:32,080
And that's that's kind of the ministry of campus is that the mission of campus is to do that well, which is interesting because I'm coming from a from a I'm in a position where I'm implementing technology for a ministry that wants to bring kids here to take away technology.

333
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:37,360
So it's a it's a it's a delicate balance there.

334
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:45,920
And we definitely don't want to change how how this works or what what the campers see.

335
00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:52,800
But we definitely want to run it well. And that doesn't mean that we use technology in appropriate ways.

336
00:37:52,800 --> 00:38:06,240
This is one of the reasons I love the nonprofit world is because people often don't just take a job at a nonprofit randomly. Like there's usually a purposeful reason people land at a specific nonprofit.

337
00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:14,560
It's because there's something meaningful about the work. People will take a job at regular for profit companies just for a paycheck.

338
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:18,160
But the paycheck at the nonprofit is rarely the main reason you're there.

339
00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:25,680
In your case, Jim, like you're a supported staff member, like you have people who donate to you to pay your salary.

340
00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:29,280
And so I love hearing like why can't matters.

341
00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:32,640
My kids have been to Camp Barrett and they will be back there this summer.

342
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:43,040
And so I can just resonate with the importance of sending kids out into the woods and the people who are there that will care for them, care about them, give them great experience.

343
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:48,800
And so, yeah, I'm grateful for the type of work and I'm grateful for how nonprofits operate that way.

344
00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:55,600
They they pull in people who have a passion and an interest in what's happening in that in that organization.

345
00:38:55,600 --> 00:39:04,600
Oh, this has been great. And just just personally, I've I was looking forward to recording this because Jim has been so influential on my career.

346
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:15,840
Jim, with with no exaggeration, my life has been changed pretty significantly because I got that first job that you my first real data job, my first adult data job.

347
00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:21,960
And since then, my career has the opportunities have been before me and my family have just been tremendous.

348
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:28,680
So I'm deeply grateful for the work you had in your prior career life and the work you're still doing at Barricade.

349
00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:32,560
That's still kind of impacting my life as my kids land at camp.

350
00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:40,280
And I use that online camp registration and the parent volunteer for those kind of things that that I'll have to mail in an application.

351
00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:49,200
So, Jim, this has been great. If somebody wanted to find out about you or more about Camp Barricade, where could they go to to find you online, Jim?

352
00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:55,360
Yep. To find out more about camp, you can go to Camp Barricade.

353
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:59,720
That's B-A-R-A-K-E-L dot O-R-G.

354
00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:03,880
And if you're interested in just having a conversation with me, I'm also on LinkedIn.

355
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:08,280
And you can find me there for Camp Barricade on LinkedIn.

356
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:12,720
Random question. Do you guys do weddings at Camp Barricade?

357
00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:20,480
We've done weddings, but only for members of the staff or family members of the staff.

358
00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:26,240
That's fair, because I just want to know if you know what the bride said when she dropped her bouquet.

359
00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:31,560
I don't know. Whoops a daisy.

360
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:33,960
That's really bad. Yes.

361
00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:40,640
You know, one of my small goals of this podcast is that I will do enough episodes that Troy will run out of dad jokes.

362
00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:43,240
But we'll see. I don't know. He might have a long list.

363
00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:45,240
I've got a long list of dad jokes.

364
00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:55,120
And that was this one. I tried to sneak it in so it wasn't as obvious, but I guess I failed.

365
00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:57,400
All right. Well, that's all for today, folks.

366
00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:27,360
Thanks so much for joining us and I hope you join us next time for Making Data Matter.

