As 2010 comes to an end, we thought it would be appropriate to share our most important lessons learned (re-learned in some cases) over the past 12 months. So, here we go:
1) Everybody is looking at data for answers
Companies continue to accumulate data and are eager to exploit it. Data appear to be a vastly abundant, never ending resource (good data is a different story). The decline in other resources like money or manpower directly increases the interest in using data to gain a competitive advantage.
2) History is important but could be distracting
Historical data is important but a hyper focus on "what happened" could be counter productive and produce analysis paralysis. Shifting to a mindset of "what is more likely to happen?" and "what is the best that can happen?" tends to create a truly actionable environment.
3) Few people want tools, most just want answers.
Tools are important, they help us build things but when given the choice, knowledge workers prefer to spend their time making decisions instead of building reports. Death by a thousand reports come in different shapes. Sometimes extreme overhead, data overload, or slow decision cycles. This is usually a symptom of trying to answer the wrong questions.
4) Managing with averages yields average results, at best.
Here is a catch 22. Companies that don't drill down to the most atomic data levels and instead choose to manage by averages tend to produce average results. Companies that choose to analyze every single bit of data, can suffer indigestion and fall prey of analysis paralysis. The right approach, we have found is to do an exhaustive analysis but using smart, automated methods instead of report developers and excel spreadsheets. Companies tend to overestimate their averages, thinking that what applies at the national level, on average, will accurately translate to individual regions. The reality is that not all opportunities are created equal. They will vary by salesperson, product line, geography, time of the year, etc. Even if their averages look the same.
5) Hunches are never enough.
Hunches and experience will always play a role in business but so will data. We continue to be enjoy every time our analysis uncovers hidden gems or aha moments that contradict the conventional wisdom. Particularly when these moments increase the ROI that we deliver to our customers.
With these final thoughts we want to thank all of our partners, customers and employees for all of their help and support in 2010 and we wish everybody a very successful and data driven 2011.
