Juraj Porubský

DATA, DATA, DATA

When the crisis hit in 2018, businesses started to introduce dietary programmes. In good times some fat is always gained. Just remember last Christmas. Only a few of us, the most disciplined, resisted the excess of Christmas cakes.

The post-crisis CEO surveys in Slovakia showed that cost saving and effectiveness improvement projects were top management’s main priorities. Revenues have decreased and costs had to adaptto this trend.

In recent years, cuts have receded from the top priorities. As managers learnt the lessons of the crisis, they have not allowed their businesses to fatten too much.

Therefore, the question is, what will they do if economic growth slows? The trust of Slovak leaders in growth over the next three years has dramatically decreased, from 40% to 15%.

And, of course, diet programmes will again come to the fore. However, I believe that firms will try to be smarter. They will seek to introduce effectiveness in all their activities. They will seek to design new processes to save money and create a more effective base for the future Data is essential. Currently, the amount of data firms have is extensive and its proper evaluation and use can bring greatly improved results. Businesses have learnt that fighting against what the data shows is like running against the wind. I recently read that data is the new oil. The most valuable businesses in the world are tech businesses and regarding their work with data, they have undoubtedly far surpassed the majority of us. If, until now, due to the strong economy some firms overlooked the power of data, no-one can afford such a luxury in a period of poor growth. Data analytics will be a key tool of all successful CEOs.

Juraj Porubský
Šéfredaktor Forbes