Accelerating business strategy with data and stepping into a role as a leader

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Jun 01, 2020

Review the following articles published by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) on using data and becoming a leader.

Use data to accelerate your business strategy

For sure companies are “data richer,” having exponentially more data at their disposal. But they are still “information poor”, even as leaders have implemented a wide array of programs aimed at exploiting data. Most still struggle to build data into their business strategies and, conversely, to align their data efforts to the needs of the business. There are a host of reasons, from lack of talent to unreasonable expectations to culture. Solving these problems is essential for those that wish to unleash the power of data across their organizations.

How CEOs can lead a data-driven culture?

While businesses across the world are trying to make more effective use of data, analytics, and AI, a key impediment is holding many of them back: The lack of a culture that truly values data/analytics capability and the superior decision making that can flow from it. Yet it’s possible to create a data-driven culture and accrue the competitive benefits that result.

Stepping into a leadership role? Be ready to tell your story

Stepping into a role as a leader — whether as a seasoned executive or a neophyte supervisor — is both challenging and exciting. How you handle this transition can have a huge impact on your career. You need to hit the ground running not only with your bosses and key stakeholders but also with your direct reports. Research shows that having a 90-day plan with 30-day and 60-day milestones along the way increases your chances of success. But while these plans are great tools, direct reports will evaluate who you are and what you bring to the table long before you hit those milestones. Indeed, they’ll make “sticky” evaluations of you from the very first conversation. That’s why you should have a “Day 1” plan, or what some like to call a “new-leader pitch.”

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