The past few years have brought out the importance of data to help companies improve their performance. Generative AI (GenAI) uses huge amounts of data to help transform businesses and has received the most attention in recent years.
At the same time, basic analysis of data is helping companies make better decisions, improve business processes and help understand customers better.
However, despite huge investments, tools and qualified data analysts progress in AI has been slow and uncertain. many of the data science models are not implemented in live systems and do not yield economic benefits. Regular people without data analyst training do not understand what is to be done and fear that AI will change and eliminate their jobs. Most companies do not even use the data available with them depriving themselves of information to make better decisions.
This suggests that it is essential to define and build cultures that are essential to support data analysis and science at scale.
Fresh look.
The root causes are clear, namely the use of data has been an afterthought by hiring a few data analysts and letting them analyse available data with little guidelines and supervision. Some of them may succeed and these data analysts may succeed in eliminating bad data to help better understand business better. this may succeed in the short run but prove to be a failure if continued over the long run.
What is required is a fresh look, a new enlightened management paradigm that encompasses a common language an integrated way of how data should be used and a clearly defined organisational structure that incorporates how data should be used and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for everyone. It needs to incorporate the corporate culture and relationships with other stakeholders that advance or hold back the effective use of data.
Use digital native to guide your actions.
Google can be an example of a digital native that has made data a part of its mainstream. It has made data analytics and AI a part of its decision-making, embedded it into its products and services and has pioneered many processes that are used in today’s GenAI systems.
Other companies like Amazon and Meta have similarly used data analysis and GenAi extensively and it is viewed as an essential part of its culture and its business.
Learn from other mainstream businesses.
If following in the footsteps of companies like Google, Amazon or Meta may seem a very steep climb, companies can look to selective functions within the organisation that have incorporated data analytics into their everyday work. The finance function is a strong candidate as most companies have automatically incorporated data analytics to give accurate information on business performance among other requirements.
Going mainstream is the exact opposite of the siloed approach one finds in most organisations. The finance function is perhaps the only exception.
- The finance function is considered strategic and the CFO is usually part of the inner circle and involved in all major decisions.
- The tenure of the CFO is much longer and normally he stays in the organisation for a lifetime to provide continuity in decision-making.
- The finance employee is integrated into every function and reports directly to the corporate finance office.
- Practically every team leader/ manager knows how to conduct basic financial tasks and spend substantial time doing finance-related work.
- The finance employee ensures that the data it uses is of high quality.
Get everyone involved.
Data analysis technologies can be quite difficult to understand even though they may seem easy to comprehend. It is easy for non-technical employees to feel overwhelmed but they are essential for the successful implementation of data analytics.
Successful transition has the potential to reduce the drudgery in most jobs, supplement others and create whole new high-paying jobs. Leaders should help mitigate the worries of their employees and include as many regular employees in their data effort. These repair employees can help in data analysis and improve team performance. These efforts can help build up confidence in these employees to take on more such efforts.
Companies must make significant changes in their management paradigms to incorporate culture into every aspect of their working and culture and senior leaders must take the lead.
Your Data Strategy Needs to Include Everyone
by Tom Davenport, Roger W. Hoerl, Diego Kuonen, and Thomas C. Redman
HBR 2023/06
R2G 