g-f(2)34 MIT SMR: Why Chief Data Officers (CDO) Must Assume Leadership for Data Success

Extra-condensed knowledge

• In their efforts to become data-driven, Fortune 1000 companies face the common challenge of identifying the right leadership that will enable them to overcome cultural and business roadblocks. 
• As companies struggle to manage data as a vital business asset, they must develop the leadership skills, expertise, and organizational structure to effectively manage and communicate the business value of data. 
• Companies must ensure that the chief data officer (CDO) has the necessary tools and support for executing on his or her data vision. 

Genioux knowledge fact condensed as an image.

The “genioux facts” Knowledge Big Picture (g-f KBP) chart

Condensed knowledge 

• Why Chief Data Officers (CDO) Must Assume Leadership for Data Success. As companies struggle to manage data as a vital business asset, they must develop the leadership skills, expertise, and organizational structure to effectively manage and communicate the business value of data. 
• Now more than ever, it is incumbent upon them to establish strong data leadership that will define and deliver on a data vision that supports the greater business vision of the company.
• In their efforts to become data-driven, Fortune 1000 companies face the common challenge of identifying the right leadership that will enable them to overcome cultural and business roadblocks.
• For most businesses, cultural issues manifest themselves in a variety of ways — resistance to change, antiquated business processes, a lack of clear coordination and communication of business imperatives and business value, ineffective organizational alignment, and uncertain leadership and commitment to data initiatives.
• These issues all point to serious gaps between ambition and execution that most organizations confront when embarking on data transformation efforts. 
• The Emergence of the Chief Data Officer (CDO). Today, the chief data officer role has emerged as a standard for most Fortune 1000 companies, but it comes with serious issues and challenges as companies struggle with how best to shape the role to achieve successful business outcomes.
• While a majority of CDOs — 54.6% — are now focused on revenue initiatives (offensive), a significant minority — 45.4% — remain focused on risk factors (defensive). Only 12.3% of CDOs have assumed direct revenue responsibility thus far, suggesting that moving into an offensive business-generation role will take some time.
• The Need for Business-Driven Data Leadership. Data challenges remain an issue for most companies — with only 37.8% reporting that they have established a data-driven organization, and only 26.8% saying that they have forged a data culture.
• The Data-Driven Business Imperative. Those companies that have learned to harness data, particularly as part of the digital experience, have been rewarded with rapid growth, customer expansion, and dominant market share and market value.
• Success is not assured. The long-term outlook for the role of the chief data officer remains uncertain. In 2019, 17.5% of survey respondents suggested that the CDO role was unnecessary.
• Companies must ensure that the chief data officer has the necessary tools and support for executing on his or her data vision. Only then will businesses be able to legitimately claim that they have earned the right to be called data-driven.

Category 2: The Big Picture of the Digital Era

[genioux fact extracted from MIT SMR]

Authors of the genioux fact

Fernando Machuca

References

Why Chief Data Officers Must Assume Leadership for Data Success, Randy Bean, November 30, 2020, MIT Sloan Management Review.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Randy Bean (@randybeannvp) is an industry thought leader, author, and CEO of NewVantage Partners, a strategic advisory and management consulting firm that he founded in 2001. He is a contributor to MIT Sloan Management Review, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and The Wall Street Journal. Contact him at rbean@newvantage.com.