During the COVID-19 pandemic we have heard relentlessly that public health decisions must be driven by data.  Of course this long has been the hallmark of a successful business – decisions made based on hard facts, not wishes, hopes or even intuition.

But being driven by data means more than just collecting it.

Recently, I worked with a distribution company that collected reams of data.  Each month the company produced tables, charts and graphs reflecting sales, orders, profits and other data points. But what I quickly noticed was that every month the data was broken down a little differently, and the presentation of the information looked dissimilar from any month before.  There simply was no consistently.

Company management seemed to know that it was supposed to look at data. And month after month it provided compilations to the company’s private equity investors.  Yet with all the data, neither management nor ownership could answer the most important question – why were sales and profits in decline?  The information served no real purpose – it was no more than numbers on page.

To be truly “data driven” a company needs to do three things:

• Data must be collected and compiled for a reason.  Successful companies have clear objectives and measure progress toward their goals.  That progress is measured with data.  So, first determine the information required to inform whether you are moving toward your objectives.
• Data should be presented consistently over time.  The tables, charts and graphs should look the same month after month, quarter after quarter, and year after year.  Looking at consistent presentations will enable you to reliably identify trends.
• Data needs to actionable.  It must be analyzed meticulously.  When meaningful data is presented consistently, trends will jump off the page, giving management greater insight.  And these trends can be correlated with other actions to provide evidence of the efficacy of the company’s initiatives.

So, if you want to improve your company’s use of data, remember these things:  be purposeful about the information collected; be consistent in the manner it is presented; and be thoughtful about how it is utilized.  By taking these three-steps you will be on the path to being “data driven.”