One of Jerry Seinfeld’s classic bits revolves around the Olympics. He jokes about the silver medalist: “Of all the losers, you came in first.” He goes on to illustrate how hundredths of a second can separate the best performers from those who walk away without a medal.
Business leaders probably aren’t surprised at how much of a difference hundredths of a second can make. Sometimes it’s those decisions on the margins that can make all the difference between business successes and failures. Here’s how data matters in the Winter Olympics, which recently wrapped up in Italy, and the parallels to analytics in the business world.
Measuring up
There are different types of results in the Winter Olympics. There are the head-to-head matchups where the results are seen on the scoreboard, such as hockey or curling. There are the sports that are subject to decisions by judges, such as figure skating. And there are the ones where speed matters, whether it’s a race downhill on skis or measured by time, such as bobsledding or luge.
Organizations face any combination of scorekeeping when they measure up to their competition, or even just in assessing themselves. Sometimes they are being judged head-to-head with a direct competitor, but at other times the judgment is less clear. It could be based on customer reviews, or assessments by an independent source such as a consultant or an industry assessor. The less clear the data is, the worse it is for the organization. That’s where governance comes in. By setting expectations and ensuring everyone is working with a single version of the truth, organizations can ensure all stakeholders are working towards the same goals and all measurements are clear and transparent.
Making adjustments
It doesn’t matter if the scores are measured by hundredths of a point or by quantity – even the slightest adjustments can make all the difference. Athletes are always looking for an edge, something that can separate them from the competition. Ski jumpers, for example, are experimenting with a new wearable technology that can help them make adjustments to their positioning in real time to maximize efficiency and increase the distance on their jumps.
The tiniest adjustments can also bring benefits to business intelligence. Organizations should consult with all stakeholders to understand exactly which measurements will help them get the best data that will lead to effective decision-making. These key performance indicators are the ones that they can then use as they work towards using analytics to gain advantages.
What happens when no one’s looking
The Winter Olympians grab the spotlight every four years, but their short time as the center of attention are the culmination of years of hard work. Most people don’t see the hours of practice and repetition that goes into nailing the perfect routine or being named the best team on the global stage.
Preparation breeds excellence with business intelligence as well. You can’t get analytics that make a difference without putting in the work to set yourself up for success. The governance and KPIs mentioned above are ideally the results of thorough conversations with stakeholders. And just like Olympic athletes wouldn’t work without a coach, organizations shouldn’t feel alone either. The right analytics provider should form a partnership, helping you along the way to set up the solution that will work best to find you success.
That partnership should be one that lasts. Now that the Olympics are over, athletes and coaches need to shift their focus to their next competition. Organizations might have used analytics to successfully navigate the most pressing issues they faced, but new challenges are bound to pop up. A solution should be scalable, able to adjust when your company evolves.
Jerry Seinfeld offers a visualization of the difference between first and last place by moving his head slightly from right to left. “Greatest guy in the world,” he says, with his head in one position, and then as he moves it an inch back he says, “Never heard of him.” Your industry may not award any medals, but analytics can be the difference between your organization being great and one that toils in obscurity.
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