The next time you hear an executive parroting the “data is the new oil” line, sit them down at your own CRM for a few hours. Eyeball a few of the records your own company’s people created and supposedly cleaned with whatever SaaS services you have connected.

Then ask yourself a question: If that data’s so screwed up, what about the stuff you’re acquiring from other 3rd parties and using to predict behaviors? Maybe some of that oil’s of the snake variety.