[5 min Read] Ever wonder why progress in data and analytics feels so elusive? Like there is force actively working to sabotage your efforts? Every good story has a villain and ours is a character I call “The Machine.”
The Machine is the Villain
All organizations have a mechanized quality, and data and analytical operations are no different. The Machine was built according to an industrial schema to consume inputs and produce outputs. The Machine is good at getting jobs done consistently and predictably, but it is also:
Complicated
- Interconnected parts without an instruction manual. Figuring out how The Machine works is often a game of trial-and-error.
Noisy
- People shout conflicting opinions in the absence of facts and standards. The noise drowns out voices calling for change and alignment.
Massive
- Fear of change is a huge contributor to organizational weight and companies quickly become hard to push in new directions. Resistance to change is heavy and real.
For a Business Leader with a new idea or direction, The Machine creates confusion, endless delay, and will drain your soul (and your ability to create value) within months if you’re not careful. At some point, it simply feels wrong to apply so much time and make so little progress.
Awareness is the First Step to Victory
Here’s how you can spot The Machine in action:
Organizational Misalignment
The Machine is an industrial relic designed to consistently consume inputs and produce quality outputs. People are organized along various conveyor belts that contribute to production. Culture evolves to help keep the wheels turning. The Machine knows that redesigning the line and moving people around is risky and expensive, and so it will respond with panic and yell “get back to work!”
Technological Complexity
The wires and circuits of The Machine are like knots of Christmas lights strung across a jungle. No one remembers how they got there and only a few people know how to change a dead bulb. The cost of rewiring The Machine is astronomical…or so it seems…because its life depends on the stability of the status quo.
Data Hoarding
The Machine spews data and calculations all day. It also hoards data in hidden piles all over the company. Sometimes it will literally tuck data into the drawer of an unwitting employee. Because The Machine isn’t quick witted, it may just pour data into a giant lake without a lifeguard and warn people to swim at their own risk.
People are Your Greatest Hope
People are not the villain of our story, although The Machine has a way of bringing out the worst in us. It’s tempting to fixate on a person or group acting like a stick-in-the-mud. As you’ll see, the People in your company are your greatest hope to unlocking the progress you deserve. They may not all agree with or even care about your idea at first, but it’s important to recognize that The Machine is larger than any person.
You possess something The Machine will never have…even with AI. As a Business Leader, you are the key to shifting hearts and minds because you are human. The Machine is wonderfully predictable. That’s why it was created. And one of the ways it’s predictable is that it follows clear incentives that people create.
Drive Change by Understanding Incentives
I use the expression, “Finding Your Most Valuable Voice,” to describe the process of driving change by aligning your ideas with the array of personal incentives buried within The Machine. You’re getting to the heart of what makes it tick by focusing on why it exists in the first place. Speaking to the fundamental needs of your audience is the first step towards overcoming The Machine and realizing the progress you and your team deserve.
