Ninety-nine percent of businesses surveyed say that data and AI are a top priority—but two-thirds admit to feeling stuck. What most leaders miss is that to succeed at becoming a data-driven business requires developing a nuanced understanding of why data holds such transformative power, what a data-inspired culture looks like, and how to get there.

Data Inspired shows that the secret isn't to be more data-driven—it is to become data-inspired. This book reveals the crucial strategic distinction between using data to optimize existing operations and using them as a catalyst for deep transformation and innovation. Wernicke argues that success hinges less on technology and more on reshaping an organization's culture and decision-making habits. And with this book's proven principles, real-world examples, and comprehensive toolbox of methods for building a culture of evidence-based inquiry, readers will learn that success means far more than just adding more data to a business: it is about creating a thoroughly data-inspired organization with innovative work methods, new structures, and unmatched efficiency.

Data Inspired will help business leaders, managers, and data professionals move beyond incremental improvements to achieve lasting, powerful change.

The book's author, Sebastian Wernicke, recently took time to answer seven questions from Porchlight.

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Porchlight Book Company: Writing a book is no small undertaking. What compelled you to write this one?

Sebastian Wernicke: For twenty years, I’ve helped companies unlock the value of their data—and watched many of them run headfirst into the exact same wall. They treat data entirely as a technology problem, when it is inherently a human one. The real challenge is getting people to be genuinely curious, deeply inquisitive, and brave enough to change their minds. I looked everywhere for a book that tackled this frustrating cultural reality head-on, and did so in a way that was genuinely enjoyable and accessible to read. When I couldn't find one, I wrote it myself.

PBC: What is one unanswered question you encountered as you wrote the book that you are most interested in answering now?

SW: The big one: What happens to human intuition when AI officially takes a seat at the executive table? We are told data and AI will augment our creativity, not replace it. But as algorithms grow exponentially smarter, where exactly is the boundary between leaning on the math and trusting our gut? I don't have the definitive answer yet, but the tension between the two is something I am obsessed with exploring.

PBC: If there is only one thing a reader takes away from reading this book, what would you hope it to be?

SW: Curiosity is your ultimate superpower—but only when you back it up with rigor. I want readers to walk away knowing how to build organizations that are hungry for change, yet ground that hunger firmly in evidence. Data isn't the enemy of creativity. It’s the spark that ignites your boldest ideas and the proof that they actually work.

PBC: One of the great things about books is that they tend to lead readers to other books. What book[s] related to this topic would you recommend people read after (or perhaps even before) reading your book?

SW: If you want to understand how humans actually process information and make decisions, skip the airport business aisle. Some of the best books for data leaders aren't even about data. They are about communication, human delusion, and storytelling. Some all-time favorites of mine:

• Information Anxiety by Richard Saul Wurman. This is the ultimate, classic takedown of the idea that having more data equals having more understanding. It's a must-read for curing dashboard overload.
• Draft No. 4 by John McPhee, a master of literary nonfiction. This book is a masterclass in how to take massive, complex piles of raw material and turn them into a story people actually care about.
• Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. Sounds crazy for a data recommendation, I know. But it is simply a great book on how the human brain processes visual information, fills in the blanks, and creates meaning. It will entirely change how you build presentations.

PBC: What is your favorite book?

SW: One of my absolute favorites—and the most fitting fiction parallel for this topic—is Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. It’s a brilliant, quirky dystopia where society is rigidly structured around a person's ability to perceive color. It perfectly captures the absurdity of what happens when a culture becomes blindly driven by a single, arbitrary metric. And you learn words like retroussé.

PBC: What are you reading now?

SW: I’m currently revisiting To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink. When you publish a book, you suddenly have to step out from behind the keyboard and say, “Hey, please look at this thing I made!” Pink’s work is a comforting reminder that no matter our actual job title, we are all ultimately in the business of moving other people. It’s my survival guide for stepping out of the shadow of authorship and into the spotlight.

Do you have any future projects in the works that we can look forward to?

SW: The concept keeping me up at night lately is the "decision architecture" of organizations. It’s an incredibly vital, often overlooked field. How do we deliberately design the physical, digital, and cultural environments of our workplaces to organically nudge people toward better, more evidence-based choices? Unpacking that invisible scaffolding of decision-making is exactly what I’m keen on exploring next.

About the Author

Sebastian Wernicke, PhD, is a partner at Oxera Consulting, one of Europe's oldest economics and finance consultancies, where he leads the data science and artificial intelligence practice. For two decades, he has guided global organizations to achieve transformative results with data and AI. His three TED Talks on data and decision-making have been viewed by millions worldwide.