Data Leaders: Its time for more ambition

Take on all legacy issues and deliver enterprise transformations

"We get the mission to modernise how everyone works with data. We’ve seen the benefits, we're really supportive. But are you asking for enough? Can you tell us when you will finish and move on to the next thing?".

Those questions forever changed how I view data transformations. I was pitching to an investment committee for more budget to give more people the training and tooling to move their data work to the cloud and to proper analytics tools, not spreadsheets.

Despite having prepared for curve balls, the answer to both questions was no. No, I wasn't asking for enough investment. No, I didn't know how long it would take to complete the transformation.

However, whilst I wasn't prepared to answer those questions, I was familiar with frustration behind the question. By year three of a data transformation programme, every data leader I knew had seen their passion for the project turn into frustration for what felt like a never-ending task.

Outside of the meeting, the answers to these questions were obvious. In the 2020s, everyone who regularly does data work in Excel should be given the tools and training to move their work to the cloud. It supports automation, greater collaboration, and controls, the benefits are endless.

However, I was puzzled by why I'd held back and asked for anything less. I'd just become Chief Data Officer, yet my approach to driving change was "evangelise the benefits of data and then support those who put their hand up for change".

That's not how CFOs work. They don't ask for volunteers to follow financial planning and budgeting processes. When they moved to ERPs, everyone moved to use the ERP.

When Chief Customer or Commercial Officers brought in CRMs, they didn't make them optional and say it's OK if you prefer paper files or spreadsheets. Everyone had to use the CRM.

I know I was alone with how I approached change. Almost every data leader I know accepts that multiple data platforms exist in their organisation and that spreadsheets (a tool released in the same era as the Sony Walkman) are used for vast amounts of critical data work.

When this problem is acknowledged, it is considered too large to solve or someone else's responsibility.

I concluded that two things need to change.

First, CDOs should be responsible for running a transformation programme that gives every Excel worker up the skills and tooling to migrate their data work to a proper cloud-based environment. This is a change programme as necessary as the rollout of computers in the 90s.

If this sounds too far, then it is worth reviewing the precedent Jeff Bezos set with his "API mandate". If you've not seen it, here was his memo to the company:

1. All teams will henceforth expose their data and functionality through service interfaces.

2. Teams must communicate with each other through these interfaces.

3. There will be no other form of interprocess communication allowed: no direct linking, no direct reads of another team's data store, no shared-memory model, no back-doors whatsoever. The only communication allowed is via service interface calls over the network.

4. It doesn't matter what technology they use. HTTP, Corba, Pubsub, custom protocols — doesn't matter.

5. All service interfaces, without exception, must be designed from the ground up to be externalisable. That is to say, the team must plan and design to be able to expose the interface to developers in the outside world. No exceptions.

6. Anyone who doesn't do this will be fired.

7. Thank you; have a nice day!

That memo was sent 21 years ago to everyone in Amazon. We all know what happened next. Amazon became one of the most successful organisations in history. It is time we all followed his lead.

This may be too giant a leap for many organisations, which leads me to a second conclusion.

If a data leader truly believes that data can transform ways of working in every part of the organisation, then the change program should be broken down into at most three phases.

Phase 1 - Share your bold vision for how big the data transformation should be in your company. It might differ from the vision I outlined above, but it should be bold.

Phase 2 - If you can't get a transformation program to deliver that vision signed off from day 1 then agree on what evidence is needed to convince the board of the vision and run a pilot to gather that evidence.

Phase 3 - Go big and take on the entire transformation.

If you deliver a successful pilot in phase 2 and still can't get investment for phase 3, try one more pilot. If that doesn't work, then change company.

As data leaders, we've been talking about the disruptive potential of data for over a decade. If we don't deliver this decade, boards will rightfully lose faith in data like they lost faith in IT.

Those questions changed a lot. They resulted in a change programme that saw 700 people start a data apprenticeship in phase 1. There was no pilot. They resulted in millions of returns. And they eventually led to the title of the newsletter - data with intent.

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