Implementing Big Data in your organization requires good old-fashioned MBA basics – strategic moves need a top level leadership champion that creates grass roots determination. An article from The Economist Group develops this concept but it also brings up a more discerning point. Although the schism between generations isn’t new, the digital perspective is poignant to Big Data implementation.

Middle Ground

Digital age technicians grew up in a world of open source. Leadership and more discouragingly middle and top managers most likely did not. That middle strata is significant to making the Big Data (or any data initiative) successful.

That group most likely has developed their career with the sense that owning information is power; sharing information weakens you position. Even if leadership has a grand plan, addressing that monolithic fence is critical to making the transition happen.

As the Data Goes …

Big Data strategy takes silos and drops them in a lake for better utilization and specific use. Old data isn’t thrown away; it’s stored more efficiently and effectively to give the new data perspective and edge. The new data though is the future and the capability necessary to progress.

… so do the People

The data re-organization exemplifies how the people within can follow suit. The techies, the data creators, the data users, the managers: all still fall within the structure of the organization but their relationships to each other is going to shift. That’s not at the expense of cutting out the middle man. That’s not pushing the data stuff off to the data people to do. It’s also not everyone holding hands and singing kumbaya every morning. This is everyone doing what they do best … and learning new capabilities as a group.

 Stepping UP

This is the stuff of leadership. The shift should be visible and active to the organization as more than a fad. The change is critical to survivability of the entity. This is not a ship taking on water though; it is rigging to go faster – keep up with the competition or leave them sitting on the horizon!