Data & Digital Transformation Executive | Chief Data & Analytic Officer | AI & Machine Learning | Board Member
Over the years as a Chief Data & Analytics Officer, it has become evident to me that CDAO's lack the essential support systems needed to be successful when compared to roles like CEO, CIO, and CFO. This lack of support and role clarity lead to challenges and a short "life expectancy" of around two years for CDAO's at most companies. Having driven Data and AI transformations at various companies, I have experienced this lack of support system myself. To help address this gap, I am launching a series titled "Ask me anything about data," where I will share my experiences and insights in this domain. I will be focusing on content and discussions through 1-2 minute video responses to each question I receive. While the video quality may not be professional, the aim is to add value through sharing experiences and fostering discussions. Feel free to email me at [email protected] or [email protected] with any questions you have about data! The first question I a, often asked is: Why do data transformations fail, and what are the key factors for success?
Thank you for sharing this. It's refreshing to hear how important the business value is when it comes to AI and data driven strategies. As businesses continue to explore these surging technologies, we don't always understand how to bridge the technical priorities with the business priorities. Your insights around the need for C-level and board involvement opens the conversation and gives confidence to everyone involved. In addition, the synergy also opens the door to have frank discussions about data quality and governance. Everyone knows how important clean data is for any organization, but the advancement of AI doesn't allow for anything less than 90+% confidence in the data. It's what fuels the athlete and can be the the difference between incredible growth or brand deterioration.
Thanks - short and to the point. I like your framing of the two-pronged approach. However, you made me realize that when I talk about priorities with data leaders from across the industry, I usually get the "foundations" part of the equation but not the top business pain points. William Groves, what do you think leads to this bias in answers? Ananya Som, following our convo: very interesting. It aligns well with your approach!
Hey Bill, excellent, and having done a few of these successfully with you, would add that x-company communications/education is a critically important part of this transformation.
Hey Bill! Love the AMA series and great response to this first question! Couldn't agree more that transformations can't be purely grass roots and need exec buy-in. If I may be so bold as to ask a question that I'd love your opinion on: What is the best way to gather use cases from the business when creating a data / AI strategy? For example, if it is a workshop, who do you have participate, how much time do you spend, and how much do you share in terms of general "art of the possible" use cases vs digging deep into the unique challenges each organization faces?
Pretty spot on particularly having early business visible wins to build momentum and support for building the infrastructure
… explain value with $$ numbers not just words. Create a “currency” to share that value and roi data analytics investments. That’s what my startup PieCart Analytics aspires to do, helping CDOs and CDAOs to share their success with c suite. Oh - and data culture success? When you receive high fives from colleagues! How - treat them as consumers of a business, not just users…
What is utterly unfair is the expectation that analytics would create some magic. CXOs don't spend time to understand the analytics outcomes, do not tell their DRs to religiously use analytics outputs and analytics on its own is just some equation or some model in a computer. It has to be used religiously to derive results. Using the analytics outcomes needs cultural changes which could be driven by the CXOs only.
Couldn't agree more that this is an important topic to discuss.
Great topic. Happy to contribute in any way I can. I echo your experiences across many organizations that I've helped as an internal leader and outside consultant
Executive leveling up org growth and transformations to get real value from investments in data, analytics, and technology. (Ex JnJ, Tyson, BCBS, M&T, Walgreens)
4moThis is a great discussion topic, especially as the role seems to be shifting again to "Chief Data & AI Officer" and many orgs still haven't defined success criteria or been able to articulate what challenges they expect to solve via data/analytics/AI, which prevents a meaningful "next" conversation regarding the type of leader, team, and skills needed to be successful in the cultural journey to get value from these capabilities.