Chapter 7: Who Me? Am I Part of the Data Problem?

In the first six Chapters, we’ve covered the basics and introduced some ways you can make things better. I’ve explained what data and data quality are and why they might matter to you. I’ve done my best to point out opportunity — personal opportunity that will get you better data, make things more fun, even lead to promotion. In the remaining four, I’ll discuss some more subtle factors.

Without realizing it, most of us contribute to our companies’ data woes. It’s the leader’s job to recognize this — and put a stop to it!

Consider the following vignette. Stephanie, an up-and-comer, is making final preparations for her first meeting with the Board. Her assistant walks into her office and say, “Boss, something looks really wrong numbers from the Widget Department.”

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaims. “I can’t present bad numbers to the Board.”

So she sends him off to fix the numbers.

The Board meeting could have gone better. They liked her and she liked them. In fact, the linchpin of the discussion revolved around that number her assistant adjusted.

Of course, she is on cloud nine! She comes back to her office and is so happy she gives her assistant the rest of the day off. As he’s leaving she says, “You know, you ought to check the Widget department’s numbers every month.”

It’s easy to feel good for Stephanie. She had a great day.

But not so fast! This story is wrong, on so many levels. Note what I didn’t mention. She didn’t call her colleague in the Widget department and inform him or her of the error. No, she left him and others in the company to be victimized by the bad data. She took responsibility for Widget numbers going forward, even though she doesn’t know the first thing about them. And who knows if the change her assistant made was even correct?

Now you may not be an up-and-comer like Stephanie. But I hope you recognize a bit of yourself in her — in the last Chapter I noted that you probably fall into the “Stepanie trap” no matter what your job.

Most people and companies simply accept her behavior. Yet, in some, if Stephanie walked past a banana peel on the floor without picking it up, she would be fired. After all, someone could get hurt. Her actions on Widget data are just as dangerous. So there is a cultural aspect going on here as well.

The good news is that you can take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Is this me?”

For most of us, the answer is “Oh my goodness, that is me!”

NOW HERE’S WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU I’ve already explained how you should approach data creators. Now go beyond. Imagine how you’d like everyone in the company to behave — to admit the problem, to resolve to do better, and display the courage needed to reach across department lines. And become the role model for that behaviour. You’ll build better, stronger relationships by doing so. More subtly, you’ll help build a culture that values data. And that will make your company stronger, in oh so many ways!

Have you been following along? In case you missed any of the previous chapters you can find them all here.