Why Data Intelligence Trumps Guesswork in Digital Transformation

What does data excellence really mean? Data excellence isn’t about dashboards or technology – it’s about culture, habit and purpose.   In this episode of Hub & Spoken, Jason Foster, CEO and Founder of Cynozure, speaks with Roberto Maranca, data & digital transformation expert and author of Data Excellence.   They explore what it really means to build a ‘data fit’ organisation, one that treats data capability like physical fitness: know where you are, train for where you want to be and make improvement a daily routine.   Drawing from ancient philosophy and modern business, Roberto explains how concepts from Socrates and Aristotle can help leaders rethink culture, value and human responsibility in an AI-driven world.   Together, they discuss how organisations can:   🔷 Shift from seeing data as a tech issue to a leadership mindset 🔷 Build collective intelligence and cultural readiness 🔷 Stay human in the age of intelligent machines   A thoughtful and practical listen for any leader looking to connect data, purpose and performance. 🎧 Listen now to discover how data excellence starts with people, not platforms: https://lnkd.in/ekbjdQZp #DataStrategy #DataLeadership #HubAndSpoken

Data-driven: such a buzzword, or a journey for maturity? 🤔 Being data-driven isn’t just about having dashboards or KPIs everywhere. It’s about how productive and effective a company can be in generating insights that truly guide decisions. It raises questions like: Should we adopt a centralized or decentralized model? Is the company culturally ready for decentralization? Is the data strategy clear and well communicated? Are production standards defined and understood? Do people know where to find data and how to use it responsibly? Is data ownership clear, and are we avoiding duplicated efforts? What makes a data team a great team? Becoming data-driven isn’t a one-time transformation. It’s a journey toward maturity. It’s about creating an environment where data is treated as a shared, trusted product and where teams have both the autonomy and responsibility to use it to drive measurable outcomes. 👉 How would you describe a truly data-driven organization in your context? #DataCulture #DataStrategy #Analytics #Leadership #DecisionMaking #DataMesh #DataProducts #Data

Most companies think they have data, but do they have insight? 97% of companies say they’re “data-driven.” But only 24% actually trust their data enough to make critical business decisions. So… do we really have data or just numbers? . .. ... I’ve worked with teams drowning in dashboards, KPIs, and endless Excel exports, yet when you ask, “What did we learn from all this?” You get silence. Sound familiar? It’s not a lack of tools or reports. It’s a lack of clarity. Data tells you what happened. Insight tells you why and what to do next. Here’s the truth most leaders miss: 🧭 Collecting data doesn’t create insight. 🔍 Asking the right questions does. One client cut reporting time by 60% just by focusing on three core insight questions instead of tracking 40+ metrics. When data started serving decisions, not the other way around, everything changed. In the age of AI and automation, insight is your competitive edge. So before you invest in more dashboards, ask: “Do we really know what our data is trying to tell us?” What about you? Is your organization data-rich or insight-driven? 👇 I’d love to hear your take. #DataDriven #Analytics #BusinessIntelligence #Leadership #DecisionMaking

It’s no secret that senior data leaders rarely stay in one seat for long, the average tenure for a CDO is about 2 - 3 years. But lately, the market feels different. A lot of my conversations hint at heightened mobility, even among those in the middle of delivering on their data strategies Could it be the pressure to deliver AI ROI fast, shifting exec priorities, or the rise of data monetisation mandates? Or maybe leaders are simply seeking environments that embrace innovation without constant restructuring. I'd be keen to hear your take. What’s fuelling this trend? Why are Heads of Data and CDOs keeping one eye on the market now more than ever?

Is your data working against you?  Business leaders tell us they’ve invested a lot in platforms and reporting systems. Yet they still can get the clarity they need. IT leaders are stuck firefighting legacy systems instead of driving innovation. Data leaders face endless requests for insights – but no one trusts the numbers. You’re not alone. This is where so many organisations are today. But, lucky for you, there is a way forward.  Data innovation isn't about adding another tool to the pile – it's about aligning your data to the outcomes that actually matter.

