"Dataforestation"

Forests have been used as a commodity for hundreds of years. As we went through the forests for fuel, building materials, furniture, paper, tools, weapons, and more the people gaining financial benefit from them started running out of ideas.

What to do next?

We have decided that our next forest we are going to chop down is human behaviour. Commoditize our personal information so that companies can help us decide what we want to buy, where we want to go, who you should be dating, why your money is worthless unless it's with a certain bank, what to eat, what to wear, what to drive, what to watch, and the list is almost endless.

Sounds impressive (and slightly scary) but is it effective for your business?

There are 3 ways to remain effective when using data for you and your company.

Structure - your companies data group should not be an independent entity to your own business. Make sure the 'bricks and mortar' part (i.e. checking in with clients, explaining findings, etc) are meshed together.

Culture - as we have discussed in previous blogs and videos relying too much on data can be harmful. Blindly following data without business instinct will be at your peril. The balance of logic and common sense mixed with the guide of data needs to be instilled in your companies culture.

Methodology - data can (and at times is) very complex. The method of implementation of the data is very important to gaining positive results. If the data leads you to a complex solution that is impossible to reproduce look at another angle and balance it out.

Make sure that there is a challenger and champion for your data so that you're not following blindly one way or the other. Problem solving can and should blend the structure, culture and methodology into a great framework.