Harvard Business Review - 2012.10.pdf

Data for SkepticsA few months ago,while I was attending a daylong conference in New York,several people approached me to say theyd like to write some-thing for HBR about“big data.”It felt like a tipping point,so I began asking businesspeople for their take on the topic.I soon found that they have a huge interest in big data,but also a lack of clarity about it.Just what differentiates“big”data from mere dataand how are orga-nizations supposed to use it to their benefit?I also learned that many skeptics wonder whether some of the companies selling big data“solutions”are simply capitalizing on the emerging hype.(Y2K,anyone?)In this months Spotlight package,which starts on page 59,we aim to clarify the subject.The primary takeaway:Yes,theres a lot of hype.But companies that make a sophisticated analysis of the huge data streams now available can unlock deep insights and valuewithout having to make major new investments in technology.We tapped some of the best minds in the field to illuminate the topic.Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson,both of MIT,make the case that big data has the potential to revolutionize the art of management.McKinseys Dominic Barton and David Court agree;they demonstrate that with the right organizational sup-port,big data can help propel companies to levels of performance we havent seen in two decades.Tom Davenport,a visiting professor at Harvard Business School,and D.J.Patil,of Greylock Partners,identify data scientists as having the“sexiest”job of our era and explain how to find and attract them.Big data is out there.The trick is finding ways to make it work for your company.Adi Ignatius,Editor in ChiefPhotograPhy:EliE honEinhbr.org12 harvard business reviewOctober 2012From the E company you represent is the single most important determinant of whether you will be a great,average,or bad sales-person.Where the company is positioned in the marketits products,pricing,delivery,and so onwill outweigh anything salespeople bring to the table.Too many organizations believe great salespeople will somehow magically produce great results.Two salespeople working for the same company distinguish themselves from each other by hunger and focus.David Kompes,financial services consultant,MAP Financial SolutionsGreat salespeople have always made the customers buying process easier.Only poorly trained sales reps suggest solutions before they know their clients needs.You can call your new approach whatever you wish.Id still call it selling.Steve Herzberg,managing director,NRG Solutions Illuminating new insights about unknown problems is just one piece of reaching people.The second piece is the ability to connect with buyers in meaningful ways.The most insightful person,if hes robotic or inauthentic,wont make this visceral connection with other people.Chris Taylor,TIBCO Software,and HBR bloggerPotential clients do not buy things logically;they buy things emotionally and justify their purchases logically.As sales profession-als,we must work to find out how these emotional decisions are being made.Matt Rowe,CSO,SalesLeadership,Inc.This research and the Challenger sales-organization model have the potential to free marketers from the“death by data sheet”approach.The key is driving to that differentiated insight,which requires true collaboration between the sales depart-ment in the field and the marketer.Amber Benson,founder,SeamripperWe have incorporated the authors Chal-lenger model into our sales training,but we are starting to think that we lack the talent.We may require a shift the other HBR article by Brent Adamson,Matthew Dixon,and Nicholas Toman,JulyAugust 2012Customers dont need salespeople the way they used to.Instead of waiting for reps to identify problems that suppliers can fix,customers now research and diagnose their own problemsand reach their own solutionsbefore they even speak to a salesperson.The authors outline the sometimes radical tactics of a new breed of sales reps.These“Challengers”push customers out of their comfort zone,target agile organizations,seek out active stakeholders,and coach customers on how to buy.A New Guide to SellingWhy Life Science Needs Its Own Silicon Valley HBR article by Fariborz Ghadar,John Sviokla,and Dietrich A.Stephan,JulyAugust 2012How can we create an industry cluster for human genomics?And where?Ghadar,Sviokla,and Stephan tell us that“no one really knows how to create a cluster.”I beg to differ.My MIT col-leagues and I have been working with public and private leaders in seven cities in the Americas,Europe,the Middle East,and Asia to create dynamic clusters since 2000.That work has revealed a set of principles and strategies that we believe can be ap-plied elsewhere.In our experience,cluster making is guided by strategic intent,rather than a fixed master plan,and uses what we call“rehearsals”to experiment with new ways of communicating,collaborat-ing,and behaving.The people who live and work in these clusters are actors in those rehearsalsparticipants in a