When “data-driven” is blocked by design

Leadership mandated data-backed decisions and established a formal data function.

Two years later, a basic daily sales dashboard still didn't exist.

The data function had no access to sales target data.

Sales targets sat outside the data warehouse. The function had no authority to access source systems.

Authority to add the data to the warehouse sat with a senior leader who did not report to the data function.

Requests were made repeatedly. Nothing changed. Escalation produced a formal request. It was rejected.

The outcome was predictable:

Users extracted data manually, reformatted it, uploaded it weekly, and checked it so the dashboard could run.

This became the permanent operating model.

Data responsibility was assigned. Data authority was not.

The function was accountable for insights but had no control over access, no ability to compel integration, and no forcing mechanism when dependencies blocked delivery.

Without authority, requests become suggestions. Suggestions do not override design.

For data functions to produce insights, they must control access to the data that produces insights—or have escalation authority that can compel it.

When accountability flows downward and authority remains upstream, workarounds become infrastructure.

The organization wanted data-backed decisions. The design made manual extraction permanent.