A means to an end

Ruben Ugarte, founder, Practico Analytics and author, The Data Mirage: Why Companies Fail to Actually Use Their Data dispels myths about data and also advises on the extent of its relevance.

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Sometime in the last 100 years, Edwards Deming uttered a quote that will be used constantly when talking about data: “In God we trust. All others must bring data.” Companies and executives use it to justify why they must keep investing in data. People use it to argue against opinions stated without any evidence to back them.

I think Edwards Deming had the right intention with his statement, but the essence has been lost in today’s world. Data is important, but it is not the most important thing for a company to focus on. Data is a lever that can make other things easier, not the end goal in itself.

Our data-driven world has swung too far to one end of the pendulum, and we need to correct it. I want to bust seven myths that companies cannot seem to let go of when it comes to data.

Myth 1: Data is the most important resource

The Economist dedicated an entire issue to describing how data is the new oil. It was, of course, talking about companies like Google and Facebook who have turned data into multibillion-dollar empires. For most companies, these are not role models. Almost everyone else is more about creating great products/services and delivering those to happy customers.

Data can help, but it is not your product. For Google and Facebook, data is their product. They want to capture as much as possible and then sell it through advertising. For other companies, data is merely meant to help support decisions. Strive to build data supported cultures, not data-driven ones. Give yourself room to make decisions without data; it will not be the end of the world.

Myth 2: Collecting data is the hardest problem