This is a different type of blog post for me. I recently reread “What’s the Future of Business – Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences” by Brian Solis. It was written in 2013 but still applies today and it got me thinking. So, this is a blog post of thoughts related to data governance and data intelligence that came from re-reading the book. I will discuss the connection between data governance and organization success, empowered staff, the need for a framework, necessity of having tools and having a culture for insight.
Data governance for organizational success
From page 81 of the Solis book, I expanded on some of his thoughts and came up with the following:
- Every organization has some data that it needs and uses
- Without data governance you cannot have trusted data
- Without trusted data you cannot have analysis and insights
- Without insights, relevant and meaningful strategies are elusive
- Without strategy, there can be no return on investment (ROI)
- Without ROI you cannot have organizational success
Everything is connected. If you connect the dots you will see that you need data governance of the organization’s data for there to be success. Feel free to check out resources related to data trust in our trusted data blog post.
Need empowered people at your organization
“Connected consumers are empowered, informed and demanding.” (pg. 84)
“Organizations that embrace the spirit of intrepreneurialism will empower employees to experiment through failure and success to improve engagement and morale. And, by embracing customers, insights will inspire relevant products, services, and processes.” (pg. 177).
Consumers, creators, and data stewards should have empowerment but especially an organization needs empowered data stewards. If these consumers are employees at your organization, then data governance aids in this empowerment and in them being informed. That is your goal – connected consumers and I feel one way you do this is with data governance. I was thinking that your staff (and even students at a higher education institution) are ready for empowerment over their data and access. See our resources regarding data stewardship in this blog post.
Need for a data governance framework at your organization
“Winning requires a simple framework built upon a solid foundation of internal collaboration: listen, learn, engage, and adapt to enhance and optimize your performance in each Moment of Truth (MOT)” (pg. 121).
This got me thinking about the importance of having a data governance framework in place that allows for the efficient collaboration between folks. Our thoughts on a data governance framework is located in this blog post.
Importance for organization to have a data-driven culture
“Organizations need to focus on cultivating a culture of adaptation rooted in customer- and employee-centricity and, more importantly, empowerment. Culture is everything. It is and should be intentional. It should be designed.” (pg. 177)
Well known marketer, Seth Godin says, “Culture is almost always improved not by what the masses want tomorrow, but by what a small and dedicated group of people are willing to commit to for the long run. ‘People like us do things like this’ is the recipe for culture.” Feel free to check out our blog post re: culture.
Investment in some technology and/or tools is critical to improve your insights
“… the organizations that invest in technology, teams, and processes that will translate activity into actionable insights.” (pg. 179)
Strongly suggest getting a data governance solution like the Data Cookbook in place which aids in data trust, having a framework for success, helps empower data stewards and moves toward a data-driven culture at the organization.
To effectively use data in normal times and crisis times you need:
- Rapidly found, accurate and trusted answers
- Clear paths from question to answer
- Ability to quickly make decisions on new types of data
- Empowering rapid decision-making with defined roles and tasks
- Transparency in decision making
I know that this is slightly different type of post. I always encourage people to read and write. It gets the mind going. I enjoy reading and thinking so this was an enjoyable one to write. Let me know your thoughts.
Additional resources on data governance adoption and return on investment can be found in this blog post. You can access all of our data governance resources here.
IData has a solution, the Data Cookbook, that can aid the employees and the organization in its data governance, data intelligence, data stewardship and data quality initiatives. IData also has experts that can assist with data governance, reporting, integration and other technology services on an as needed basis. Feel free to contact us and let us know how we can assist.
Photo Credit: StockSnap_EZULKMS1QX_dataROI-rollercoaster_Bp #B1151
