Why Data Alone Won't Change Your Organization with Sebastian Wernicke

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C Suite strategist, business founder and best selling author, sits down with Sebastian Wernicke, author of “Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation” and expert in data science, machine learning and AI.    0:00 Introduction & Welcome  1:08 Sebastian's Journey into Data  2:54 The Frustration That Inspired the Book  5:09 Data: Keeping Organizations the Same?  6:26 The Slow Elevator Story  8:38 Purpose First, Data Second  9:25 Understanding the Real Problem  12:12 Building a Culture of Inquiry  15:33 Data Driven or Data Frustrated  18:23 Data as Compression of Reality  19:54 Three Myths About Data  26:09 Complex Decisions: Bezos on Anecdotes vs. Data  28:41 Three Kinds of Indicators  30:34 Experimentation & Leading Indicators  31:49 Economics Consulting in Practice  37:24 Strategy as Problem-Solving  39:42 AI Strategy & Token Maxing  42:29 Measuring What Can't Be Measured  46:18 The Data Inspired Manifesto  48:54 Book Reception Across Fields  52:27 Bad Metrics & Short-Termism  55:18 Creating Space for Thinking  57:15 Closing Thoughts      Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify.   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought sparks/id1546758719  https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU    Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q    Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/  https://x.com/rgmcgrath  https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social    Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram.  https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath  https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/    Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.    https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/    Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com.