All business leaders need to know something about their finances, their people, and the running of their organization. They understand that people and money have value and have to be managed to be successful. Organizations have management systems around their money (often called Finance) and their people (often referred to as Human Resources). When it comes to data and information, however, many leaders only focus on Information Technology or IT. Of course, technology is critical. But it is one piece of a complete management system needed for data and information. Money is managed differently than people and differently than data and information. Yet all assets require an appropriate management system to get the most value from them.
Danette McGilvray, President and Principal of Granite Falls Consulting, Inc., danette@gfalls.com
Danette presents the following course for IRM UK, Ten Steps to Data Quality, which takes places in London, 2-3 November 2017.
Does your business and IT leadership need to know more about managing information as an asset? Are you wondering how to start, re-start, or deepen conversations concerning the need for data management? Are you wondering how to get your organization to be more data driven? These are concerns that many data professionals face. While there is more talk and action now than ten years ago about managing data assets, most people in organizations do not behave in ways which set data as a priority. That needs to change. Let me share a tool to help: The Leader’s Data Manifesto.
A manifesto generally is “a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives” (see dictionary.com). The Leader’s Data Manifesto is a starting point for any leader as it applies to data. It was written as a way to help stimulate change and provide ideas for actions relating to data. People must take on new roles and responsibilities and develop new skills; new organizational structures are needed; and cultures must develop that put data on par with other assets. While data professionals who understand the importance of data and information are often the ones to raise the issues in their organization, the manifesto is written for all leaders.
Read the Manifesto. Share it with your business counterparts and up the management chain. Debate it. Prioritize data and take action. Sign the Manifesto to show your personal commitment to raising awareness of the need for managing data assets in your organization. Encourage your business, data, and technology leaders to sign it to show their commitment. Be a leader yourself.
“Leadership is not a title or a position; it is action and example.”
–Ursula Cottone, Chief Data Officer, Citizens Bank
For more information and to download The Leader’s Data Manifesto, see dataleaders.org. We currently have an English version and a Portuguese translation. (Note: We are looking for people to help translate the Manifesto into other languages. If you are interested, please contact miriam@gfalls.com for details and instructions.)
The Leader’s Data Manifesto talks about “what” needs to be done. The moment managing data assets is seen as important, someone needs to put the ideas into action. This means we must learn to take better care of data, with a focus on the quality of the most important data. A methodology such as the Ten Steps to Quality Data and Trusted Information™ provides concepts and practical instructions to help any organization. It is the “how” that must quickly follow the agreement that data is a priority. Ensure you can trust the data when you get it and can use it with confidence. Learn what needs to be done to have the right data and information at the right place at the right time for the right people to run your organization. Then put that knowledge into action to truly manage data and information as assets.
Danette McGilvray is president and principal of Granite Falls Consulting, a firm that helps organizations increase their success by addressing the information quality and data governance aspects of their business efforts. Focusing on bottom-line results, Granite Falls’ strength is in helping clients connect their business strategy to practical steps for implementation. Granite Falls also emphasizes the inclusion of communication, change management, and other human aspects in data quality and governance work.
Danette is the author of Executing Data Quality Projects: Ten Steps to Quality Data and Trusted Information™ (Morgan Kaufmann, 2008). An internationally respected expert, Danette’s Ten Steps™ approach to information quality has been embraced as a proven method for both understanding and creating information and data quality in the enterprise. A Chinese-language edition is also available and her book is used as a textbook in university graduate programs.
This article copyright Danette McGilvray, Granite Falls Consulting, Inc. (www.gfalls.com) All rights reserved worldwide.
Note: Portions of this article contain material from the book Executing Data Quality Projects: Ten Steps to Quality Data and Trusted Information™ by Danette McGilvray, published by Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, copyright 2008 Elsevier, Inc. See http://store.elsevier.com/product.jsp?isbn=9780123743695. Portions of this article contain material from dataleaders.org, copyright 2017.