“Only Connect”

Because knowledges are so specialized we need also a methodology, a discipline, a process to turn this potential into performance. Otherwise, most of the available knowledge will not become productive; it will remain mere information. To make knowledge productive, we will have to learn to connect.

—Peter Drucker, Pro-Capitalist Society

Drucker is referencing E.M. Forster’s belief in the imperative of human connection. This chapter is about connection and how to create the conditions that facilitate connections. The six Ds are pillars that ensure data gets turned into productive action, connecting people to the information that leads to smarter decisions:

• Demand is the connection of your organization’s needs with the people who will produce data products.
• Design ensures quality outputs that will communicate to the audience.
• Develop is the mechanism to create data products, the connective glue that will deliver useful data to the people...