Breathing Life into Data Strategies
Inspiration is the missing component in data strategies. Create competitive advantage with data strategies that are Sound, Ambitious, Inspirational and Lucrative
The goal of a data strategy should be to create competitive advantage from an organisation’s data landscape – its data sets, products and algorithms.
This is not easy. It will not happen overnight. But it doesn’t need to be complicated. To create competitive advantage from data, a data strategy must be sound, ambitious, inspirational, and lucrative. That’s it.
I developed the SAIL model for data strategies to bring together these four elements and everything I’ve learned from data strategies that I have developed, studied or witnessed.
Most data strategies are technically sound, but many spend too much time thinking about the technical foundations. They end up in a loop of endless data refinement, continually working on data quality and data platforms. Whilst sound, these strategies are neither ambitious nor lucrative nor inspirational. They end up as little more than a handbook for data management.
I’ve seen some technical leaders try to turn around this type of strategy by adding ambition to the mix. They set ambitious targets to get all data into the cloud or to build out all capabilities on the modern data stack. This is data’s version of the build data and they will come approach. Unfortunately building with no use case in mind is expensive, and these programmes usually fail to deliver returns and lose their budgets.
Recently a lot of data articles have discussed the need for data work to deliver value. This is the lucrative pillar of the SAIL model coming into play. You can go a long way with a data strategy that is sound, ambitious, and lucrative. I think of this as the data turnaround model. Data teams prioritise work based solely on ROI. I’ve been in a team like this, and at its peak, we reported a 96 times ROI to the CEO.
The data turnaround is a brilliant way to start a data transformation, but, ultimately, it is not sustainable. Even with a high ROI, boards will get bored because ROI isn’t what motivates people. Organisations are typically motivated by their purpose and delivery to customers. In time data teams that run a turnaround approach will be asked – “You’re working on valuable work, but is it the right work?”. If the organisation is financially stable and your work isn’t closely aligned with the organisation’s purpose or delivering direct value to customers then the answer is no.
This is where the final pillar of SAIL comes in. Inspirational. Inspirational data strategies kindle a sense of purpose within data teams and the organisation. Inspiration adds soul to data strategy. A rallying cry that ignites action and commitment. Inspiration assures longevity of a data strategy and board members continued interest. With longevity and the other pillars of SAIL, competitive advantage is assured.
Inspiration in data will look different for different organisations. For some, it will be about being trusted by and intimately knowing their customers - to serve them better. For some, it will be about driving innovation and leading the industry with state-of-the-art solutions. For others, it could be about leveraging data to make a positive societal or environmental impact. But, in every case, an inspirational data strategy goes beyond just looking at the numbers and statistics; it's about aligning data initiatives with the core purpose and values of the organisation.
A data strategy that cannot inspire the organisation and its people cannot create a lasting competitive advantage.
As I’ve developed the SAIL model, I’ve realised that it explains a lot of the different approaches I’ve seen to data. We’ve touched on Endless Data Refinement, Build and they Will Come and Data Turnarounds but there are lots more characters in this story. From Data Firesale where execs believe they can get instant returns from selling data to strategies that Boil the Data Ocean by getting all data right.
Have a look at the full model below and see where you fall.
Follow this newsletter for further articles that expand on these characters and give advice on developing a competitive advantage from data.
"For some, it will be about being trusted by and intimately knowing their customers" <- If not using sales as the success metric, how could an organization measure how well it knows its customers?
Great model Benny. I'd love to try and apply this to some of our brands and their data stacks!