Boring. Entry level. But rarely done well. Quit looking for silver bullets, at least until your organization has mastered executing the basics every single day.

Don’t look for Big Data until you’ve got your small data under control. That means data governance fully defined and executed such that your internal data is timely and accurate.

Don’t look for mapping plug-ins to show if any of your supplier or customer facilities are in the path of that storm until your internal data is complete and accurate.

If your company does a solid job of continually rationalizing parts, goods, customers and suppliers so that you are working with the optimal number and choices of each, accurate and timely data is much easier to maintain.

If your company is making significant improvements in processes, but not updating the records that document and reinforce that, the improvements fade.

You should be able to ask any fundamental question of your leadership team and get a data-backed accurate response, even if embarrassing, in seconds. You should get the same answer to that question regardless of whom you ask.

The best companies don’t let poor execution of the basics interfere with efforts to lead the pack. It’s never too late to go back to basics.

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