Oct 13, 2026 · 57 min · 22 segments
In the second half of our conversation with retired CEO Rod Hightower, John and Mark dig deeper into what it means for an executive to trust data…
Rod HightowerGuest
John LadleyHost
Mark CooperHost
AI seems to be magnifying each company's information management and data governance capabilities.
It's clear that those that do it well are getting the benefits of AI faster and more reliably.
Studies suggest that only a very small percentage of companies believe their data is truly AI ready.
But what are they actually doing about it? I mean, really, it seems like many companies are moving in the wrong direction, cutting data resources, prioritization, and head count.
We've talked before about the pitfalls of sacrificing data professionals on the altar of corporate cost savings.
And I'm not sure they call that a pitfall, and I'm not sure they care about the damage they're doing to their companies.
No, but I've seen many that have put up a great facade of innovation, you know, splashy press releases, then, then quietly mothball the project when that data turns out not to be any good.
And we will start today in the great Rock Bottom Data Feed tradition as we tackle some sacred cows about leadership.
AI seems to be magnifying each company's information management and data governance capabilities.
It's clear that those that do it well are getting the benefits of AI faster and more reliably.
Studies suggest that only a very small percentage of companies believe their data is truly AI ready.
But what are they actually doing about it? I mean, really, it seems like many companies are moving in the wrong direction, cutting data resources, prioritization, and head count.
We've talked before about the pitfalls of sacrificing data professionals on the altar of corporate cost savings.
And I'm not sure they call that a pitfall, and I'm not sure they care about the damage they're doing to their companies.
No, but I've seen many that have put up a great facade of innovation, you know, splashy press releases, then, then quietly mothball the project when that data turns out not to be any good.
And we will start today in the great Rock Bottom Data Feed tradition as we tackle some sacred cows about leadership.
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