MIT Sloan Management Review: Culture Top Factor In Achieving Success With Analytics

New global study from MIT Sloan Management Review finds that companies face challenges in maintaining a competitive advantage with analytics, as more companies avail themselves of analytical tools and that culture is the most important factor in achieving success with analytics.

This is a very important finding because using the analytics that are available today can completely transform a company. However, the company has to be ready to take the information and feedback from the analytics and do something with it.

This global survey of more than 2,000 business executives and personal interviews with over 30 senior managers, also finds that companies must continuously innovate with analytics to maintain the edge it affords. This is exactly what the paper I wrote about spoke of – CMOs are no longer just marketers. CMOs are the buyers of technology and they are drivers of revenue, innovation and differentiation. There’s no hope to be a blue ocean strategy company without this. But how many companies are really taking big data, analytics and culture to heart?

“A strong analytics culture with decision-making norms include the use of analytics, even if the results challenge views held by senior management,” said David Kiron, executive editor for MIT Sloan Management Review.  “This differentiates those companies from others, where often management experience overrides insights from data.”

So the big question for leaders today is, “Do you want to know what is being said about your company and are you prepared to make changes?” I wrote about organizational change management years ago. What’s interesting is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The technology we have today has gotten more powerful and provides us with more information, knowledge and if we use it correctly, wisdom and insights.

The question is senior leadership ready and are those that use these tools and software properly trained in how to gain the insights from the software? Those are just some of the change management issues that go along with technology purchases. That’s never changed, but it seems in the light of this current study, the evidence for it being the case is being made even stronger with an actual study.