We’ve all heard the endless drumbeat: “You need to be using AI.”
But here’s the truth—AI is only as good as the data you feed it. Garbage in, garbage out.
That’s why to have real AI obsession, you have to be obsessed with your data.
Data governance isn’t new, but let’s be honest: most smaller organizations don’t have the budget for a fully staffed data management function. Add to that decades of historical data sets scattered across CRMs, ERPs, websites, spreadsheets, and even inboxes, and it feels overwhelming.
So where do you even start?
At the beginning (obvs): What problem are you trying to solve?
Once you define the problem, you can identify the data that matters. Think about asking:
What data feeds this decision?
How much historical data do we really need?
Do stakeholders agree on the source data and definitions?
Once we all agree, who owns it?
Here’s the key: you don’t need to start with the biggest, hairiest data challenge. Find a smaller set, test your approach, and get that quick win. You’ll learn what works, what doesn’t, and you’ll build momentum for the bigger transformation.
When I was managing a full sales cycle, data came in from everywhere - CRM, ERP, website analytics, and from different roles across the team (marketing, BDRs, sales, customer success). It was chaos.
So I started by defining the core questions: How healthy is our sales pipeline? Where are we seeing success and where are we falling short?
Most of that data should have been in our CRM, so I built a dashboard focused on key indicators like new lead trends and pipeline stages.
Here’s what happened:
The dashboard instantly revealed when data wasn’t being tracked correctly.
I could quickly see if it was a training issue or a system issue.
The sales team had a usable tool to actually manage performance, not just log activity.
That one dashboard transformed how sales management operated. It wasn’t just a report—it became a decision-making tool.
Data doesn’t have to be daunting. Start with one problem, one dataset, one dashboard. Build from there.
So let me ask: How are you obsessed with your data?