| Business Intelligence is a misnomer. | | | | 3. Unsuitability of those doing the job. |
| A lot of implementations that I see, and the discussions | | | | 4. Wrong culture. |
| that I have with practitioners who have implemented | | | | 5. Technology fixated. |
| them, seem to offer little to the business and display | | | | 6. Underestimation. |
| only a passing acquaintance with anything that could | | | | 7. Unthinking. |
| remotely be termed as intelligence. | | | | And of all of these Technology Fixation is the most |
| Why is this? Organisations, like people, are deeply | | | | prevalent. I get to read lots of invitation to tenders and |
| flawed. They are prone to behaviors that in the short | | | | visit prospective clients who have invested an |
| term seem to offer solutions but in the long term | | | | enormous amount of time and effort in coming up with |
| deliver little. | | | | what the technology needs to be able to do. There is |
| Who is to blame? Well many people would blame | | | | often a direct correlation to the lack of thinking that has |
| suppliers. Just as we often do in our private lives when | | | | been done with what they will actually do with these |
| we see that we drink and eat too much and exercise | | | | products when they get them. To be clear these |
| too little. If only there weren't so many adverts on TV | | | | projects rarely fail because of technology. |
| pushing unhealthy foods and so many of those | | | | There is a lot of wishful thinking that goes on. Think |
| tempting 'buy one get one free offers' in the stores | | | | about exercise bikes and home gyms. We know we |
| with their easy access and parking then I would be | | | | are too fat and unhealthy. We would like to be like the |
| that slim Adonis, that is struggling to get out of this | | | | photos of those lithe athletes. They are peddling the |
| current wreck of a body. Suppliers are as ready in the | | | | exercise bike and using the home gym. If only we had |
| corporate IT world to pander to our organisation's | | | | that exercise bike and home gym we too could look |
| weaknesses as they are in our private lives to our | | | | just like that. Which is correct other than the fact that |
| own weaknesses. | | | | we are lazy couch potatoes who will not take an hour |
| Middle Age writers looked at Man and saw what a | | | | out of our day to actually do something, unlike the |
| weak vessel he was and came up with the Seven | | | | beaming models that so obviously do. |
| Deadly Sins of pride, covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony | | | | Business Intelligence is no different. Business Intelligence |
| and drunkenness, anger and sloth. I have looked at | | | | tools work well and have been used to great effect |
| modern businesses and have likewise come up with | | | | by lean and fit organisations, those that have a sense |
| the Seven Deadly Sins of Business Intelligence. Just to | | | | of purpose and vision, that have a culture of analysing |
| avoid the charge of pride, I realise that they don't quite | | | | problems and doing something about them and that |
| have the grandeur of Saint Thomas Acquinas's | | | | are prepared to invest, not just the money, but, so |
| Summa Theologica, and I don't expect to see an | | | | much more importantly, the time and effort required. |
| upsurge of Morality Plays based on them. On the other | | | | So many other organisations are in the position of the |
| hand, I do expect to see projects that work and which | | | | 9 stone weakling, who having sent off to Charles |
| deliver the real value to every organisation. | | | | Atlas, the body builder, for his famous exercise regime, |
| The Seven Sins are: | | | | was forced to write in: |
| | | | 'Yesterday, I received the Dynamic Tension |
| 1. Being unprepared. | | | | programme in the post. Could you now please send |
| 2. Lacking direction. | | | | the muscles? |