In the clamour of constant challenge to be more data-driven, businesses worldwide are pushing the agenda on a data-driven culture and processes. “Without data, all you have is an opinion” as the legendary engineer W. Edwards Deming once said.

Harvard Business Review (HBR) produced a fascinating report, just a 7 minute read, entitled “How CEOs Can Lead a Data-Driven Culture”.

They argue that even the leading global businesses are struggling to apply the data focus as effectively on their own internal business operations as they are in consumer interactions. Why?

Surveys suggest that the problem may be getting worse;

• 63% of U.S. executives do not believe their companies are data-driven
• 73% felt that data skills are harder to learn than other business skills
• 95% of them said that cultural, organizational and process challenges presented the biggest roadblocks to adoption
• 5% cited technology as the problem

These are the same challenges associated with any major business change or transformation. Is it time to change tactics? Is it time to appoint a Chief Data Officer?

In a data driven culture, there’s no such thing as a chill day. New technology capabilities won’t address the root issues. Attitudes must change.

You can read the full article here. You can also see a recent webcast recording featuring a GBS leader discussing this topic here.  

Thanks for reading . . . 

Our ‘Something To Consider’ snippets are framed as small, digestible, ‘dashes of insight’ around the pillars of what we define as “World Class Finance” – Process Optimization, Financial Control and Compliance, and Risk Assurance, all underpinned by technology enablement and integration.