Data Governance Matters

I promised an update from the MDM event in Berlin last month. We tried something different with this event, and I’m very excited by it.

 Here’s what we did: Yes, it was set up as a standard, two-day event with a series of case studies on various topics. But instead of a series of disconnected presentations, we turned it into a two-day conversation. How?

• Before most of our presentations, we took a minute to put it into context of what had been presented thus far. We highlighted themes: the focus of the program, the role of technologies, organizational structures that had been employed, and program “configuration choices.”
• We asked the audience whether there were aspects of the case study that they wanted highlighted.
• We interrupted sessions to do quick ”compare-and-contrast” with what had been  presented earlier.
• We stopped and polled the audience when appropriate to see whether the circumstances being discussed would apply to them.
• We polled the audience to see which options they might choose from the ones that the presenting company considered.
• And we left lots of time for one-on-one and small-group discussions.

As a result, it seems like the attendees (about 70, from 16 countries) really got a taste of the “art” as well as the science of setting up a cross-functional program. And I, for one, felt blessed to have the opportunity to see what was working in so many different cultures and environments.

Of course, there was a downside to this approach. (Isn’t there always?) As chair and facilitator, I spent two days sitting up front where everyone could see me. So there was no way to hide it when the jet lag and heavy lunch kicked in the first afternoon. Don’t you just hate it when your eyelids get heavy even though you desparately want to give something your highest attention? Thank goodness for the strong coffee that came at the next break. And, as at least 5 or 6 people volunteered to me, they hadn’t noticed a thing…