Fear, Growth, and Analytics
The Business World’s Rochambeau
After nearly three decades in data and analytic, I have often been intrigued by the reality that growth companies more often employ analytics to their advantage than more mature companies. This is despite the fact that most analytics (and data science doubly so) is better oriented to optimization. It is even more unusual because mature companies typically have an easier time affording the overhead that comes with it.
As my parallel processor often does, it also occurred to me how often fear prevents a business from executing on insight. I have noted many times that analytic teams need to be aware of what is required to actually apply analytics, but just as often that inability to apply learning seems fabricated by those who should know better. The argument sounds similar in either case, but in the latter arguments their is often a technician in the background quietly noting that — “no, it will work”. They are summarily ignored as is a large portion of the insight your team delivers. You might also note that these issues are more inclined to arise when the lifts are highest or the learning most critical. Odd? No…
Fear trumps analytics… almost always.
Whether conscious or subconscious, organizational leaders often fear the results of analytics — change and the unknown. There is little analytic leaders can do. The old standby is education and communication — but that path is slow and inefficient. In a mature company — that inefficiency multiplies the perception of heavy overhead. It is something that is not easily offset by optimization. This is why so many mature companies struggle with analytic progress despite deep pockets and large denominators. Firing the entire analytics organization sure looks like an optimization strategy — especially to those unknowingly caught in the grasp of fear.
Growth trumps fear… actually it tends to fire it.
In a growth company, a funny thing tends to happen. Fear slows growth… something analytics is rarely ever accused of. So if you have a little patience, fear gets trumped by growth. By trumped I mean fired, layered, or moved to ‘special’ projects. Spend a little time working on that education thing and you will soon find those with all those excuses for not implementing your insights are gone. Though don’t look to the educational effort for causality.
It is a veritable game of Rochambeau. Fear, growth, and analytics each play out in a somewhat passive aggressive feedback loop. Each business is a bit different and, over a long career, likely to change. But analyst should note that aging companies rarely rekindle a spirit of growth… it can happen, just not often. Once growth is lost, it has a really hard time displacing fear. In those rare case — credit is often given to a single powerful executive (though they often credit their data).
In the end, analysts need to understand their business. If your highest leadership is focused on growth — then don’t get discouraged by fear and hesitance. A little patience and understanding will be rewarded quite quickly by change. Sometimes that is changing attitudes and greater understanding — but more often it a change of secondary leadership to those less fearful of change and more devoted to growth. Conversely — be careful when growth oriented and often fearless leaders begin to leave or are replaced with ‘more mature’ leaders focused on optimization.
Good luck and thanks for reading.
