One Dot a Point, Two Dots a Line, Three Dots a Trend

FountainBlue’s April 15 Front Line Managers Online program was on the topic of ‘One Dot a Point, Two Dots a Line, Three Dots a Trend’. Please join me in thanking our panelists. Below are notes from the conversation. Our esteemed panelists talked about the importance of data as we lead and manage our day-to-day work and communications. Data will remain the life’s blood of our work, as we all manage people, processes and technologies. We need the data to:

• coordinate, communicate and collaborate with others
• design and develop solutions which address the needs of the customer
• measure and report on progress on specific goals
• manage and optimize resources 
• ensure privacy, security and access

Below is a compilation of best practices around the usage and management of data.
Get the Right Data

• Make sure that you have the right data – that it is secure, relevant, up-to-date. (If you have garbage going in, you’ll have garbage going out – the GIGO principle.)
• Strategically decide how that right data can inform problem-solving, decision-making, road-mapping, planning, etc.
• Ensure that there is enough data from the wide range of sources so that accurate conclusions can be drawn.
• Create filters so you collect the most relevant data.
• Incentivize the team to collect the data so that all can better anticipate and address needs of the customer. 
• Develop the processes which make it easy for everyone to add feedback and data to the system, with the intent of better understanding how we can all improve.

Strategically Leverage the Data

• Use data as a framework to get buy-in for projects and programs.
• Succinctly communicate project status with overviews and tables, with details linked to an overview report.
• Collaborate with all parties to ensure that the data is relevant and timely, so that it can inform everyone on progress.

Protect the Data

• Ensure that your data and network are safe and secure, especially as many of our equipment, devices and appliances are inter-connected across the network.
• Configure layers of access to sensitive data and closely manage that access to minimize risk of data breaches.
• Store and protect all data so that it can be efficiently and securely accessed. 

The bottom line is that it’s NOT about whether we use the data, it will be about HOW we use the RIGHT data so we have the relevant information to make the right choices for ourselves, our teams, our organizations, our customers.

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