Imagine a room full of people who are extremely up to date. They have read all the reports, listened to all the podcasts and been to all the conferences. They know exactly what is happening in the world. But still nothing happens. When they are about to create something new, they end up with the same ideas as everyone else. It is as if they have become so good at taking in the world that they have stopped interpreting it.
This is where the paradox of business intelligence arises. In order to innovate, we need to understand what is happening around us. But if we take in too much without processing it, we risk becoming reproducers of other people’s thoughts rather than creators of our own.
Business intelligence as raw material for creativity
Monitoring the world around us is basically a way of collecting raw material. These are signals, ideas, behaviours and phenomena that can inspire something new. The problem is that raw material in itself does not create innovation. It is what we do with it that matters.
It is a bit like buying ingredients. Filling the fridge with exciting ingredients doesn’t automatically make you a better chef. It also requires the ability to combine, interpret and create something of your own.
What we take in becomes important here. Many people make the mistake of only following their own industry. This often leads to seeing the same things as everyone else and drawing similar conclusions. Sometimes it is more valuable to attend a trade fair in a completely different industry. The unexpected perspective can create connections that would not have otherwise arisen.
The growth curve, from noise to full movement
One way to understand the world around us is to see it as a series of phenomena that move along a growth curve. In the beginning, there are weak signals. A few people start talking about something new. It may seem insignificant or even strange.
Then more people start to notice the phenomenon. It forms into a trend. There is a direction, but it is still developing.
Eventually it becomes a movement. Something that has power, structure and a clear direction. It attracts followers, investments and attention. This is where change really takes hold.
The challenge in business intelligence is to understand where on this curve a phenomenon is. Too early and it may be difficult to act. Too late and the opportunity may already be taken by someone else.
Three perspectives – why, what and meaning
Just observing what is happening is not enough. For business intelligence to be useful, we need to go deeper. We need to understand why something is happening, what is actually happening and what it means.
- Why is about driving forces. It can be technological changes, new behaviours, economic incentives or societal changes. These are often more stable than the trends they create.
- What is about trends. These are the patterns we can observe. How people behave, what solutions emerge and what ideas spread.
- What it means is about consequences. How does this affect us, our organisation and our opportunities to create value.
Many people get stuck in describing what is happening without understanding why or reflecting on what it means. This makes the analysis superficial and difficult to use.
Different purposes of business intelligence
Monitoring the world around us is not a uniform activity. It can have different purposes depending on the context.
- In some cases, it is about developing a future strategy. In this case, you need to understand long-term changes and how they affect the direction forward.
- In other cases, it is about creating innovation. In this case, the environment is used as inspiration and input for new solutions. The focus is more on opportunities than on forecasts.
- In still other cases, it is about thought leadership. Organizations use environmental analysis to position themselves, influence and set the agenda on a particular issue.
These different purposes affect how information is collected, interpreted and used.
Sifting through the noise
We live in a time where information is abundant. This means that one of the most important skills is not to find information, but to select it.
It’s about creating filters. What is relevant to us. What is just noise. What are signals worth following.
This requires both structure and intuition. Structure in the form of methods and frameworks. Intuition in the form of experience and a sense of what is important.
Sifting is in itself a creative act. This is where we begin to shape our own view of the world.
The connection to Want, Can, Should
Business intelligence becomes particularly powerful when it is connected to the framework Want, Can, Should. Want is about vision and direction. What we want to achieve. Can is about resources and abilities. What we have the opportunity to do. Should is about the world around us. What is relevant, possible and reasonable in the context in which we operate.
If we only look at what we want, we risk becoming visionary but detached from reality. If we only look at what we can, we risk getting stuck in what we are already doing. If we only look at what we should, we risk becoming reactive and following others.
It is in the interaction between these three that innovation arises. Monitoring our environment plays a central role here in ensuring to define what we should do, but it must be balanced with will and ability.
The metaphor of the binoculars
You can compare nusiness intelligence to using binoculars. It helps us see further and discover things we would otherwise have missed. But if we only look through the binoculars and never lower them to think for ourselves, we risk becoming passive observers.
The binoculars are a tool, not a replacement for thinking.
The systems perspective, the world as a network of influence
In a systems perspective, business intelligence becomes even more complex. It is not just about individual trends but about how different phenomena affect each other. Technology affects behavior, which affects business models, which affect politics, which in turn affect technology.
Understanding these connections is crucial to being able to identify where the real opportunities lie. It is often at the intersections between different trends that the most interesting innovations arise.
When monitoring the world around us becomes an excuse
There is also a risk that looking at the world around us is used as an excuse for not acting. You analyze, collect data and wait for more information. Until you know enough.
The problem is that you rarely know enough.
Innovation requires us to act despite uncertainty. Monitoring the world around us should reduce uncertainty, not eliminate it.
Who is really thinking?
Perhaps the most important thing is that watching the world around us is not about knowing what will happen. It is about getting better at interpreting what is happening and using it as fuel for your own thinking.
In a world where everyone has access to the same information, it is not the one who knows the most who wins.
It is the one who thinks creatively about what everyone already knows.
