41 Kellogg Insight in real time, based on specific customer attributes. I’m quite mindful that people have talked about “a segment of one” and personal - ized marketing for years. That’s not new. What I think is increasingly advanced is the capability to do highly individualized marketing driven by robust data analyt - ics at very large scale and to optimize it dynamically in real time. LEININGER: Making this shift requires dif - ferent personnel and priorities. Let’s talk about the people involved. You’ve been in your job for six years. How does your marketing team look different now than it did six years ago, and what do you think it’s going to look like six years from now? O’TOOLE: I hear people say, “We need data scientists.” Well, yes, very selectively— but what you need more broadly are peo - ple in different types of functions who are able to translate business needs and problems into data analytics, manage the data required, perform the analytics, and then apply the analytic output in the execution of marketing initiatives and activities. Based on insights from Tom O ’ Too le and Eric Leininger Create a Data- Friendly Culture Tip 4. Demonstrate Intellectual Honesty Curiosity paired with data can generate unexpected insights. But these insights will be worthless if they are disregarded or shut down. “Don’t reject answers just because they are inconvenient or don’t support your paro- chial view or functional role or opinion, or because they call into question established practices—in simple terms, because they aren’t what you want to hear,” says O’Toole. Even subtle criticism from senior leaders can sharply curtail people’s willingness to bring forward honest information. “If you want to torpedo an intellectually curious culture very quickly, that’s a good way to do it.”