“Data-driven” approaches flop because, well, they terrify people

I saw that pull-quote in an article just this morning.

BIG DATA! ANALYTICS! THE NEW OIL!

We’ve been saying this stuff for 5–10 years or more now, and the sheer reality is that most people inside most offices have absolutely no idea what the hell they’re doing when it comes to data. I just went and Googled “How many data experts are there?” and while I can’t find a specific number, in previous articles I’ve seen that about 15,000–20,000 actually exist, and that’s a global number. For context, I think about 1.3 billion people globally have a job. Not a high percentage there in terms of actual data expertise.

There are more issues around data than I could list in a single blog post, so I want to focus on some of the bigger ones quickly, then get to what I would say is the big one. Let’s go through some of the others fast.

Execs and data nerds don’t speak the same language

At most organizations, there are 7–10 people who can legitimately make a decision or advance something forward. You can call them “executives” or “senior leaders” or just “buffoons.” That’s up to you. But a lot of guys in the middle think they move the ball down the field all week. Really they just run around in a circle waiting for one…