Creativity is the lifeblood of an enterprise! But, it is easy to get into a rut and do what has worked in the past. If a business is to succeed, it must constantly generate new ideas and new ways to address the market and its consumers. Augmented Data discovery and the new world of self-serve tools has added an interesting dimension to this discussion as it encourages business users to become Citizen Data Scientists and encourages organizations to embrace data democratization.
With the increased access to integrated data and the ability to easily, and quickly, perform Advanced Analytics, business users and the enterprise they support can make data-driven decisions and fact-based assumptions. This new environment can and should encourage creativity. By taking guesswork out of the equation, the enterprise can integrate facts and data into its brainstorming and planning processes to create new products, new pricing strategies, and new competitive approaches and enter new markets and locations with confidence.
Because users can test hypotheses and theories without risk, the enterprise is spared much of the failure and missteps that come with making decisions using your gut or guesswork. The organization can explore concepts and examine out-of-the-box solutions and counter-intuitive market responses.
In this type of environment, team members are encouraged to be creative and work in an environment where data is valued and stretching the boundaries of planning and problem solving is something to be valued.
When a business considers the implementation of self-serve augmented data discovery, it should also plan for shifts in culture and management if it is to take full advantage of these tools. As new information becomes available and advanced analytics make it possible to test and hypothesize, users and management teams can adjust tasks, activities, and plans to address changes in buying behaviour, competitive response, market conditions, etc.
By building a data-driven culture, the organization will find its team members more willing to make recommendations. When a suggestion is supported by data, there is less chance that a team member (or the enterprise) will fear the consequences of poor results or failure. The entire business team will be more confident of its plans and decisions and this confidence will unleash creativity and growth within the business.
