Why Lakefront
Finding the right way to implement a data practice in your organization can be challenging. The data industry is constantly evolving, and your business's unique needs, complexity, and culture will influence whether it's best to build an in-house team, seek overseas talent, or hire a consultancy like Lakefront to support your data vision. This decision can be daunting, with many angles to consider. At Lakefront, we believe there is merit to each approach, and sometimes, we may not be the right fit. We pride ourselves on taking an objective approach to helping you make this decision, as we don't believe in selling just to sell.
Our Core Principles
Lakefront is a company founded by practitioners. Our goal is to create an environment of professionalism and respect where every member is a working data engineer, data scientist, or data analyst. We don't hold any individual or group to specific revenue targets. Instead, each person owns a client relationship, focusing all their efforts on what is best for the client's business, not the collective bottom line. This intentional approach allows our consultants to focus on optimal solutions for each business that partners with Lakefront. We believe that instilling this methodology will lead to natural long-term success.
Our core principles are Ownership, Integrity, Empathy, and Knowledge. These principles describe what every employee at Lakefront embodies. Here's how we think about each:
Ownership: Ownership is everything at Lakefront. Owning successes and mistakes with a client and internally builds important foundations of trust, essential for fostering any relationship. We understand that relationships are just as important as technical acumen, if not more so. Our ability to grow relationships with each other, our clients, and our partners is what sets our business apart from other firms.
Integrity: Our clients trust our judgment and our advice on the best possible solutions to their complex problems. Maintaining that trust requires excellent integrity in our decisions, both as a business and as individuals. If a client or partner feels we are fair in our judgment, we can disagree and push each other while maintaining mutual respect. This leads to the best outcomes. Internally, integrity builds a strong team with mutual respect, allowing everyone to hold themselves and others accountable.
Empathy: We are in the services business, and our ability to empathize with clients, teammates, and partners is essential for success. Empathy allows us to take a deep breath, think before reacting, and make the best decisions during challenging conversations.
Knowledge: Knowledge is our primary differentiator. The constant pursuit of knowledge makes our consultants stand out. As the industry evolves, maintaining a competitive edge is essential for success, and we strive to be the knowledge resource our clients need.
How We Define Success
At Lakefront, there is no exit strategy, no 5 or 10-year plan for growth designed to attract venture capitalists. Our business is set up to run indefinitely with two goals in mind:
Client Satisfaction: Every client that works with Lakefront will be completely and continuously satisfied with our partnership. We ensure that a Lakefront team member feels not only like an extension of the client's organization but also the most skilled employee in their position within that organization.
Employee Satisfaction: Every employee at Lakefront will be completely and continuously satisfied with their employment. We prioritize our employees, even at the business's detriment. Acquiring and retaining top talent requires fostering a culture second to none in compensation, benefits, career opportunities, agency over workplace decisions, and mutual respect for every person, regardless of background.
By embodying these principles and defining success through client and employee satisfaction, Lakefront aims to create lasting, impactful partnerships and a thriving, respectful work environment.