Our assessments of situations do not need to be precisely accurate. They just need to be directionally right so that subsequent decisions about things like strategy, tactics, and investment levels have a much better chance of success.

Making an assessment that is directionally wrong, such as misreading a rising market and leaving it wide open to competitors, can obviously cause problems.

However, I would suggest that a business or healthcare delivery system is in even greater danger when its leaders use the prevailing uncertainty as an excuse for not making decisions. A rabbit that sits out in the highway dazed by the headlights is eventually going to be roadkill, but one that thinks there may be a gap in the traffic might live to see another day.

See where I’m going with this best practices concept?

• It can be tempting to just go out and buy big data analytics software, thinking it will be the answer to your company’s business needs. But big data analytics technologies on their own aren’t sufficient to handle the task.

• Well-planned analytical processes and people with the data-manipulation talent and skills needed to leverage the technologies are essential to carry out an effective big data analytics initiative.

• Buying additional tools beyond an organization’s existing market intelligence and analytics applications may not even be necessary, depending on a project’s or business unit’s particular business goals.

• As big data analytics tools and processes mature, organizations face additional challenges but can benefit from their own experiences, technology improvements, and helpful discoveries by other users and analysts. And from an analytics thought partner.

Big data environments are becoming a friendlier place for analytics because of upgraded platforms and a better understanding of data analysis tools. Ask your analytics thought partner to dig deeper into the evolving world of big data analytics.

Managing information and giving you evidence-based perspectives on your operational and human asset-management challenges is what we do . . . all day, every day.

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Call us to start a friendly and productive conversation. 512-478-3848.