Talend Data Health: Redefining Expertise

Article in partnership with Talend.

Last month, my company’s finance department informed me that my car lease was about to expire. As an Italian, I’m drawn to aesthetics, elegance, comfort, and luxury — qualities that converge in Alfa Romeo’s sports cars, particularly the new Giulia.

To be honest, my instinct was to choose an ultra-powerful version to enjoy the experience of driving a car with hundreds of KW and NM of thrust for the next three years. Fortunately, Alfa Romeo’s catalog is expansive, and it forced me to run some numbers on the technical, financial, and environmental data.

The fossil fuel emissions stopped me in my tracks. While the most powerful cars give rise to a thousand positive emotions, they are also major contributors to greenhouse effects — costing humanity and future generations far more than their list price.

In the end, my spreadsheet led me to choose a car not based on its powertrain, but rather its overall performance, price, and environmental footprint.

So why am I telling you this story? I want to highlight the importance of using data to make objective, strategic, and well-considered decisions.

If I had simply let my instincts prevail, I would have made a mistake — one that I would have had to live with for the next three years. Instead, I used data to bridge the divide between my instincts (or, in this case, my appetites) and my intellect. Thanks to the numbers, I was able to take a step back, think rationally, and make a decision that served my needs, preferences, and values.

When it comes to higher-level business decisions, having the ability to rationalize is critical to remaining competitive in the market, navigating socioeconomic and political upheavals, fostering a productive and healthy workplace culture, and streamlining operations. And yet many executives continue to let instinct, self-confidence, and past performance dictate their major decisions.

Last week, when I participated in Talend Connect, I was alarmed by some of the statistics on this very topic. In the keynote delivered by Talend’s CEO, Christal Bemont, she referred to a 2021 Qualtrics survey that was completed by 529 executives based in a variety of countries and working across industries and sectors. As it turns out, despite working with data on a daily basis, “36% of [the respondents] continue to follow their instincts” when it comes to…