6: Executive Support
As an enterprise initiative, BI relies on the support of management. Anecdotal and statistical (Survey) evidence is presented to suggest that executive support of BI facilitates adoption and lack of support inhibits the success of BU initiatives. However, getting support can be difficult if senior executives do not understand the value of BI.
Which Executive Is the Best Sponsor?
Sponsorship from C-level executives (CEO, COO, CFO, CIO) is necessary, though it is commented that the CIO "does not appear to be the most effective sponsor" based on statistical evidence, though the author posits that it largely depends on the level of personal influence a given officer has. IF a CIO is a technocrat rather than a core member of the business team, his endorsement of the project will carry little sway.
Additional anecdotal evidence suggests that the endorsement of a project by an executive who has influence with the prospective users of an application is a key to success, regardless of job title or functional area. A quote from a BI specialist is presented to suggest that a project needs an "executive apostle" to get support and funding sufficient to drive a BI initiative.
It's also noted that, in some instance, a change in executive-level sponsorship may be necessary to move a project forward. Examples are provided of three companies in which a BI deployment was originally an IT initiative, but did not become successful until ownership changed to a non-IT sponsor.
Getting Executive Buy-In
The author presents anecdotal evidence to success that executive level advocacy is necessary to press through organizational obstacles and suggests a few tactics for gaining support. Some of the benefits of executive sponsorship are:
- Their commitment to the initiative will foster support
- They can associate the value of BU to the company's strategy
- They have approval authority over budget and resources
- They have the authority to resolve issues and prioritize the project
- They can clear political barriers in the middle and lower ranks
First, demonstrate small successes. Seek to pursue "quick wins" that will provide appreciable results, which can be used as a springboard for more ambitious initiatives. One example is of a company that began with a low-tech and labor-intensive approach to aggregating data, and used the cost-savings to automate the tasks, then leveraged the system to produce additional intelligence.
In some instance, it's important to manage expectations, especially when BI is oversold to the point where there is little chance of delivering benefits on the scale expected. A case is mentioned in which BI vendors showed the executives "a bunch of eye candy" and understated the expense and difficulty, which poisoned the well for quite some time.
It may also be possible to exploit frustration, to discover a widespread problem for which BI can provide a solution, though the advice comes with a word of caution: being critical of current systems and practices may not be well received (especially by those who implemented the processes and systems that are the cause). Focus on the business issue and the value of the solution.