“Data Driven”​ is still Sexy

There has been a trend growing lately where people in an attempt to be either cool, cutting edge, plain honest or all of the above have been disrespecting the notion of being data driven.

Some have been taken the notion that they are not data driven, but data informed, data enabled and other again have called bull*hit on the idea that data should be driving anything.

And I get that.

We make the plays and set the rules

From a human perspective, we need to feel we are in the driver seat, we call the shots, make the plays and set the rules.

Well, that is not the point.

At least not in my book… or any of the books I have read.

And I have heard all the cliches, if Ford had asked people what they wanted, they would have said “faster horses” and if Steve Jobs had asked people “there would have been no iPhone.”

But sorry to break the news. Odds are we are most likely neither Jobs, nor Ford, no matter how much we would like to be.

At the end of the day this is still just splitting hair.

Most businesses are “data something”

Most businesses are “data something”, since the opposite being “non-analytical” or “intuitive” just doesn’t fly in most businesses. We might make distinction between inspired, informed, enlightened or 10 other terms to individualize, but what remains after that?

Data…

Data cannot decide for you

You are hopefully basing your decisions on data. And no, data cannot decide for you. It does not replace human intelligence, since it mainly tells us where we have been.

It might on a good day support a specific decision, but it cannot replace strategic thinking at the current level of data quality.

So let’s go back to the data.

And why you should actually be data driven.

Yes… but…

You should.

What I feel is being overlooked in the conversation is the drive for data which becomes more and more overwhelming as a driver.

“The drive for data”

Not “the driven by data”, but “the drive for data”.

Because the drive for data is not only a question of defining a data strategy of what data you would like here and now, but also more importantly, what data will bring value to the organisation in the long run.

What data are we chasing to enhance our capabilities to operate even better as a business?

Because data driven is also stopping and asking the question… “what do we need to know in the future that will help us better navigate, compeed or shine?“

What could you do with the data you don’t have?

So instead of only focusing on what you can do with the data you have, also lift your gaze and consider what you could do with the data you don’t yet have.

Taking the first look at what could be, is a big step toward “data greatness”