[DPC] Opportunity: Seeing Business Impact over the Horizon

Our TrailMap for Today

1. The Problem with Typical ROI Promises

2. A Different Perspective: The Impact Horizon

3. Unlocking the Power of Your Data

4. Understanding the Science of Data Alchemy

5. Your Impact Horizon in Action

6. Your Turn: What is the Impact Horizon of Your Data-Powered Initiative?

1. The Problem with Typical ROI Promises

Have you ever bought into an ROI promise that sounded too good to be true? For many construction leaders, the answer is yes.

Once the contract is signed, the sales rep vanishes. The promised ROI becomes a mirage. You're left cleaning up the ConTech mess.

Traditional ROI has become more of a hollow sales tactic than a reliable predictor of potential business impact.

The critical problem with the traditional ROI is that the number is tied to the "buy now!" technology. It’s like trying to measure the value of a car based solely on its advertised horsepower without considering how well it performs on the road.

It’s time to stop falling for hollow promises and start focusing on real, concrete benefits.

What is the impact to our business over the horizon?

2. A Different Perspective: The Impact Horizon

The Impact Horizon moves beyond vague ROI to a practical, trailblazer-driven model that provides an estimates of the dollar value of solving real pain points.

Being able to put a $$ value ballpark estimate to eliminating hours of manual data entry each week.

Freeing up time for your team means not only saving costs but also empowering them to work on tasks that truly add value. Understanding that business value is the power of using the Impact Horizon.

More than just a number - the Impact Horizon is about clarity and strategic decision-making.

It's your numbers - not a sales pitch.

The Impact Horizon is a "show your work", collaborative asset to drive alignment, to get everyone on board, and to use to assess the results at the end of the end of initiative.

How does this magical tool work?

We'll get there. But first let's briefly explore the "power of data".

3. Unlocking the Power of Your Data

Construction companies sit on piles of potentially valuable data, but it’s often locked away—trapped by silos, manual processes, and of limited utility.

And that is the opportunity for trailblazing construction leaders.

Harnessing data to drive business performance has been proven across industries. Leading advisory firms like Gartner and McKinsey tout developing and executing a company data strategy as being the most effective technology investment:

Imagine your team making smarter decisions, finding new opportunities, and providing better service—all because you harnessed your data.

The message is clear: data can be a powerful strategic asset.

But it’s not just about "having data". It’s about harnessing your data to power your business.

Tapping into your data to turn everyday challenges and bottlenecks into opportunities for improvement and growth.

And each challenge you tackle is a step toward transforming data from a cost and liability into a strategic business asset.

How?

4. Understanding the Science of Data Alchemy

What if I told you we could turn $1 into $2?

Effectively turn lead into gold? Sounds crazy, right? But what if it's possible with the right strategy?

Data alchemy is about two things:

1. Cutting costs

2. Boosting insights.

You can make data management cheaper - streamlining data processes, eliminating manual entry, and eliminating errors that result in costly rework.

And you can improve business insight that elevates business operations - having timely and accurate information, reduced risks, smarter decisions.

That's it. Simple but incredibly powerful.

But like da Vinci said,

5. Your Impact Horizon in Action

So we have a problem, a bottleneck, an operational challenge. Check. Lot's of those in the business.

We have a sense of how harnessing data could improve the situations. Yep. It's pretty obvious.

So what's your Impact Horizon?

Answer these two questions:

1. How does it reduce data management friction and cost?

2. How does insight improve our business?

A Case Study:

Let's look at a real Impact Horizon in action:

We're working with a trailblazing client who is looking at multiple data-powered opportunities.

One specific challenge they have is streamlining field work orders through to finance.

The details:

• They have high-potential team member tasked with manually matching field work orders to projects and entering the data into the finance system.

• Approximately two days a week is consumed with this manual task.

• Pricing change orders on projects is delayed

• Project teams and management don't have the operational insight they're looking for to effectively manage risk.

Managing the field work order data is costly and the desired information is delayed and trapped.

What's the Impact Horizon?

The data management costs:

• 16 hours of low value work per week.

• $40 per hour labor cost.

• ~$33,000 per year.

This doesn't include the negative impact on moral and job satisfaction on this high potential employee.

To examine the potential business impact we leverage the art and science of management:

• 80 concurrent projects (average)

• $10 per project per week - estimated business impact of improved work order visibility

• ~$41,000 per year.

The Impact Horizon for this initiative is $74,000 per year.

Is the Impact Horizon a precise and accurate predictor of the return on the initiative?

Guaranteed no.

Is it an understandable and defensible tool to make an investment decision?

Absolutely. Would you invest $20-30K for a potential $70K business outcome?

Most trailblazer would.

How about you?

6. Your Turn: What is the Impact Horizon of Your Data-Powered Initiative?

Don’t wait for opportunities to pass by. The time to unlock your data’s potential is now.

Here’s how to get started with your own Impact Horizon:

1. Pick a major challenge that drains time or money: Choose a challenge your team regularly faces, like manual data entry or poor operational visibility.

2. Estimate the Costs of Inaction: Calculate the current time, cost, or efficiency losses this issue incurs.

3. Calculate Potential Impact: Using the Impact Horizon, estimate how much resolving this challenge could save or improve.

This will tell you if solving your problem is "worth it".

Next week we'll explore the TrailMap. Charting the data-powered initiative from where you are to where you want to be.

The Path Forward with Aedo

If you’re ready to explore how data-powered insights could transform your organization, Aedo is here to provide the tools and guidance needed to turn these insights into actionable outcomes. By building your own Impact Horizon, you can take the first step toward measurable, self-driven business improvement that’s tailored to your organization’s unique needs.

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