Hype Is Not A Data Strategy

Hi, fellow future and current Data Leaders; Ben here 👋

It’s hard to ignore all the FOMO and hype. For over the past decade we’ve been hearing terms like data-driven and how companies that don’t adopt data science will fall behind. Of course data and AI can be used to improve your workflows but it can also become a distraction.

But before we jump in, I wanted to share a bit about Estuary, a platform I've used to help make clients' data workflows easier and am an adviser for. Estuary helps teams easily move data in real-time or on a schedule, from databases and SaaS apps to data lakes and warehouses, empowering data leaders to focus on strategy and impact rather than getting bogged down by infrastructure challenges. If you want to simplify your data workflows, check them out today.

Now let’s jump into the article!

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Almost every conversation I have with a data leader eventually leads to the same phrase: “Our industry is so far behind.” But if everyone is behind, who’s actually ahead?

The obvious answers are companies like Uber, Facebook, Netflix, and Google. But those are the ones setting the curve. Comparing your industry to companies that live and die by how well they use data is never going to be a fair fight.

Most companies, no matter how much they want to, don’t make money off of data. They sell coffee, sneakers, or warehouse goods. Data might help, but it’s not the product. And while it’s true that margins, logistics, and brand can all benefit from good data, the real challenge isn’t just collecting it, it’s making it useful.

That’s where most teams get stuck. Instead of working with the business to solve real problems, they default to solving the technical ones they already know how to fix.

The 1% Effect

Source

In a recent Data Leaders Playbook monthly meeting, someone brought up what might be called the 1% effect, or the social media effect. It used to be that your reference point was your neighbors when it came to wealth and status.

You had a limited view of what people had, wanted, or aspired to. Then came Instagram. Now it feels like everyone is flying private, wearing Patek Philippe watches, and vacationing in the Maldives. Suddenly, that becomes the new normal.

The same thing happens in tech. We read Netflix and Uber engineering blogs and start believing we need the same setup. But those companies have invested far more than most of companies ever will in data. Their survival depends on how well they use data. It’s not a derivative or a “nice to have.” It is the business.

One of the things that still sets Facebook apart, at least from the marketers I talk to, is how absurdly effective it is. I have friends who literally have to delete Instagram just to stop themselves from buying everything they see. That level of impact doesn’t come from basic dashboards.

And here’s the kicker: I was speaking with several big tech engineers the other day, and they were discussing several processes that still required spreadsheets, which were maintained by a single person (every company has this issue!).

So yes, those engineering blogs are fun to read. But chasing their architecture without their resources is often the first step into a FOMO-fueled strategy.