The biggest mistake leaders make while pursuing data science, and how you can avoid it
Welcome to a new edition! This newsletter will take you about 3 minutes to read.
1. Spotlight: The biggest mistake leaders make in data science
What’s the biggest challenge organizations face when becoming data-driven?
It’s not the lack of talented data scientists. It’s not the lack of fancy tools. It’s not funding, or ‘picking the right business problems’ (although those two are big too).
It’s the culture!
‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’ - Peter Drucker
The most brilliant strategies amount to nothing when the organizational culture resists change.
When Gartner asked executives what their biggest roadblock to data analytics was, here’s what they said (picture below):
Culture shows up as the top issue in numerous other industry reports. So, how do you shift the organizational culture from being a culprit into a catalyst?
Start with the leadership: Culture is quite like a leader’s shadow. Leaders create and shape the culture, often unintentionally. When culture becomes dysfunctional, the leader must destroy it.
Identify change agents: Once the fire of change has been lit, it must be kindled. Identify data stewards who can act as your change agents. They demystify data and make it reach the corners of your organization.
Embed it into your workflow: Rewire your business processes to leverage insights from analytics. Use it to drive reviews and day-to-day conversations. Use data stories to make insights consumable and exciting.
Educate end-users: Ignorance breeds fear. Fear in turn leads to distrust. People resist change because they cling on to the familiar. How do you fight ignorance? Educate them by teaching data literacy.
If all that sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is! This is the kind of effort it takes to make data science truly deliver value for you. But, most leaders miss planning for this.
When done right the payoff is huge too. Deloitte found that 80% of the companies that displayed attributes of an analytics culture beat their business goals.
“The culture of a company is the sum of behaviors of all its people.” - Michael Kouly
Yes, you can slay the culture dragon to unleash data-driven decision making!
2. Industry Roundup:
Article: Why Analytics’ small ‘Aha’ moments can have a big impact
3 minutes | Forbes | Joel Shapiro
Do you expect your data analytics project to make people say “Wow, we’ve never seen that before!”? If yes, you might be disappointed. Joel Shapiro shares two practical ways in which the small wins from data are equally valuable. Check out his practical tips.
Article: An executive primer on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
16 minutes | McKinsey | Federico Berruti, Pieter Nel, Rob Whiteman
Most AI researchers say that human-like bots aren’t coming anytime soon. But big advances are expected in places we may not expect. Check out this article that defines AGI, explains how it will progress, and shows what executives must do to be prepared.
3. From my Space:
Article: How can leaders transform into master storytellers? AI has the answer
6 minutes | The Enterprisers Project
What do great movies, speeches, and business presentations share in common? It’s the ‘emotional arc’. With interesting examples and AI-driven evidence, I discuss how you can become a great storyteller, in 3 simple steps.
Article: How can data help businesses tide over the current crisis?
6 minutes | Analytics magazine by Informs
Companies are reeling under the effects of the pandemic. How can data and analytics help businesses not just survive, but thrive in this crisis? I share 5 ways in which data can help.
Hope you found this edition insightful! Have any comments? Let me know.
Yours,
Ganes.
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