BigDataFr recommends: Straight talk about big data.
[…] Transforming analytics from a “science-fair project” to the core of a business model starts with leadership from the top. Here are five questions CEOs should be asking their executive teams.
The revolution isn’t coming—it’s already under way. In the science of management, the revolution in big data analytics is starting to transform how companies organize, operate, manage talent, and create value. Changes of this magnitude require leadership from the top, and CEOs who embrace this opportunity will increase their companies’ odds of long-term success. Those who ignore or underestimate the eventual impact of this radical shift—and fail to prepare their organizations for the transition—do so at their peril.
It’s easy to see how analytics could get delegated or deprioritized: CEOs are on the hook for performance, and for all of the potential associated with analytics, many leaders operating in the here and now are reporting underwhelming results. In fact, when we surveyed a group of leaders from companies that are committed to big data–analytics initiatives, three-quarters of them reported that their revenue or cost improvements were less than 1 percent. Some of the disconnect between promise and payoff may be attributed to undercounting—the sum of the parts is not always immediately apparent. Ironically, the results of “big data” analytics are often thousands—or more—of incrementally small improvements realized system-wide. Individually, any one of these gains may appear insignificant, but when considered in the aggregate they can pack a major punch.
The shortfalls, however, are more than just a matter of perception, and the pitfalls are real. Critically, an analytics-enabled transformation is as much about a cultural change as it is about parsing the data and putting in place advanced tools. “This is something I got wrong,” admits Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE. “I thought it was all about technology. I thought if we hired a couple thousand technology people, if we upgraded our software, things like that, that was it. I was wrong. Product managers have to be different; salespeople have to be different; on-site support has to be different.”
CEOs who are committed to a shift of this order, yet wonder how far the organization has truly advanced in its data-analytics journey to date, should start by stimulating a frank discussion with their top team. That includes a clear-eyed assessment of the fundamentals, including your company’s key value drivers, your organization’s existing analytics capabilities, and, perhaps most important, your purpose for committing to analytics in the first place. (See “Making data analytics work for you—instead of the other way around.”) This article poses questions—but not shortcuts—to help a company’s senior leaders determine where they are and what needs to change for their organization to deliver on the promise of advanced analytics. […]
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By Nicolaus Henke, Ari Libarikian, and Bill Wiseman
Source: mckinsey.com