The Problems with BI have nothing to do with Technology
Over the course of my career, the most interesting and exciting parts have been spent working in and around the Business Intelligence and Analytics space. I have been lucky enough to see the world through many lenses; Enterprise, small business, and not-for-profit, as well as from various organizational perspectives; sales, channels, operations, marketing, finance, customer voice, IT, and others.
One consistent observation across each type of company, organization, and role is that the problems with BI and Analytics have very little to do with technology.
The nature of technology is that it will always change, it will always be replaced with newer and better technology. The incumbent technologies are constantly being disrupted to create a better world of BI and Analytics for all of us. For some, this is exciting, for most it means the inherently scary act of change. It introduces uncertainty, the unknown, a loss of control, and we simply dislike the feelings that are evoked; we may in fact fear them.
The real problem we face when introducing new technology, is reluctance or fear to change.
The fear of change is known as Metathesiophobia, which can be devastating to those affected. Phobia Source states that, ”An individual suffering from Metathesiophobia, may simply not want anything that is different than what they already have. These individuals may have a comfort zone that they do not wish to disrupt by bringing anything unfamiliar into their lives”. I am not a psychologist, nor am diagnosing the folks we all work with as suffering from this phobia, however, I am suggesting that change can be scary, and we might just recognize some of these behaviors in ourselves, those around us and the organizations in which we work.
When change is introduced, or forced upon us, people often become angry, reject it, sabotage it, or attempt to negotiate a smaller change. Though not the reactions we would like to see, this is completely understandable, as people wonder how the change will affect them. Will they still be important, will they retain their influence, will they keep their team, keep their job, or be able to feed their family and pay their mortgage? In the system they know, they are comfortable, safe and know where they stand, in the future, unknown system, they have doubts and questions.
Only 54% of change initiatives are successful.
The introduction of new technologies, like Tableau, requires a transformation in processes, staff, roles, skills, budgets, timeframes, etc. To successfully grow and scale your practice, you must focus not only on the technology; but more importantly on how to manage the change and the activities which surround the technology. Managing change is always about people. The teams affected by the change must understand it, the vision, timing, context, and impact on their world. Large and profound change is difficult, and there are many approaches to the discipline of change management.
I have found the following focus areas will aid you in your successful deployment of new technologies:
- Focus on the people and the culture, it is personal to them
- Find advocates at all levels and within each role
- Engage with all levels of the organization (engagement does not = communication)
- Engage senior leadership for active participation (engagement does not = communication)
- Communicate as transparently as possible
- Provide consistency in your messaging from all levels of leadership
- Define reasonable goals, but be prepared to alter them as you hone in on reality
- Create a measurement system to track the goals
- Create effective training and education to prepare the folks on the front line for the inevitable future
- Create visible wins quickly
- Celebrate the milestones
- Provide the kind of support and service you would get from Nordstrom, not the kind you get from the DMV.
Is there more to it than this…absolutely!! But if we can set aside the technology, and focus on the people, and activities which surround the technology, you can find the success which you desire.
