The Data Illusion: Why Most Companies Get It Wrong

Richard Marshall leaned back in his chair, watching the city lights flicker through the glass walls of the 32nd floor conference room. It was 7:00 PM, another late evening. Across from him sat the company’s senior leadership team: Lisa from Strategy, Tom from Marketing, and Priya from Finance. The quarterly business review had stretched longer than expected, but Richard wasn’t surprised. Every conversation about their data and AI initiatives felt like running on a treadmill—plenty of motion, but no real progress.