Data is not the point; decisions are
Every business produces data — the question is whether leadership can use it. Useful data is defined by the decision it informs. If a report does not change or confirm a decision, it is decoration.
Turning raw data into decisions
Work backwards from the decision: what must be true to act, which numbers prove it, and where do those numbers come from. That turns 'let's track everything' into a short list of metrics with owners.
Then let the rhythm do the work: a fixed monthly review of a fixed set of numbers, compared against last month and last year. Consistency of habit matters more than sophistication of tooling.
