𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺.

We often blame failed BI projects on "bad data," "legacy tech," or "user adoption."

But in my doctoral research on Business Intelligence maturity, a different root cause emerged. The single strongest predictor of ROI wasn't the technology stack; it was 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿" 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄): My research suggests that without active, visible advocacy from the C-Suite (specifically the CEO or COO), data governance programs stagnate. They become "IT projects" rather than "Business Strategies."

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿" 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄): As an Interim Director, I saw this play out in real-time. The most effective days aren't spent writing SQL or designing schemas. They are spent aligning data objectives with organizational KPIs.

If the leadership team doesn't treat data as a strategic asset, no amount of Snowflake or Azure architecture will save the project.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: To my fellow data leaders: We have to stop selling "features" and start selling "outcomes." We earn sponsorship by solving business problems, not technical ones.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: How do you measure executive engagement in your data programs? Is it a "check the box" approval, or active advocacy?

Originally published on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/malikalamin_datastrategy-executiveleadership-businessintelligence-activity-7411878570483965952-4Y7r/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAGjt7sBL8uj9adPfrG1EfHYraXT1G5wf0s