Finding Your Business's Night Panel: A Lesson from Saab on Focusing Attention

In the rapidly evolving FMCG and grocery retail landscape, the deluge of data and analytics can often feel overwhelming, much like a pilot navigating through a storm. The lesson of Saab's innovative Night Panel provides a striking parallel for businesses today. Introduced in 1993 with the new generation Saab 900, and continuing in models like the 9-3 and 9-5, the Night Panel, originally called the Black Panel, was a testament to Saab's heritage in the aeronautics industry. This feature allowed drivers to minimize distractions by dimming non-essential instrument panel lights, focusing solely on the critical information needed: the speedometer. The system kept other functions operational but only brought them to the driver's attention when necessary.

The Night Panel concept was born from a need to reduce cockpit distractions for fighter pilots, emphasizing the importance of concentrating only on essential information during critical moments. This focus on what truly matters—distilling the multitude of stimuli down to actionable insights—is a principle that is sorely needed in the world of business intelligence today.

Modern business dashboards and scorecards, much like car dashboards filled with lights and indicators, offer a wealth of information. However, they often fail to prioritize this data effectively, leaving leaders to sift through noise to find what's truly relevant. The result is decision fatigue and analysis paralysis, where the abundance of data doesn't enlighten but rather obscures the path to action.

Just as NASA identified 34 activities that distract or preoccupy pilots, so business leaders of today struggle to know where to focus their attention as competitor, consumer and customer changes impact results. Imagine, then, a business world where FMCG brands and grocery retailers have their version of Saab's Night Panel—a system not of reduction, but of intelligent focus. This challenge has not been solved by dashboards and scorecards, because the aspect of business performance demanding attention today may not be the same tomorrow. There needs to be intelligence built into such systems to enable dynamic targeting of the business leader's attention.

Such intelligent focus cannot only be informed by the the data - the system needs to 'know' about the business strategy and the expected impact of the plans being implemented. It also needs to 'understand' the role of the individual in order to serve the most relevant, personalised information. Advances in this field like those offered by dijuno, could serve as this Night Panel for businesses, sifting through the noise to highlight only the information that demands action. This would not only streamline decision-making but also allow leaders to dedicate their full attention to strategic moves that drive growth.

Saab's approach to simplifying the driving experience by reducing distractions to enhance focus is a powerful metaphor for what modern businesses need: a way to navigate the vast data landscape without getting lost in it. The aim is not to have less information but to have better-targeted information. Just as Saab claimed their Night Panel could reduce driver distraction by up to 70%, imagine the increase in efficiency and effectiveness if businesses could similarly reduce their information overload.

In a world where "more" is often mistaken for "better," the Saab Night Panel reminds us of the value of "less but better." For FMCG companies and grocery retailers swimming in data, finding your Night Panel means embracing tools and technologies that cut through the clutter to spotlight what's truly essential. By doing so, businesses can become more agile, more focused, and ultimately, more successful in driving radical sales growth.

In conclusion, as we navigate our way through the information superhighway, let's take a cue from Saab's innovation inspired by the clarity of purpose found in fighter jet cockpits. It's time to identify and focus on our Night Panel of business intelligence—because when it comes to making impactful decisions, the right information, not more information, is key.

Image Credit: SaabBlog