Hurricane Sandy damage between the ocean and Rt 35 in Bayhead, N.J. on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. (Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen) New Jersey Governor’s Office
Two articles really grabbed me this week as we all watched as nature remind us what power is and what it’s capable of with eight, ten feet of water..
The first read was by a Peter Drucker, although deceased Drucker’s articles still hit home and like aged advice from our parents, it still sends a critical and reminding note. Drucker wrote early on in his career, after listening to John Maynard Keyes speak. “Keyes was talking about managing commodities and I was interested in people”
“We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity: If you’ve got ambition and smarts, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession, regardless of where you started out.
But with opportunity comes responsibility. Companies today aren’t managing their employees’ careers; knowledge workers must, effectively, be their own chief executive officers. It’s up to you to carve out your place, to know when to change course, and to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work life that may span some 50 years. To do those things well, you’ll need to cultivate a deep understanding of yourself—not only what your strengths and weaknesses are but also how you learn, how you work with others, what your values are, and where you can make the greatest contribution. Because only when you operate from strengths can you achieve true excellence.”
‘Managing yourself’ is tied directly to the second piece on Business analytics. Did you know that 13% of the businesses our size and type use business analytics?
Business analytics refers to the skills, technologies, applications and practices for continuous iterative exploration and investigation of past business performance to gain insight and drive business planning.
Business analytics focuses on developing new insights and understanding of business performance based on data and statistical methods.
In contrast, business intelligence traditionally focuses on using a consistent set of metrics to both measure past performance and guide business planning, which is also based on data and statistical methods.
A few leaders, stay up nights and wonder if there is a ‘Black Swan’ lurking. The Shark- Daymond John spoke this week at Mott C.C. One of his 5 Shark Keys to success was, “ you have to do your homework.” You, the company needs to crunch data; need to know who is the competition, how you can use “OPM”. OPM can mean, other people’s money, other people’s manufacturing, other people’s mind power. Another way to say, “partner or perish.”
Analytics permit a deeper understanding, and they require some integration.
Integration is more, deeper than cooperation. It’s an understanding of cause and effects and a desire to use facts not opinion. Analytics lead the way in cost reductions, increased profitability and risk management.
What small to mid size firm could walk away from these areas!
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