Everyone knows that direction for an organization comes from the top. It is no different when implementing a new reporting system. Therefore, the first step to success is always going to be to find an executive sponsor.

You may be wondering how to identify the right executive. You could be afraid about how you would approach an executive and ask about something like this. You could even be concerned that business intelligence is not something that your executives are thinking about. The truth is that these are all valid concerns. My best advice is simply to listen. According to recent research, most executives are concerned with being able to make faster, better-informed decisions. What they may not know is that business intelligence is the solution that allows them to do so.

By listening within your organization, you will start to hear these things come up. If you do hear something related to data not translating to information well enough, that is...