We work with over 60 organisations and have a profound grasp of where they struggle and where others outperform them. A question that we commonly ask ourselves is, 'what makes a winning organisation?' We've boiled it down to the following key factors:

  • Vision, strategy and ambition. - In most cases, the most successful organisations have a clear vision, strategy and ambition. They clearly understand where they are currently, where they want to be and how quickly they want to get there. 
  • Senior commitment. - They also have board-level support who are interested in driving through change. Having full support from the board can make a big difference in an organisation's success.
  • Governance. -We also realised that senior members of the organisation are often involved with driving progress, unblocking obstacles and holding people to account. They tackle the cross-organisational issues that often drag transformational projects down. 
  • Understanding of constraints. - They have a good understanding of their constraints. But they don't get suffocated by them. They work around them, use the evidence of impact to influence others and build momentum. 
  • Transformation. - They understand this isn't the job of 'someone in the data team'. It requires a data culture that runs deep into the heart of the project delivery organisation. As such, the organisation treats it as a transformation project rather than a bolt-on. The organisation understands the various strands of activity that need to be developed in parallel. 
  • Iterative approach. - We've seen some organisations trying to tackle the challenge of data in a massive change programme. However, they often get bogged down in organisational design, consultation and much more. Those organisations pulling away are running pilots and driving change in rapid spirals rather than a big bang. 
  • Developing talent. - They recognise that some members of their project teams will become increasingly obsolete as new methods gain traction. Rather than trying to find data talent within an overheated market, they invest in developing their people. Step 1 highlights the need for change and the opportunities it presents. Step 2 is to inspire them, create a fear of missing out, and show them a path. Then sign them up for the Project Data Academy.
  • Open-source. -  The organisations making rapid progress tend to be those working on open-source solutions. Clients are beginning to understand the opportunities that this provides, leaving them with solutions that they can iterate and build on for collective benefit. 
  • Data. - The more advanced organisations are also beginning to understand that the data they collect and the problems they aspire to solve are only sometimes aligned. They are beginning to get to grips with how they close these gaps.

Most interesting, there are organisations out there that are working within a walled garden, developing products and services to sell or differentiate themselves from others. But we sense that those who work collaboratively will outperform their peers. Particularly those who are agile and responsive. They'll move more quickly together than alone. 

Get in touch today for more information about our services or how we can help your organisation work towards the winning formula!