Finding Balance

This chapter explored a few of the ways organizations struggle to make the most of their data. Whether it is an issue with too many reports or too few, a lack of commitment to using data or a fixation on a particular metric, many organizations have found it challenging to build data fluency.

The path toward data fluency requires balance. In particular, organizations should look for the following:

• Balance between the needs of data users and the interests of the data producers
• Balance between letting the data speak and allowing the data author to define the message
• Balance between the business users who make decisions using data and the technologists who manage and deliver the data
• Balance between focusing on a few key metrics and the flexibility to change measures of success as needs evolve
• Balance between the deep analysis of data scientists and the direct reporting that provides the most important data in a simple format
• Balance between data presentation that puts understanding...