Yesterday I conducted a public training on business analytics and one of the exercise we completed was doing a self-assessment of the business each participant currently finds themself in. 

• Level 1 – No analytics at all.
• Level 2 – Only a few people use analytics and most key management decisions are not made based on data, but on experience
• Level 3 – Some people use some analytics to make some decisions, but its generally inconsistent across the organization.
• Level 4 – Most decision makers have access and generally use analytics. Several key team members have strong analyst backgrounds.
• Level 5 – Every team member from top down knows analytics, has access to the data they need and are empowered to take action on it.

We need to work hard to develop an analytics culture in our businesses.

No technological solution or influx of top talent simply layered on top of existing processes and culture, can achieve these results. Further, pockets of existing analytical talent quickly grow disillusioned and, because they are not integrated into the business as a whole, fail to deliver much strategic value.