Most companies approach data the wrong way.
At my data services company, Dive, I see it all the time:
1. Management needs a dashboard, insight, or report.
2. They ask the CTO or lead developer.
3. The developer Googles, hacks together a clunky report…
4. It’s often wrong, incomplete, or useless.
The root problem?
No one starts with the questions.
🚫 Wrong approaches I hear all the time:
* “We have a data guy.”
There’s no such thing. Data has multiple specialties: engineering, analytics, reporting, science, DevOps, and more.
* “We track everything.”
Wrong. Less is more. Track fewer, better events instead of dumping junk into a “data lake” (aka a pile of crap).
* “We use [insert trendy BI tool here].”
The tool is irrelevant until you know who needs the data, which teams, what type of data, and most importantly: What are their questions?
✅ The right way:
In 100% of the companies we fix, our first step is wiping the slate clean and starting with questions.
Clear questions lead to:
* Proper data modeling
* Useful events
* Accurate reporting
* Insights you can act on
Good questions:
* How many users installed yesterday?
* How many logged in? (New vs. returning)
* How much revenue did we make yesterday?
* How long until a new user becomes a subscriber?
* Why do users churn, and when?
Bad questions:
* “I want a 360° view of my users.” (What does that even mean?)
* “I want AI.” (AI for what?)
* “We want to track everything.” (Please don’t.)
If you remember one thing from this post:
💡 Data starts with questions.
Bad questions = bad data.
Good questions = better business.
📅 Want to talk about your data challenges?