Enquire Now
DQ Blog Article Data Quality: How Is The Iceberg Of Ignorance Hurting Yours?

Data Quality: How Is The Iceberg Of Ignorance Hurting Yours?

How Is The Iceberg Of Ignorance Hurting Yours?

After the last year and a half, the importance of using data to generate insights and guide the direction of your business has become even more important.

As organisations around the world try to leverage their data more, many of them are finding the insights drawn aren’t quite working, and in this blog, we detail just why that might be.

The Iceberg of Ignorance

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. That’s what will do you in.” – Mark Twain

This quote often encapsulates a lot of the issues faced by businesses.

In 1989, consultant Sidney Yoshida came up with the concept of the “iceberg of ignorance”, which posits that 100% of a business’s problems are known by front-line staff, but top-level management only know of 4% of those problems.

MicrosoftTeams image (52)

If we apply this to data quality, the top-level managers will be looking at the tip of their data iceberg, and seeing what they believe to be organised, formatted and correct data records that should be providing useful insights.

The front-line staff, however, have a very different opinion…

What lurks beneath…

The colleagues who are working “at the coalface” of a business, on the shop floor or dealing with customers directly, will know exactly how deep the iceberg goes.

Through using the CRM systems daily, they will know why the data the organisation has isn’t providing the insights needed.

They’ll know the issues with the data capture processes, the workarounds that they need to use to get work done that ultimately leave incorrect records, and they may even know how these issues could be addressed, but don’t have the time or power to put them into effect.

How DQ Can Help Right the Ship

At DQ Global we are uniquely positioned to help you discover just how deep the iceberg goes, and help you draw up an action plan of how to right the ship and avoid disaster.

Not sure where to start? Book a DQ Discovery Call

Looking to unlock the full potential of your customer data, but struggling with data quality issues? Our DQ Discovery Call service is here to help! Our team of experts will analyze the root causes of your data quality challenges and provide you with practical solutions to transform your customer data into a powerful tool for success.

Book Now

If you’re concerned about the quality of your Customer Data, book a DQ Discovery Call with us today

Connect

Written by Martin Doyle

Martin is CEO and founder of DQ Global, a Data Quality Software company based in the UK. With an engineering background, Martin previously ran a CRM Software business. He has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience over the years and has established himself as a Data Quality Improvement Evangelist and an industry expert.