You're struggling to get senior leadership on board with data governance. How do you make them see the value?

Focus on the following strategies: • Illustrate how data governance directly supports the organization's strategic objectives and contributes to achieving key business outcomes. • Provide concrete examples and case studies demonstrating the return on investment from effective data governance. • Emphasize the potential risks and costs associated with poor data management. • Involve senior leaders in the data governance planning process to address their concerns and ensure they are invested in the initiative from the start. • Communicate the benefits of data governance in straightforward, non-technical terms.

There can be 2 scenarios here. First, the Data Leaders themselves don't see value in Data Governance, either because they have tried and failed miserably before or they are busy formulating AI strategy (discounting they need trusted data!). Second, business partners don't see value they can realize from data governance (they are not to be blamed here!). In either case, having a human-centric conversation about their concerns and priorities is a critical first step. Don't be a data police and turn this into an interview or an interrogation. Strive to understand their "personal" Bottom and Top line. Make sure to not fall in the trap of capturing "false" concerns. This is not a checklist to strike off.

1. Use clear, non-technical language to explain the concerns, avoiding jargon. 2. Present concrete examples and case studies that illustrate the impact on business outcomes. 3. Quantify the potential risks and costs associated with not addressing the concerns. 4. Show how addressing these concerns aligns with and supports overall business strategy. 5. Offer actionable recommendations and a clear plan for addressing the concerns, emphasizing the benefits.

Emphasizing the benefits of data governance by tying them directly to the organization's strategic objectives. For example, illustrating how improved data quality or data privacy could lead to better customer insights and more effective marketing strategies with trusted compliance.

For Stakeholders who are revenue generators focus on how data governance can support business strategies. For others focus on how defensive governance can help avoid reg penalties, meet reg requirements.

1. Use clear, non-technical language to explain the benefits, avoiding jargon. 2. Highlight specific examples and case studies that illustrate tangible improvements and business outcomes. 3. Quantify benefits such as cost savings, efficiency gains, and risk reductions to make a compelling case. 4. Tailor the message to different stakeholders, focusing on what matters most to each group. 5. Provide regular updates on progress and successes to maintain transparency and build confidence.

Communicate benefits around business outcomes. They don't need scores for 6 dimensions of data quality for the "CDE/KDE" - they need to know how they can trust data to inform their strategy and decisions that drives supply chain resiliency. If you can help them see, they will understand the benefits!

Sharing success stories from other organizations that have implemented effective data governance helped make the concept more tangible. I presented case studies where companies experienced measurable improvements in efficiency, compliance, and decision-making after adopting robust data governance practices. This approach helped to demonstrate real-world value and potential return on investment

Would you invest 100k in crypto because there are success stories? Success is personal. While stories are great to bring in a conversation, in my personal opinion, they do not drive home the point. Solve a small problem for them and they will trust you with bigger problems.

Establishing clear objectives for data governance framework based on audit findings and business needs. Design a data governance structure including roles, responsibilities, and committees (e.g., Data Governance Council). Select and implement data governance tools (e.g., data cataloging) that support the policies, regulations and standards

Scope the problem (true scope). Agree on the desired outcomes. Agree on the timeline. Solve it on paper. Pressure test it with experts. Solve the problem. Celebrate!

People, Process, Technology are foundational pillars for Data Governance. Encourage discussions between different departments to ensure the governance strategy meets various needs. Form a committee to oversee the implementation and ensure broad support. Operationalize change management through tickets to corresponding stakeholders based on RASCI.

Engaging stakeholders is critical - yes! The real question here is how? Why would they engage? Ponder over it. Be critical. Once you are ready, meet with them with your reasons.

1. Define clear, measurable metrics aligned with business objectives, such as data quality improvements, cost savings, or risk reduction. 2. Use baseline data to compare pre- and post-implementation performance, highlighting improvements. 3. Collect and analyze feedback from stakeholders to assess perceived benefits and areas for improvement. 4. Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) regularly to track ongoing progress and identify trends. 5. Report results transparently to stakeholders, showcasing successes and addressing any challenges.

Gaining top management support requires an approach that links governance to business outcomes ... Align with strategic objectives: Demonstrate how data governance supports the organization's long-term goals, such as compliance, risk management and data-driven decision making. Demonstrating alignment with strategic objectives can make the need for governance even clearer. Demonstrate ROI: Present a clear return on investment (ROI) for data governance initiatives. Use data to demonstrate cost savings, efficiency gains or improved business performance resulting from effective governance practices.

We interviewed senior executives and asked 'what they thought our biggest DATA challenges at our company were?' We recorded their answers. We took action on what they revealed and reported back to them. We created a newsletter and put their picture next to their original answer and shared what DG did about it! We included their reaction to what we did... Build DG advocates by listening and taking action!