Most organizations today aren’t short on data — they’re drowning in it. Dashboards, reports, and visualizations are everywhere. But more data doesn’t always mean better decisions. The real challenge isn’t access — it’s alignment. When teams rely on isolated metrics or competing dashboards, decisions start to drift toward instinct again. The fix isn’t another tool or visualization layer. It’s a cultural shift toward shared intelligence — where data becomes a single language for truth, not a collection of dialects. Here’s what that evolution looks like: • Connected, not fragmented. Integrating Finance, Operations, and Product data into a unified ecosystem that tells one coherent story. • Transparent, not territorial. Defining common KPIs, data ownership, and governance so “profitability” and “performance” mean the same thing to everyone. • Insight-driven, not instinct-driven. Equipping leaders to make decisions based on trends and correlations, not comfort zones and opinions. Once culture shifts from presenting data to believing data, everything else accelerates — collaboration, accountability, innovation. Because the truth is: technology can collect data, but only culture can connect it. What’s been the hardest part of building true data alignment in your organization — systems, people, or mindset? #DataCulture #AnalyticsLeadership #DigitalTransformation #DataDrivenDecisionMaking #Strategy #BusinessIntelligence #Leadership #Transformation

“Data doesn’t drive decisions... people do... Data just removes the excuses 🦥 " Every dataset tells a story, but it still takes courage to act. Technology amplifies insight, not judgment. In the end, leadership isn’t about knowing what the data says rather it is about owning what you do next 🤔 . #DataDriven #DecisionMaking #DigitalTransformation

In research, we often chase the core - more data, faster tools, deeper analytics, bigger dashboards. The industry tends to treat this as the place where progress is made. But, over my two decades of experience, it has become apparent that real breakthroughs rarely happen here. Innovation emerges at the edges, where research and business domains overlap and perspectives collide. When research design connects with business outcomes, we move beyond just reporting data to crafting stories that resonate. Threading information into a narrative shifts insights from abstract to actionable. Approaching technology with this empathy elevates it from a data processing tool into a bridge that connects information to the human behind it. It’s easy to focus on what’s in the middle, as this leads to optimisation and efficiency. Transformative insights however, come from the instinct to explore boundaries, intersections, and in between spaces - the ones that feel less obvious, but unlock deeper understanding. #marketresearch #innovation #leadership #FeedbackInsights

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Becoming a data-driven organization goes beyond using dashboards or tracking performance metrics. It is an organization culture. It’s a mindset where decisions, strategies, and daily actions are guided by facts and insights. It means gut feelings or hierarchy are not enough to drive decisions. It means teams look for patterns before making moves. And people at every level, not just the analysts, know how to interpret and apply data to real problems. Becoming data-driven doesn’t happen by buying new tools or hiring data experts. It’s a cultural shift. Here are a few ways companies can start making that shift 👇 1️⃣ Lead with data. Leaders must make decisions based on data. Leaders must communicate the insight gotten from data and not just their opinions. 2️⃣ Build data literacy across teams. Employees must be trained to read, question, and use data confidently. This makes data-driven decision a norm in the organization. 3️⃣ Democratise access. Teams should be given easy access to the information they need to make informed decisions. 4️⃣ Celebrate data wins. Recognise teams that used data to improve outcomes. This reinforces that data isn’t just for reporting, it’s for results. When this culture takes root, data becomes a shared language for clarity, creativity, and smarter decisions. What’s one thing your team is doing to make data part of everyday work? #DataCulture #DataDriven #Leadership #DigitalTransformation #Analytics #Innovation #TeamGrowth #WiseBreedAnalytics

Experience Is Old Data — Innovation Is Its Reinterpretation Experience gives us confidence, but if we look deeper, it’s nothing but old data — memories of actions, outcomes, and lessons already processed by time. The irony? We often use this “old data” to shape the new future. But here’s the truth: experience can guide, not govern. Because when experience becomes the only compass, innovation quietly fades. In today’s fast-changing ecosystem, organizations must create room for something even more powerful than experience — mistakes. Mistakes are not failures; they are live data in motion. They allow fresh insights to emerge, unfiltered by history. Let’s allow people to think, try, fail, and rethink. Let’s convert old data into new directions. Because innovation isn’t born in laboratories #Leadership #Innovation #OrganizationalCulture #LearningFromMistakes #GrowthMindset