Why is Data so Important for Leaders?
The rise of digitisation has had a huge impact upon all industries and organisations and big data is at the forefront of this digital transformation.
Organisations and their leaders now have access to valuable insights into their business, customers, competitors and marketplace, allowing them to make strategic, data-driven business decisions. But why is data so important for leaders and how can it transform their role in an organisation?
‘As data and analytics become pervasive, the ability to communicate in this language, to become data literate, is the new organisational readiness factor’ Carlie J.Idione – Gartner Research
Streamlining the customer experience
Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) are allowing leaders and businesses to automate certain work processes such as customer service. This not only allows for additional resources to be allocated to strategic business decisions, but it collects valuable data and trends from customer feedback that in turn improves the customer experience. Whilst most organisations will already have a strong idea of their target audience and demographic, it’s important not to stand still and constantly develop innovative products and services for the ‘new wave’ of consumers. A great example of this is Spotify, who used AI to sort through customer data and highlighted the most unique customer trends around the world, simultaneously humanising consumer data and creating a lucrative global marketing campaign.
Strategic Decision Making
Algorithms and real-time predictive data are enabling leaders to make better-informed decisions. These decisions are made on a basis of tangible data and trends resulting in less guesswork and increased accuracy. Predicting future industry trends can put an organisation ahead of the curve, spotting potentially lucrative business opportunities before their competitors. By analysing these trends, organisations can create products and services based on consumer need and desire, rather than ‘educated’ guesswork.
Shaping stronger leaders
A successful leader in the digital era should have a strong analytics aptitude and demonstrate logical thinking and verbal and quantitative reasoning. Rather than resting on their laurels they should always be looking for the next business opportunity and data-driven technologies can make this job significantly easier. Rather than being motivated by emerging technologies, strong leaders and analysts should be motivated on solving problems using well analysed data and algorithms. Leading a business through this era of digital transformation takes a unique set of skills, which can be developed through courses such as a Master of Business Administration.