Simon Asplen-Taylor: How Lloyd's Took Data-Driven Business from Theory to Practice

Lloyds Chief Data Officer Simon Asplen-Taylor shares his tips on
realizing the potential of data to drive business decision-making

When putting together their strategy to become more data-driven
Lloyds did something unusual. They published it.


In this week’s episode of the Business of Data Podcast, Simon
Asplen-Taylor, Chief Data Officer at Lloyd’s, argues that the
publication of their data-driven strategy was an essential first
step to turning theory into practice.


“When you're doing something across a market, what you have to
watch out for is that everyone understands what the overall
strategy is, so we wrote a data-driven strategy called Blueprint
Two,” says Taylor. “And that's unusual. I think most data
strategies are internal. This is very much external.”


As they refined the strategy, Taylor and his team crowdsourced
feedback using a tool to promote engagement, encourage feedback
and create a more complete product. The result was a document
that accounts for the priorities of multiple stakeholders in the
Lloyd’s universe.


“If I said to you, ‘I know the answer’ to something, you might
well then start questioning me, but if we work together on an
answer, it feels a bit more inclusive,” Taylor says. “You have to
be prepared to learn new things and understand that there may be
challenges you didn't know about.”


Building confidence in the initiative is another crucial step
towards success. To do this, Taylor recommends focusing on
overall objectives, especially if the person is non-technical.
It’s a process that Taylor compares to watching a movie.


“[When] you watch a [movie] you don't necessarily know how it was
all put together. But if someone forced you to watch the ‘making
of’ the movie before you watched it, then actually it wouldn't be
so exciting,” Taylor quips. “Start with the story and explain it
in their language.”
Key Findings


Collaborate on your strategy. Getting feedback
and engagement from key stakeholders will build trust and
produce a better result.


Take a consultative approach to
implementation. Understanding what drives your
stakeholders may uncover issues you hadn’t considered.


Speak the language of your audience. If CEOs
care about increasing revenue, reducing costs, and improving
customer satisfaction, then tell them how your initiative will
achieve that.