Thursday, April 13

Making change happen

"It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be." -- Isaac Asimov on change.

How many new initiatives in corporate and government environments meet their potential? The culture in many large organizations confines internal initiatives within a box of comfort where risk is minimized and so is the potential for greatness. But when companies make massive leaps in vision and execute their objectives, they become industry leaders and reap the rewards and benefits. Just look at Google or Apple for what they have accomplished.

The challenge is not (just) having BI in your organization. It should be more than that. Envisioning something bigger may include:

(Self Sufficient) - Make it quick and easy for users to access information they need (more than what they have today) with no IT support.

(Culture) - Enable a performance-based culture where users spend time analyzing and asking questions, instead of trying to figure out what the report means.

(One Shared Truth) - Company performance, analytical detail, and operational reporting should be reported from the same source. And more than just the same source but all BI aspects should find the exact same answers when asking the same questions.

(Evangelism) - Users at all altitudes of an organization should be beyond being on-board with the BI project. Internal leaders can make users aware of how BI can improve their daily work and even build interest in how the business works by using BI.

Change starts with small steps initially but drive and determination will make greater visions become reality in any organization.

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