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The Real AI Readiness Test: Is Your Data Clean Enough to Matter?
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This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by John Williams, a fractional CRO, and Jonathan Moss, founder of AI Business Network, who believe that “AI is useless if your customer data is a chaotic mess”—and they’re here to prove it. In this episode, they challenge the widespread assumption that companies are AI-ready just because their data is accessible, arguing that fragmented, siloed data creates “context debt” and erodes trust, retention, and revenue. From eye-opening client stories to tactical fixes, John and Jonathan reveal why senior revenue leaders must prioritize data clarity before chasing AI transformation—or risk accelerating mistakes instead of results. Is your data clean enough to matter, or are you just accelerating garbage? Listen in, debate, and decide.
Episode Type: Problem Solving
Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives.
Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers:
Topic #1: Clean Data is the Real Prerequisite for AI Success [00:00]
John Williams and Jonathan Moss argue that most companies are rushing into AI without first fixing fundamental data problems. They challenge the popular belief that AI alone can drive revenue impact, asserting instead, “AI can’t save your revenue engine if your data is a chaotic mess.” Brandi Starr pushes for specifics, leading to a candid debate on why data readiness—not AI adoption—is the real starting line for AI ROI.
Topic #2: The Cost of Context Debt on Revenue Teams [05:37]
Jonathan Moss introduces the concept of “context debt”—the hidden tax organizations pay when fragmented data erodes efficiency and trust. He challenges the common practice of making decisions in data silos, warning that “strategic decisions on impartial information” will hurt revenue and customer relationships. Brandi spotlights Moss’s point that context debt directly leads to lost deals and missed growth, stirring debate on how leaders should audit and connect data before deploying AI.
Topic #3: RevOps, Not IT, Should Orchestrate Data Readiness [22:17]
Jonathan Moss boldly claims that revenue operations—not IT or individual business units—should own the responsibility for stitching together customer data. He disrupts the status quo: “The go to market system, which I consider data, process and technology, should be owned by RevOps.” The discussion challenges traditional data ownership models and urges CROs/CMOs to empower RevOps to connect silos, warning that without clear ownership, AI projects will fail to deliver impact.
The Wrong Approach vs. Smarter Alternative
The Wrong Approach: “They try to think about connecting all their systems to the single truth without asking the question, what decision are we trying to make that this would help us be faster and better? And so they try to take on the entire the entire project of connecting versus thinking about what, what do we need to answer and how do we, how do we do that in a better way?” – Jonathan Moss
Why It Fails: Attempting to integrate every data system all at once often leads to overwhelming complexity, wasted resources, and solutions that don’t directly support urgent business needs. Without clarity on the specific decisions the business wants to improve, massive integration projects lack focus and can stall or fail, burdening teams instead of accelerating outcomes.
The Smarter Alternative: Start with the decisions that matter most—determine which questions need answering to drive business impact and work backward to connect only the necessary data sources for those outcomes. By aligning data efforts with clear, actionable objectives, companies can deliver value quickly and ensure their data strategy fuels smarter, faster decision-making.
The Rapid-Fire Round
Finish this sentence: If your company has this problem, the first thing you should do is _ “List all your customer data locations. Don’t worry about whether it’s clean yet—just knowing where all your data is and what it contains is your starting point.” – John Williams
What’s one red flag that signals a company has this problem—but might not realize it yet? “Confusing data infrastructure with decision infrastructure. Just because your data is ‘clean’ and stored in the right place doesn’t mean it’s actionable or aligned for decision-making.” – Jonathan Moss
What’s the most common mistake people make when trying to fix this? “Trying to connect every system to a single source of truth without first asking what business decision you’re actually trying to make. Instead, start with the question you need to answer, then connect only the data necessary for that.” – Jonathan Moss
What’s the fastest action someone can take today to make progress? “Gather all your department heads for a 55-minute whiteboard session. Map out the customer journey, pinpoint each team’s touchpoints, and identify what data you have at each stage. This quickly reveals gaps and opportunities for data flow improvement.” – John Williams
Links: John Williams
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/growthcro
Business: https://www.sunbusinessgroup.com/
Links: Jonathan Moss
Business: http://www.aibusinessnetwork.ai/
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