There’s no single event driving the sudden interest in data strategy. Nothing at the strategy level changes overnight or is readily adopted. There are good reasons for it. Mistakes are expensive, and fads sprout up all the time. Fad-driven strategy has a lengthy history of disastrous results.
However, when change comes to strategy, it’s tectonic. The acceptance phase is like watching water boil over a lit match, and the adoption phase is explosive. A critical mass of proof and results is required to start the shift.
Every business has a threshold of proof dictated by its risk tolerance, so adoption is uneven. Early adopters are often companies faced with bankruptcy. Their risk tolerance is very high, and that’s driven by crisis.
COVID was a shock event for technology adoption. The businesses hit hardest and fastest were startups like Airbnb. Many growth startups faced an existential threat from shifting customer habits and lockdowns.
Using Data To Come Back From The Abyss
The CEO of Airbnb called that period “starring into the abyss.” Uncertainty went from 0 to 100 in 6 weeks, and many startups were faced with collapse. Those are the kind of shocks that put all options on the table. To survive, Airbnb pivoted to become a mature, data-driven business in about a year.
Data-driven CEOs and founders sound different. Airbnb’s CEO was asked about their rising average booking price increases. Was the trend driven by inflation or some other force? He responded by explaining a new trend they saw in the data.