Subtitle: Information-based decision in one image
Throughout history, in any conflict, the victor is usually the one with the superior information, right? Flint, bronze, steel. Mechanized infantry beats dragoons, and knowledge of germs beats bloodletting.
It’s always been about the information. The more up-to-date your information is, the better your decisions can be. (This is where the Business Intelligence industry focuses all its attention — you’ve got the data, now pull out the patterns so you can see what’s going on, enabling you to make more effective decisions based on information, instead of basing decisions upon wishes, gut feelings or dreams.)
Imagine having a huge enterprise — something like Apple or Ford or BP. Where do you focus the research team? What resources do you put into new stores? What is the most effective way to handle situation X? Do we retool a national ad campaign? Questions like this come up in big business all the time… they always have, and they always will. Big companies pony up tons of money to mine their own data to get dashboards on how things are going, both from a high-level overview and down-to-the-nuts-and-bolts detail.
Now imagine a smaller enterprise — a family restaurant, or the local barber, or an estate attorney. Do we pay for an ad in the yellow pages? Should we spend time learning how to get leads via Craigslist? Is there another way we can be effective at reaching our target clientele? It’s important for even the little guys to have accurate information to make effective decisions.
How about a screen-grab that demonstrates the power of information-based decision-making?
This is a screen-snapshot of an iPhone displaying the “Google Maps” application. At a glance you can see, as we did, that
1. There was a traffic jam ahead on the interstate (shown as the red line)
2. We knew before we got there that the traffic jam was several miles long (and several exits-worth as well)
3. We knew an easy alternate path that kept us moving forward
Think about that for a minute.
A total revolution
Can you begin to grasp the magnitude of what’s happened in the past few years? And that there is no precedent for where we are heading?
We didn’t have to guess and take a chance that the traffic jam might be short and worth waiting out, we already knew!
More and more people are able to make decisions based on accurate, current information. What would a reasonable home value be in neighborhood X? What’s the reputation of the Sheriff in county Z? Which zip code has the lowest crime rates? What stupidity are the Federal pinheads working on now? Which English-speaking countries are friendly to ex-patriate Americans?
Or even the small stuff: Is the movie playing downtown or at the omniplex? Is that book still being published? When is the best time of year to trim a maple tree? What can you use Hyrogen Peroxide for? Got a tasty rhubarb pie recipe?
In the old days a rip-off artist could scam several people and then mosey down the road to the next town, and with a fresh slate, start ripping off a whole new population. A shady car dealer could get away with all kinds of crap if the constituents were kept in the dark as to competition down the road. It was difficult for the first set of victims to alert the next about consequences or alternatives. Now, it’s as easy as posting to your blog, or Twitter, or Facebook, and on and on, to alert anyone and everyone, about anything. A couple of keystrokes, and you can learn all about that washing machine or computer or car or roofer or chimney-sweep or chiropractor or cleaning solution or diet pill or fertilizer.
Today we are all beginning to be able to find the real answers to our questions at a moment’s notice. Like never before! This is a whole new world.
And tomorrow will be even more so: this is just the beginning! The scam artists, the mediocre, the substandard will all have a hard time hiding from curious eyes — schlock doctors, mechanics, accountants, consultants and more will find themselves ‘outed’ to their potential next victims. They will have to adapt in response… by becoming upright, upstanding professionals.
Information may indeed save us all.