Wield the Data Sword
As oil was the commodity that powered the success of the Industrial Revolution, so data is exponentially powering the age of digital transformation and connectivity, referred to as the "Fourth Industrial Revolution." Remember when data stored in gigabytes seemed large? Due to the astonishing accumulation of data in our connected world we are now measuring the global digital datasphere in terms of zettabytes (ZB), which are the equivalent of one trillion gigabytes, and yottabytes, which are 1000 zettabytes (no, this is not a "Star Wars" spin-off). In fact, the annual size of the global digital datasphere is predicted to grow from an estimated 44ZB in 2020 to 175ZB in 2025.
Bringing this closer to our own operating reality, on average each day in 2020, 306 billion emails were sent, and five billion searches were made. I’ll do the math for you: That’s nearing 112 trillion emails in one year! The data growth rates on all things digital is staggering and in many instances, business sectors are only gaining momentum.
The print industry has acutely experienced the pace of change wrought by the attrition of technology and digital transformation. Like any great industry, print has disaggregated in some segments (remember carbon interleaved forms?) and reaggregated in other, chiefly digital, segments. A key result of the growth in digital capabilities from customer-facing storefronts to connected production devices is the rampant accumulation of data. More than any other era in the print industry's lifespan, companies have access to massive amounts of actionable data.
The successful curation of the data springing from your business operating systems has the potential to unearth rich clues for improved growth and performance. However, it can be a daunting task to know where to start and where to stop. “Analysis paralysis” is a genuine concern when opening the data flood-gates. Yet, a balanced approach to metrics and analytics and understanding how to apply them in your business is critical to advancing a data-driven culture and galvanizing a new agility.
To better understand the measurement and analysis of data, it is important to clearly define these terms since they are used interchangeably in most businesses.
First, “metrics” are collections of data that answer the "what" of measurement. Important metrics are defined and tracked as Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and Critical Success Factors (CSF’s). Second, “analytics” is the analysis, interpretation and comparison of metrics that answer the "so what" of measurement in order to reach a conclusion and make informed decisions. Analytics are the gateway to actionable insight from which management is empowered to take action.
Most companies today will trumpet the narrative that they are a data-driven business. Well, who isn't? We’ve established the fact that businesses are swimming in a riptide of data. The real question is: How are you advancing a data-driven culture that translates information into insight and then meaningful action?
As an encouragement to harness the power of the data that is native to your business operating systems, here are a few key benefits to instilling a thoughtful metrics capture and analytics culture into your company in 2021.
Slay Uncertainty, Not Profitability
In the absence of meaningful metrics and analytics, business owners and leadership are prone to make decisions by feel, instinct and opinion borne out of experience. While experience plays an important undercurrent role, this style of decision making is impossible to successfully scale. Uncertainty often lurks in the minds of your workforce as a result of being “told” a direction versus “shown” the decision-making logic. These same people are likely already compiling their own data and applying it to their functions. Your team may be investing hours (or days) in consuming siloed data which may be inaccurate and leading to ill-informed decisions, the cost of which is high and difficult to quantify. This can be a source of great frustration for leadership and discontent for the team members who are doing their best to gain insight with the information available.
As with many important new processes, it is often the start that stops most people. Take heart, the process for advancing a true data-driven culture is relatively uncomplicated. It is a natural business maturation process where all organizations find themselves somewhere on the "The Information Maturity Scale."
As a practical starting point and to climb the scale and remove uncertainty from decision making, have your department leaders conduct a simple exercise of defining transactional and performance data that is imperative to their operations. Next, identify the key performance Indicators that need to be tracked at regular intervals (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly). Present these metrics needs to your technology team in order to compile source data and determine the most effective way to present it back to the business leaders. Interactive data-presentation tools are plentiful and can be integrated with your database(s) for the purpose of reviewing, drilling-into, cross-referencing and analyzing organizational metrics.
In taking this first important step you will see uncertainty replaced by an informed confidence, and your organizational performance will be reflective of your maturing decision-making systems. You have begun a critical step in the iterative process of creating new agility by advancing a data-driven culture that will be more proactive and precise in its business performance.
Forge Predictable Outcomes, Not Professional Guesstimates
How will you know if you are on the right metrics and analytics trajectory? Your departments will begin to share information and insight cross-functionally. Teams will discover the interdependency of the business units illuminated by the insight of maturing analytics. Further, teams will become more collaborative in helping solve each other’s problems knowing that the results will show in metrics trending. Accountability, arguably a key cultural characteristic, between departments and individuals, becomes a transparent process in the presence of performance metrics and analytics.
The progression of maturing insight is the development of new foresight. With foresight comes scenario modeling that is the cornerstone to forging predictable outcomes. Leadership throughout the company can create new diagnostic tools that predict outcomes in a variety of practical scenarios. Instead of arbitrarily guesstimating growth and performance objectives, model the possible outcomes based on current and optimal performance metrics. Where do you need improvement or new investment to accelerate growth? Where can product or channel diversity become a growth accelerant? Where can top-grading your talent pool lead to improved outcomes? By pulling the correct business levers and modeling the required resources you will be able to confidently predict and future-proof outcomes on your quest to attain new growth and performance.
Data is overwhelming in its abundance in our businesses. Harnessed and forged into meaningful metrics and analytics, it can create a shield of protection for your business and your people. Each department and individual will progress at a different pace through the information maturation process. Undergird a well-formulated decision logic with analytics and experiential wisdom and then develop it into a traceable, teachable and repeatable system. In doing so, you will settle an old saying, "You can't manage what you can't measure." Further, you will be able to adopt a new ethos: Accurate analysis accelerates agile achievement. It is agility, after all, that holds the key to future responsiveness and success. So, go on and wield the data sword with confidence.
