What is a Data Driven Organization?

We live in a world where the onslaught of information far exceeds our ability to consume it.  Because of this, companies pay ridiculous amounts of money to ensure that their shiny thing (product or service) is top of mind, the first search result, and the “latest and greatest”.   We hear about the next product or technology and get lost in its hype so much that we NEED whatever it is that the hype is describing.  Unfortunately, the world of Business Intelligence (BI)  is no different, having a new product or technology that “revolutionizes” the space every few months.  Over the past few years, BI has engorged itself with technologies that every organization needs in order to succeed.  

But what does your organization need? 

One of the most important thing that is missing from most organizations’ information strategy is that of discernment. Discernment in this case can be the simple act of not conforming to the hype, but understanding what and how a specific technology brings value to the business.  Ironically enough, this is exactly what BI is intended to help with, but as the technology adapts / evolves, we too get lost in the new technology or features.  The excitement of new causes us to forget about the reason that business intelligence is needed in the first place:  to provide valuable information to decision makers at the time most necessary to execute strategy.  An organization that discerns in this fashion is likely on the road to become a data driven organization.  

What are some attributes of a data driven organization: 

A data driven organization understands its customer

An organization exists to serve its customer(s).  In understanding this, a data driven organization works to consistently improve its ability to understand its customers, to understand its customer’s relationship with the organization, and the organizations ability to serve its customers.  This may mean moving from a “target customer” mentality to that of customer clusters which uniquely identify the different types of customers and relationships as opposed to serving a general customer persona which may not reflect the more diverse customer base.  A data driven organization understands how to align their products or services to best fit their customer base, and how they can continually improve their relationship with the customer.  

A data driven organization has deep understanding of the strategy and its application                    

An organization’s strategy is representative of a great deal of analysis which results in a deep understanding of why the organization exists, and goals for the short, mid and long term. Each business unit should understand its role in executing the strategy, and should have a clear understanding on how their daily work helps in this execution.  A data driven organization uses this understanding to compare the performance of the business unit against planned and specific goals to effectively reach the organization’s strategy.   

A data driven organization knows that data is an asset                     

Data assets are often times one of the last things that organizations think of when attempting to answer questions.  There is generally a dependency on an employee’s previous experiences to help answer questions, but these experiences may or may not be relevant to the current organization’s questions.  A data driven organization understands what information is available to them in the various systems and applications and how this data can be used to improve decision making and business function.  They consider the data so important to their business that complete access to their data is a major consideration for any software purchase and vendor relationship.

A data driven organization focuses on small frequent wins

A data driven organization understands that many small changes will often times be more effective than one or a few larger changes.  By understanding this, an organization will constantly look for possible improvements - which engages the creativity and intellectual capital of its employees.  These small changes over time will help transform the organization and excite employees in achieving the strategy laid out by organizational leaders.

A data driven organization does not accept the way “its always been done"

The mentality of continuing to do something because its always done that way has no place in a data driven organization.  This perceived arrogance is replaced with a constant introspection that will result in a culture of targeted change.  The data driven organization accepts that more information about the products, services and customers will often result in improvements to the business.  Introspection allows the organization to continually serve its customer more effectively.  

Becoming a data driven organization takes effort at all levels of the organization, and is something that is uniquely applied at each stage in the business.  Perhaps the most challenging part of becoming a data driven organization is that of adoption.  A change to the organization’s mindset in the above areas will help the adoption process.  A data driven organization requires discerning leaders who understand who the business is, and how data can help make more informed decisions faster.