No longer at just the end of the tunnel

The Lost Watch

Let me tell you a little story, one that my dad told me when I was much younger. It was more as a joke at that point in time but much like other stories- each one takes a different meaning as the years roll, so has this one.

There was a man who lost his watch on a dark night on a road. As he decided to go look for it, he kept circling an electric streetlight in the middle of the night for quite some time.?

Seeing his plight several other people joined him to look for it under that light pole. As they continued searching around that area, one woman who was tired of going in circles, stopped and asked the man, if he recalled where exactly he saw it last or maybe dropped it. The man pointed to a pole in the distance with a fused bulb, where it was pitch dark. Stunned at his response, she said but that’s so far away, why are we all looking here instead? He looked at her quite dismissively as he continued searching and said, we’re looking here as this is where the light is shining bright!?

In the Dark?

Much like this searching in places where the light is shining lies the opportunity with reporting, analytics, measurement and most importantly insights today. If we look too long at the area where the light is shining because data is available, easier to dashboard and automate - sometimes all the energy of an organization goes into fixing that which is visible, instead of going to where the problem actually maybe - hidden under the dark layers of the night under a fused bulb, because nobody had the time to fix it. So, for no want of effort, will a whole team of people with the same objective collectively fail, because everyone is working with what’s available and easier vs what needs to be done.??

Shifting Paradigm?

So how then does one have the ability to shift paradigm? It’s by asking the right questions like the woman did. If asked at the right time, saves a lot of resources - if not then there’s damage control that needs to get done looking for a lost watch or time. Who therefore in your team is responsible for asking these questions or uncovering theses untapped opportunities??

Fixing the Lights

Which is why I come to bury insights not to praise them, for oft the evil that insights do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones. The problem however is usually not in the insights but the quality of the data itself, the availability of tools, the methods of attribution, reporting and measuring or could be all or some of them - heard of the phrase -?garbage in garbage?out? That’s as true as it gets for some parts the advertising industry today.??

We all seem to be looking so closely at the height of the trees and losing sight of the forest as we continue searching for what we seek under lit bulbs instead of fixing the way road lighting is taken care of so that fused electric poles aren’t in the dark too long or in this case maybe even see how this watch company makes stronger straps so that their watches don’t fall off in the middle of the road.?

Just saying…if we hire the best minds and get them to solve for the wrong challenges - not only will the team have a direction, go fast and probably even come up with a solution- it’ll just not be the one that helps or be the biggest one to solve. Lots of challenges are symptoms and not the actual problem.?

The Road Ahead

So, here’s what I’m really trying to say - invest in data, tools, measurement and analytics but most importantly also in an insights powerhouse that helps you identify the real challenges and chase the right opportunities. In other words, the ones who help you make the choices with the right variables and pivots, cause after all isn’t that what strategy is all about - making choices? Good actionable insights with the right plan of action based on choices at the right time is in other words called a winning strategy.?

Not just at the end of the tunnel

Let’s go find that watch together where it may actually be found, just got to ensure all the bulbs are working and everyone is talking to each other constantly improving and reinventing the way we do things. Let’s shine the light along the path, where it needs to be shone. There’s a reason I love the quote which says - bring your own sunshine.

PS - Let’s not forget to get our watches too - as agility and action are as important as the light.

Sanchita Johri

(All views expressed by the author are in personal capacity and solely those of the author)