Page 37 - Future Demands Jan 2021

in any group requires those with less power to feel safe, and that confidence comes from seeing those with the most influence engage with the process.
Many companies invest in data teams, but leave them hanging out to dry in siloed operations, rather than publicly show their importance to the wider organisation by integrating them into their day-to-day decision making.
4
Data without insight is rarely valuable
A common fallacy is that the data is the most important factor, and this is almost never true. Far more valuable are the people who can make sense of the results.
Eighteen thousand years ago, the data was able to say what had happened. However, they then used a varied group of people, with
different experiences of hunting, trading, and simply surviving, to offer thoughts as to why it happened.
The question of ‘why?’ is key for your business, as is having as diverse a set of people answering that conundrum using their personally gained knowledge.
For example, if you’re planning a new mortgage product for single parents, then you will almost certainly benefit from having a range of single parents review the data trends and offer their personal insight as to why those results might be.
5
Look after your data
It seems every week there is a major data breach somewhere in the world, and there’s never been a more important time to ensure your data is held as safely as possible.
The only reason we know about
our prehistoric data cousins is because they looked after their notched bones so well we found one almost perfectly preserved in 1960, which is on display in a Belgian museum today.
Your data has all the information you need to succeed in future, as well as the personal details of your customers who trust you to keep it safe, so respect it.
To conclude, as I reflect on the year that was 2020, and look at 2021’s predictions, my advice would be to eschew the short term, and follow Churchill’s lead to look all the way back to look all the way forward.
After all, no matter how bad last year was, history shows us the future is almost always both predictable and shapeable through our actions. And that is why we should always remain optimistic.
FUTURE DEMANDS
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