The champion effect: Building internal advocates for data adoption

Despite significant investments in analytics infrastructure, dashboards, and data models, organizations continue to struggle with low adoption rates. This session reveals the critical missing ingredient in successful data initiatives: internal champions. Drawing from real-world implementations across dozens of organizations, I'll share how the presence of engaged business-side advocates consistently determines whether data projects thrive or languish unused—regardless of technical sophistication. Attendees will learn a practical, field-tested framework for identifying, engaging, and empowering these crucial change agents. I'll provide specific strategies for spotting potential champions based on behavioral patterns, demonstrate how to engage them through pain-point-focused approaches rather than technical capabilities, and share proven tactics for equipping them to drive organization-wide adoption. This talk goes beyond technical considerations to address the human element of data adoption, offering immediate, actionable guidance that data leaders can implement to transform the impact of their analytics investments. Featuring real case studies of champions who have dramatically increased data adoption in their organizations, this session provides a blueprint for turning isolated data initiatives into enterprise-wide transformation. Session Takeaways - Learn to identify potential data champions using specific behavioral indicators and a practical assessment framework - Discover strategies to engage champions through their business pain points rather than technical capabilities - Master techniques for creating quick, impactful wins that champions can leverage for broader advocacy - Understand how to effectively communicate with and equip champions based on their organizational position - Develop metrics to track champion effectiveness and data adoption progress