Data & Deuteronomy: A Secret to Survival and Innovation

As I write this, I am reflecting on the Jewish Holiday of Shavuot, which took place this year just as Memorial Day Weekend got underway. Shavuot commemorates the Jewish People receiving the Torah — the Five Books of Moses — at the foot of Mount Sinai. It’s an important holiday for my family and compels me to ponder the power of information that is effectively collected, organized, and acted upon by energized communities and networks of all sizes.

As I’ve explained to my colleagues at Arkus, who cross the full spectrum of backgrounds and beliefs, spiritual and otherwise: the genius of the Torah was, and is, that it is the shared reference point for the entirety of the Jewish People, transcending space and time. Go to any synagogue or Jewish house of learning at any point in history and you will find the same Torah, written in its original language. It serves not just as a spiritual document, but a kind of "Owners Manual" for life — with everything from agricultural requirements, dietary laws, labor relations guidelines, and proper conflict mediation, etc. and includes a comprehensive history and collective activity tracker of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, from Abraham to Joshua.

This shared practical reference point has been foundational to the Jewish People’s ability to adapt and innovate over thousands of years while remaining connected to each other and a collective purpose. Would surviving, let alone thriving, have been possible without this single source of truth, from which to operate and debate? The answer is a definitive no.

So why am I thinking about this while I work? While I partner with amazing nonprofits and organizations realizing incredible missions, I wouldn't say my day-to-day work is always spiritually enlightening per se.

However, most companies and organizations can relate to the joy of Shavuot because they understand the need for a single source of truth. Most CEOs and ED's know that their team can't have a productive debate that leads to sound decisions unless everyone is operating from a common reference. 

The key question is: Where is your single source of truth? Too many organizations are cobbling together disparate, if not conflicting, sources of information to form their narrative. Does this sound familiar to your own organization?

“What a mess! The marketing team is reporting that engagement is way up while the board is saying that no one actually reads their emails. Oh, and the fundraising team is saying they're bringing in gifts left and right while the finance team is going on about not seeing any revenue increase. Our constituents are supposedly benefiting from our support more than ever, but no one can seem to agree on the right way to quantify that increase. So what do we say?”

In this kind of scenario, there’s no hope for a productive debate because everyone is operating off a different story of where the organization stands. But despair not, for there is hope!

Creating and upkeeping a single source of truth is now more realistic and more affordable than it ever has been before for organizations and companies, thanks to cloud platforms like Salesforce that unite the stories across all your teams and departments into one cohesive and accurate narrative.

If an entire civilization can maintain its mission and identity while adapting to the changes of the world from the Roman Empire to the Information Age by committing to a single source of truth, so can any group of individuals joined together by a common pursuit. And if you lack a single source of truth across your organization, you don’t need to be Moses - you just need the right platform and the right partner to help you create one.

What do you think? Reach out to me on LinkedIn or connect with Arkus via our contact form.