Data is a Practice, Not a Project

Why are we still talking about data in 2026? Shouldn’t this problem be solved by now?

It’s the same reason we are still talking about dieting and exercising. Knowing what to do is very different from actually doing it.

Getting your data right isn’t a one-off project. It’s a process, a lifestyle, and a way of becoming the organization you need to be.

The motivation is clear: Running your business requires data. AI requires data. And the more autonomous you want your operations to become, the more high-quality data you need to fuel them.

But in order to get there, you can’t just run a “data cleaning project” once a year and hope for the best. You have to decide that data is a true asset and treat it accordingly every single day.

That doesn’t mean putting up posters about being “data-driven”. Rather, it means fundamentally changing how you operate—defining who gets hired, who gets promoted, and who is trusted to lead your most critical business initiatives based on how they treat and leverage your data.

Should you invest in the latest tools? Absolutely. But you still have to build the culture. A fitness app can help you with consistency, but it doesn’t build muscle.

Will we still be talking about data in 2036? I both fear and hope so, yes.

But if we shift our mindset from projects to practice, maybe it can be a much more meaningful conversation by then.