Data obsession: a peculiar FOMO

The deluge of data that showers on businesses has a dangerous side effect: it washes out common sense.

Consider this scenario: you have a business issue to solve, or a decision to make. You conclude that specific data is going to help you, and you go about procuring that data. You (generally) know what action you would take depending on what the data is going to tell you, and what sort of business impact to expect.

Simple, right? Boringly obvious, one could say. Sadly, a temptation seems to be growing among businesses to turn that common-sense approach on its head.

Consider the following scenario instead: the amount of data available to one's business is growing exponentially -- generated as a by-product of your business-as-usual activity, as well as by the entire ecosystem out there. All that data is available free of charge (or, at negligible cost) and just sitting there -- thinking of it all going to waste makes one cringe.

Surely, there must be something they could do to make at least some of this data work for their business (a.k.a. to monetise it). There must be a problem the data can solve, or a decision it can help them make. And, if the considerable assets the company has built for just that purpose do they job analysing the data, there must be a way to identify that specific issue or decision!

Wrong end of the stick

Let’s take a step back, and look at the above two scenarios from a trigger or business need vs. business outcome perspective. It boils down to a simple matrix:

To me, starting with data -- no matter how abundant and inexpensive it has become -- is simply grabbing it from the wrong end of the stick.

You don’t want to have a business issue as an outcome -- you want to see positive business impact.

Don’t let data run your business for you. Stop obsessing with data going to waste: no business can keep up with the pace it accumulates. Hold on to your business common sense, and keep your cool head above the water level.