CEOs have a problem with the truth: How data scientists can help
CEOs and other members of top management have a huge problem with the truth: They rarely hear it, even when it comes from strategic reporting.
It’s alarming how thoroughly data is sanitized before making its way to the CEO. Nobody wants to tell the CEO something he or she doesn’t want to hear, so, there are filters—even in strategic data warehouses and marts—that carefully massage data into alternative facts.
This is a problem if you’re the CEO. How can you run the company if nobody’s telling you the truth? Fortunately, with a bit of leadership and an excellent data science team, you can get the information you need to properly lead the company. Consider three non-traditional data systems—the Exploratorium, the Proving Ground, and the Learning Center—that the data science team can build to help insulated upper management know the truth about their company.
An Exploratorium is a place where you can ask questions. The first step in uncovering the truth about your organization is having a curious mind—you should value questions over answers. Start each day by asking yourself, “What is it that I don’t know about my company?”
The beautiful thing about the modern age of data science is that you don’t have to rely on answers from people who are afraid to tell you the truth. A data system has no fear of early termination, so that’s the better place to ask your question. However, it must be built properly.
Most strategic data systems today are built with layers of intelligence—as they should—but an Exploratorium embodies a different paradigm. Many advanced data systems transform data into information by inference, that is, giving the data a “so what?” factor. Unfortunately, this inference comes with a lens—a perspective on how the inference should be made—and therein lies the problem. Once people realize this information will be viewed by the CEO, there are a lot of people interested in influencing how this data gets translated into information. The Exploratorium just presents data—the raw facts—as they are. It’s structured for exploration instead of inference.
A Proving Ground is a place to challenge assumptions.
