How Do I...

The answer is simple.  The contours of your data are wild and unknown and everyone around you has a different opinion on how to see the big picture. Driving consensus on what part of the puzzle you will tackle in what order and how is essential and a data strategy gets you there quickly. 

Your data journey will not begin and end in a finite amount of time.  It will take many years to reach your destination.  You will deal with structured and unstructured data, BI, AI, and ML. At each stop you have to hold a steady line on what you makes sense to tackle and why. With clarity and leadership support your journey will be long and fruitful.

It depends on where you are on your journey.  If you are starting out or redoing your analytics platform for business or technical reasons, going slow is not an option.  Bring in the consultants - the ones who have done it many times before. They will help you provide clarity on your objectives and help you move rapidly. 

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There's art, science and magic to this. Art in managing expectation, science in the technology and magic because the chance of success is not high. Become a domain expert, technologist and a therapist.  It's not just your journey, you need to take the whole village with you through unknown and rough terrains.

This is perhaps the hardest of all the challenges.  Once you start executing your data strategy, demand will escalate exponentially.  CxOs will ask for new content and integration.  At the same time funding will not be infinite.  The secret is to manage expectations while continuing to deliver meaningful content.

If you aren't answering the strategic questions, the chances of affecting positive change is difficult.  It means garnering sustained leadership support and ability to manage change as if your life depends on it.  In a nutshell, starting small is ok but scaling requires investment.