The B.I.G. Blog

How do you walk? The question catches many people off guard because it’s something we never think about. Which foot goes in front first? How does it get there? Does the knee bend first or the hip flex or the foot lift? All three at the same time? Very quickly, such a question becomes something only a master of human ambulation can answer. But you still know how to walk… Ever since you were little and learned to walk, you’ve had a process for doing so. You probably don’t remember much of the learning process, but you remember the result. In many ways, most companies and organizations process development works like this. They certainly have processes for what they do. Consider the process of having IT work done. Perhaps your work computer gets a virus or has a software issue. In smaller and mid-size companies the processes tend to be […]

“Dad, I won a trip to Disney!”, my son exclaimed as he waved a contest card in the air.  Skeptical of any unsolicited contest winnings that shows up in the mail, I asked if I could take a closer look.  He showed me the game piece with 3 cars in a row and the word “winner” above in bold red text.  Still untrusting, I asked to see the contest rules. Looking at the prize list, it certainly appeared to be a Disney Vacation.  The only prize to beat that would have been his and her 2018 vehicles or $100,000 cash should we have had 3 stars instead.  While this second-place prize was still exciting, I continued scanning the accompanying flyer for the fine print. Too Good to be True? Aha! There it is – an asterisk (*)!  The asterisk will surely bring me to “the catch”!  But there was no […]

Think back to the last time you went to the doctor. If something was wrong you needed medicine. Once the doctor figured out what was wrong with you, they wrote a prescription! This prescription is made up of two things – a prediction and a description. The description describes what has been happening – why have you been coughing? The prediction describes what will happen – your virus causing your cough could spread to affect other parts of your body. With these two things in hand the doctor can write his prescription. The prescription tells you what you should do – take this medicine twice daily. In much the same way prescriptive analytics work for businesses.