Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    sales and data analytics
    How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
    9 Min Read
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: CEOs: Hold Your Team Accountable for Data Analysis
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Data Management > Best Practices > CEOs: Hold Your Team Accountable for Data Analysis
AnalyticsBest PracticesBig DataBusiness IntelligenceBusiness RulesCulture/LeadershipData ManagementDecision ManagementInside CompaniesITKnowledge ManagementMarket ResearchMarketingPolicy and Governance

CEOs: Hold Your Team Accountable for Data Analysis

andreesa
andreesa
5 Min Read
data analysis business intelligence
SHARE

Maybe you already know the story of Ron Johnson and J.C. Penney. Johnson, the retail superstar behind the Apple store and Target’s turnaround, was hired to bring Penney back to profitability.

Maybe you already know the story of Ron Johnson and J.C. Penney. Johnson, the retail superstar behind the Apple store and Target’s turnaround, was hired to bring Penney back to profitability.

But retail isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition, even if you bring in a CEO with gold stars on his report card. By slashing prices and bringing in hipster apparel, the new CEO lost the retailer almost $1 billion. Despite his former success, he failed to address Penney’s core market of budget shoppers who prefer form-forgiving clothing.

The Wisdom of Data

More Read

My Brain is Full! “Performance Leadership” by Frank Buytendijk
Visualization Methods
3 Marketing Dashboards with Actionable Data, Not Fluff
5 Kinds of Business Analysis Techniques Every Executive Should Know
“Smarter healthcare is intelligent, applying advanced analytics to improve research, diagnosis and…”

data analysis business intelligenceThink of how the situation would have been different if, rather than relying on intuition and dismissing data to the contrary, the Penney team looked at data to guide their plans. Knowing that their core audience prefers conservative clothing, Penney could have found appropriate new brands for shoppers. By reading the numbers of which types of pricing work best, Penney could have been more strategic about its discounting approach.

It should be a lesson for us all. Company leaders—CEOs and boards—should hold decision-makers accountable for making data driven decisions. Otherwise, the risk of a gut-based disaster like Penney’s becomes very real.

C-Suite Data Insights

It is not enough to simply say that decisions should be data driven. A CEO should hold each of her direct reports accountable for providing visibility into their piece of the data pie. No one should be making decisions based solely on intuition or gut. The CEO has to demand visibility into all aspects of the business, so she can make the best strategic decisions for the entire company.

The VP of Sales should provide visibility into the sales funnel for the quarter. In addition, he should be showing how this quarter is performing against the historical ramp, so problem with funnel can be identified early and action can be taken.

It is the CMO’s job to use data analysis to innovate new solutions for branding, company reputation, customer targeting and product pricing. Car insurance companies, for example, are delivering different rates to people who drive to the same destination, but use different routes to get there, according to Forbes.

The COO should be optimizing the company’s resources, from equipment to carbon-neutrality. Analytics make it possible to ensure that every moving part of the business is performing at benchmark levels and is in line with company budgets.

Using analytics, the CFO should discover new financial efficiencies across departments. He can trim the fat in an organization, reduce financial risk and use data to drive budget decisions.

Analytics provide a high level of detail about customers, and the systems driving this visibility are powerful and sometimes complex on the back-end. The CIO must ensure the health of all the IT systems behind the company’s big data analytics. If they’re in-house, the CIO should have a solid maintenance and tuning regimen; if analytics are SaaS-based, the CIO is in charge of setting them up and collaborating with service providers to ensure seamless execution.

The CEO Has the Final Word

By analyzing massive quantities of data from diverse sources, analytics can be used to pinpoint trends and new opportunities that otherwise would never be discovered. It is up to the CEO to gather information from each team member and decide how data results should best be used to increase the company’s competitive edge. Armed with data insights, she can use the collective experience to make the best decision. But for this to happen, the CEO is on the hook to make data and data visibility an integral part of the company’s culture.

Author: Chanu Damarla, Senior Director of Product Management at GoodData (@cd2k)

 

(image: CEO / shutterstock)

Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

sales and data analytics
How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
ai in marketing
How AI and Smart Platforms Improve Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive Marketing
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
AI supply chain
AI Tools Are Strengthening Global Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

choosing the right servers for your cloud strategy
Cloud Computing

Best Used Servers for Databases and Cloud Computing

9 Min Read

Long-Range Planning Does Not Work in Isolation

8 Min Read

Watch the Replay: Putting Customer Value to Work – What Predictive Analytics Can Do for Your Bottom Line

2 Min Read

How BI and Data Analytics Professionals Used Twitter in July

4 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai chatbot
The Art of Conversation: Enhancing Chatbots with Advanced AI Prompts
Chatbots
data-driven web design
5 Great Tips for Using Data Analytics for Website UX
Big Data

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?