What would an epic battle be without champions?
Lost. The epic battle would be lost without champions.
Don’t let this happen to you battle to build a data culture. Instead, find your champions, recognize and thank them, and give them the tools they need to rally their forces and lead them to victory.
Despite what the nice short video[1] may lead you to believe, it’s not absolutely necessary to provide your data culture champions with literal swords[2]. But it is vital that you arm[3] them with the resources and connections they need to be successful.
In any community there will be people who step up to go the extra mile, to learn more than they need to know, and to do more than they are asked. These people are your champions, but they can’t do it all on their own. In the long term champions will succeed or fail based on the support they get from the center of excellence.
With support from the BI COE, champions can help a small central team scale their reach and impact. Champions typically become the primary point of contact for their teams and business groups, sharing information and answering questions. They demonstrate the art of the possible, and put technical concepts into the context and language that their business peers understand.
This is just what they do – this is what makes them champions.
An organization that’s actively working to build a data culture will recognize and support these activities. And if an organization does not…
[1] This video is about 1/3 as long as the last video in the series. You’re very welcome.
[2] But why take chances, am I right?
[3] See what I did there? I shouldn’t be allowed to write blog posts this close to bedtime.