Data Governance Matters

Today I heard a pair of metaphors mushed up together and mangled. Happens all the time. But this time, I was getting a demonstration of it at the same time I was hearing it.

I’m in Phoenix this week at the Independent Analysts Platform, a grand experiment founded by Rick F. van der Lans in which about 25 of us non-affiliated data-related analysts are sequestered for three days in an Embassy Suites, where a string of vendors are bringing us their messages, sharing value statements for using their products, and letting us look under the hoods of their products.

It’s a great event. I’m getting to know some peers I didn’t know before, and we’re all getting to understand vendor products in a detailed way.

At least that’s the way it’s supposed to be. But this one guy used his time to share what had to be his standard marketing deck. Not a whole lot of substance. The crowd was a bit frustrated; we came to hear details that would help us as we work with clients to make strategic decisions.

Someone asked the guy for clarification on a point, and he became a bit flustered. “Well,” he said, “what I just shared, those few words, that’s the ten thousand foot — the ten thousand foot elevator.”

I knew what he meant. It was a 10K view. Not the very, very simple thirty thousand foot view, but not the detail you’d expect from an on-the-ground or in-the-ditches (or looking-under-the-hood) viewpoint.

The other metaphor he was referring to was the elevator speech - the 1 minute conversation you should be ready for in case you are lucky enough to have an uninterrupted minute alone with a stakeholder.

I felt bad for this guy. He had a lot more than a minute with us- a great chance to influence a bunch of influencers. I could tell by the look on his face that he realized he hadn’t used his time as profitably as he could have.

The thing about elevator rides is that, after you’ve delivered your speech, the stakeholder will step out the door, and you’ll be left to finish the ride yourself. I couldn’t help but picture this guy, taking the long ten thousand foot elevator ride down after he left us, coming up with those great lines he wished he’d thought of in time to say to us.

For posts detailing capabilities reported by vendors presenting to us, check out blogs from Rick Hackathorn at http://www.b-eye-network.com/blogs/hackathorn/archives/events_in_the_b/iap08/ and Shawn Rogers at http://www.b-eye-network.com/blogs/rogers/.