In the 20th century, business was guided through feeling. Old men in high towers would sit in large leather chairs. Their brow furled in extreme concentration. They would extend their consciousness and probe the air in some vain attempt to divine some spectral information. To glean some outside awareness, that would make their next move clear. Now, let’s not be disrespectful and acknowledge first, that a lot of those people we were talking about are absolute legends in their own right. And that there is no question, that we would not be where we are now, without people like them. But as I’m writing this, and I’m having to explain their process out loud, I’ve gotta level with you, dear reader. Doesn’t it all just seem a bit hokey?
Sure, going with your gut has been the impetus of a lot of success in the world. I am not arguing that for one second. What I am arguing, however, is that your gut has also been the impetus for tons of failure as well. Even though feelings are the things that build empires. Feelings are also the things that make companies like Kodak too slow to pivot to new technologies. Consequently plummeting their value to just six bucks a share. That’s a far cry from its 90 dollar trade value peak in 96.
So when presented with a conundrum like this, one does have to wonder. Isn’t there something I can rely on that’s a little more concrete? Some well of information that’s a little more solid than the mental mirages put in place by our predecessors? I’m so glad you asked! Let me introduce you to a little concept called operational analytics, and all of the ways that it can help guide you to make confident decisions for yourself and your business!
What are Operational Analytics?
First, let’s start with the basics. What are operational analytics? Put plainly, operational analytics or “OA” is a deep dive into your company’s data that identifies any burgeoning trends that seem to be developing within your business model. The implications of this are massive, as they allow you to make decisions based on real provable data rather than “just a feeling.”
A New Singer, A Classic Song
Now any of my more experienced readers will know that making decisions through “data-driven models” is not a new concept and that this is a practice that’s existed in some way shape or form for decades. That’s true. But what’s unique about modern OA, is the speed at which data can now be collected, parsed, and analyzed. Moore’s law states that computing power roughly doubles every two years. Now consider the fact that these initial techniques and technical dives into OA took decades ago, and already received very positive results. With that in mind if we follow Moore’s Law we begin to realize that those same techniques that produced incredible results on older instruments, now have access to about 10x the computing power. This is game-changing in the world of data collection. As decisions can be made in an order of magnitude faster than what was previously allowed.
If we’ve learned anything from tech’s conquest of the marketplace. It’s that for a company that wants to survive in the 21st century it needs to be as fast and flexible as possible. Having a tool like OA grants you that speed so that you are now able to make decisions the moment they become pertinent to your bottom line.
We all understand how cutthroat the business world is. When you’re running a company, whether you own a small business, or you’re the CEO of a conglomerate. You are always looking not only to improve your business but to improve it in ways that give you a competitive advantage over your competitor. Hey, there’s no shame in it. That’s how the game is played. OA can be the tool that gives you the edge over your rivals. Don’t get left behind, scrapping and scraping in the dust, all because you were too hesitant to embrace something new. Take a deep breath, calm those fears, and get ahead of the game, via analytical guidance tailor-made to your company.
When your business isn’t as healthy as you’d like. It can feel like you’re being hunted. Like every one of your competitors is out there. Somewhere in the dark. Waiting. Just outside your line of sight. Looking for an opening. Don’t leave yourself defenseless. In this day and age knowledge is power. My advice is to arm yourself with that knowledge. Forge it into a weapon that will allow you to flip the script on your competitors, and see how the hunters like being the hunted for a change!