Pervasive, data is a unique organisational resource, and this distinction warrants its own strategy. Data, representing your single non-depletable, non-degradable, durable strategic asset, is likely also your most poorly leveraged and underutilised organisational asset. Lack of talent, barriers in organisational thinking, and seven specific data sins prevent most organisations from benefiting fully from their data asset investments. Solving these prerequisites will allow your organisation to: Improve your organisations data; Improve the way your people use data; and Improve the way your people use data to achieve your organisational strategy. This method better focuses data and thinking in direct support of strategic objectives. After eliminating necessary prerequisites, organisations can develop a disciplined and repeatable means of improving their data, literacy, standards, and controls using data governance practices. Once in place, the process (based on the theory of constraints) becomes a variant of lather, rinse, and repeat. Several complementary concepts covered include: An overview of data strategy prerequisites; A repeatable process for identifying and removing data constraints; Why data strategy is necessary for effective data governance; Balancing operational results with capability development; An objective definition of data-centric thinking; and Ways to monetise these efforts.