In an economy of plenty, many companies can maintain inefficiency and still thrive. However, being wasteful leads to business quickly losing your economic footing in a competitive market.
How does data help companies weather a crisis?
Optimisations
Optimising processes makes all the difference. And despite having data savvy operational employees, without the correct data, you are leaving a lot of money on the table.
Take the following example. By introducing a basic data driven optimisation we increase profit by 30% Numbers.
Such an optimisation is quite common to achieve without too much effort. Understanding how these optimisations compound, can easily lead to a 2-3x business increase.
Visibility
Without data, you are ‘flying blind’. When change is occurring, it is important to understand what is happening, and to have the possibility to test new hypotheses. Without it, surviving change is a matter of blind luck.
When goals and performance are visible, we know which areas need extra help and which are doing just fine.
Transparency
Transparency is key to agile processes and brings with it increased accountability. Additionally, focusing on results instead of process, gives employees the happiness of choice.
Transparency also helps solve issues that arise from mis-alignment of goals between teams, when their individual goals contradict each other, or when they are fighting over priority over other team’s tasks.
Why the data savvy will get stronger
In the context of economic recessions, companies who were barely breaking even before, will crumble leaving a large unserved gap in the market. This market will be up for grabs by those who can service it efficiently, leading to increasing opportunities for companies with data.
Is it too late?
It’s not too late. In my time doing digital transformations, building a data stack can take a few weeks to a couple of months, and teaching the mindset and skills to the company takes more or less depending on management involvement (sometimes years, sometimes days).
Stop wasting time doing things inefficiently, and start using data.
However, building a data stack can also take years, when the goal and vision are not clear. Starting a data initiative without a clear goal is a surefire way to waste more time and resources.
In Conclusion
Start applying data as soon as possible. There are many things that can be done, but even just getting started will enable a competitive advantage.