Everyone wants to turn their data into an asset for the business, but coming up with a data strategy and executing it is no easy task. The difficulty lies not in the technology and not in the business, but instead in people and how they deal with change, writes Paul Barth in a post at CIOUpdate.

Change management is always hard and getting various stakeholders on the same page often requires that they toss out preconceived notions, Barth writes. IT leaders and business leaders have to agree on goals and be willing to remain steadfast in reaching them, but often they see the incentives differently.

"Alignment is not about project plans, systems, or delivery dates. Alignment is fundamentally about people, motivation, teamwork, and trust," Barth writes. Stakeholders have to learn to learn to trust each other and "embrace a new and unknown future."

Barth suggests several steps for aligning stakeholders around a data strategy. First, everyone has to be committed to the same goal. To get business leaders on board, IT leaders can frame the goal in terms of the outcome, avoiding the challenges and complexities of the program or even ROI. You will have to spend some time educating business leaders about the data and how it flows throughout the organization.

"Remember, simplicity is crucial. The bigger the initiative, the simpler the story should be," Barth advises. "After months of hard work and analysis, we try to summarize the relationship between the initiative and the business strategy on a single slide."

Next, line up the strategy with various roles and incentives throughout the organization. If incentives for IT and incentives for the business are mismatched, frustration often results.

"If the project manager is rewarded for just on time delivery, they may press for shortcuts and workarounds. If IT is rewarded for quality and robustness, they'll push for additional development, testing, and contingency time. If they cannot align their goals, project quality or timeliness (or both) will suffer," Barth cautions.

For more, see:
- Paul Barth's post at CIOUpdate

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