A recent blog posted by Eric Reis in the Harvard Business Review warns of the pitfalls in creating what he refers to as ‘vanity’ metrics. The article raises the importance of understanding influencing factors and working to better instrument analytic program inputs. He goes on to emphasize the need to make metrics more, ‘actionable, available, and auditable’. Breaking down complex market trends to fundamentals observed in controlled phases can ultimately lead to better intelligence and help businesses move beyond the all too common tea-reading exercises.
While especially true for startups, most businesses need to become more agile in managing the feedback loop of information shared among multiple stakeholders. In addition, to positively impact decision-making activity and thus future outcomes, more thoughtful preparation and education may need to happen up stream.
Reis’s comment that, “different parts of the team are constantly ‘learning’ in their own private reality”, especially rings true. Making incorrect assumptions can certainly wreck havoc when attempting to interpret trend patterns. This affect is then multiplied if varied assumptions exist between parties. Therefore, teams need to be engaged early on in determining key factors to be tracked and where correlations to behavior may occur. With this type of awareness, business processes and outbound programs could be optimized with resulting impact analyses in mind.
Innovators tend to work quickly. Simplifying the distribution of critical information and providing it in various formats that can be easily visualized is bound to help. Yet to help glean better return on such efforts, organizations should assess various systems for appropriate inputs and their relationships. Ensuring that specific activities, conditions, and associations can be effectively traced at appropriate levels should hopefully garner more confidence and consistency to downstream reporting and discovery phases.
Sandy Rogers
Spotfire Blogging Team
