One of the key hurdles to success in the role of CDO – particularly in the first ninety days in a new posting – is gaining buy-in from the board. Shop-floor support is important for on-boarding new projects and ensuring that any changes are sustained, but it is the approval and support of the boardroom that makes a difference to the ‘how’ and ‘when’ for the financing and prioritisation of new data projects.
As McKinsey found in one of their 2014 Quarterly’s, the board is typically occupied with reports, budgets, audits and compliance, allocating approximately 70% of their time to those matters. This leaves little capacity for addressing new business issues, and the strategic management of data within the organisation is still a relatively new issue. As such the CDO needs to be proactive and tactical in gaining the support of the board.
In the build up to the European Chief Data Officer Forum in Munich, Germany, this coming November (17-19), we outline eight specific steps that can help CDOs climb higher on the boardroom priorities.
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