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Becoming & Staying An Industry Leader Is Priority #1 for Finance. Yes, Finance!
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  timobryan financialperformancemanag... businessanalyticstoday businessanalytics | 0 Comments | 3,060 Visits
Finance teams are the performance management captain of the corporate ship empowered to provide the executive team, and business and support units with real insight and understanding of past, present, and future performance while guiding them on what the information means to each of their constituents and how it can be interpreted for decision making. That is their most strategic value to the business. However, because of the explosion of information, speed of business, growing systems through M&A and unique information capture needs of different areas of the business not to mention growing business practice demands, such as regulatory compliance to meet the regional, national, and global reporting requirements, the corporation's most important analytical asset, finance departments, remains mired in just completing the basic week-to-week tasks without providing this strategic guidance. As a result, emerging trends, exploitable opportunities, efficiency gains, addi
In the 1960′s, IBM was the 800-pound gorilla in the mainframe business whose technology supremacy went unchallenged and superior performance went virtually unabated into the 1970′s. They were the blue suits bearing information-based mainframes to help companies use data to run their large – sometimes multinational – businesses with greater know-how about customers, products, operations, and financial performance far more adeptly than any other technology could. Yes, they were considered the masters of product innovation largely due to world-class business practices and industry expertise. However, Big Blue got complacent and far too comfortable in their long held pole position. Their inflated confidence and market share eventually disintegrated as they missed the advent of the new information-based technology, which, if they would have had the right analytic capabilities in place, they would have seen it coming; the emergence of the minicomputer. Minicomputers were technologically simpler than mainframes but with stronger computing power while requiring less resources to run them. To be fair, it wasn't just IBM that missed the advent of minicomputers. It was virtually every mainframe company in existence at that time. This new technology virtually wiped out the entire mainframe business such that no mainframe business would be a major player in the minicomputer business at all.
What happened? What was missed? Who screwed up?
In my opinion, there were many failures that caused this emerging technology to go unaddressed by IBM and others, but the chief culprit who could and should have been prepared for it was finance. Yes, I think it's up to finance as the owners of business performance (past, present, and future) to fundamentally understand the business climate – internally and externally – to then advise their corporate constituents on what the information they've analyzed means to them. For this to happen finance needs to get a handle on its core responsibilities before it can begin to really spot these performance-sapping icebergs that can possibly turn into business shuttering threats.
Let's get back to the technology story for a minute if that's okay. Then, I'll finish my point.
Where were we? IBM's out because the mainframe business has gone south – way south by way of the minicomputer. Exit IBM. Enter Digital Equipment Corporation. DEC virtually created the minicomputer business along with a few other aggressively managed companies like Data General, Prime, Wang Computer, Hewlett-Packard, and Nixdorf. Did DEC and others in the minicomputer business learn any lessons from IBM's big miss on the minicomputer market so as to not repeat the same mistake? Of course not. The story of DEC's demise rings almost too tellingly true to IBM's mainframe debacle of the 1970′s. In fact, the management gurus and business journals missed it too. Digital Equipment Corporation was considered by all who had some insight into the company's operations as being the ultimate technology company for decades to come. For certain it was a featured company in the McKinsey Study that became the stellar 1980′s management book, In Search of Excellence. DEC seemed destined for monster success. Still, despite all this fanfare, DEC missed the next wave in computing technology, the desktop computer market.
Again, where was finance watching past performance by measuring and monitoring it, to get analytical insight into what the future might look like to then advise their constituents across the business on what all of this means to each one of them? Answer: Heads down.
The desktop computing market was predictably seized not by DEC or one of its minicomputer compadres but by Apple Computer, Tandy, Commodore, and IBM's PC-division. (Yes, IBM can't be held down for long!)
What happened next? Like Rick Blaine says in the movie Casablanca, "Play It Again, Sam." Apple, Tandy, IBM and the rest of the desktop computer gang focused on making the best desktop computers they could but ended up missing the next new, new thing. Apple Computer and IBM lagged 5 years behind bringing the latest-and-greatest technology rage to the market: portable computers. That market was owned by Silicon Graphics, Sun, and Apollo – all newcomers to this market.
In each case, the leading companies mentioned were regarded as the gold standard given their product excellence and operational execution only to be quickly pushed aside by an out-of-nowhere, technologically superior solution that reset the market's expectations rendering the prior leader's solution frumpy and stale. Missing emerging trends in the marketplace and not adapting to them quickly enough can ring a death knell for most companies. Think Wang, Silicon Graphics, Apollo. For others, this misstep can set them back 5 or even 10 years before they're back on their feet again.
As a note, in the above example, I simply chose the technology sector but we could have easily used the retail merchandising sector (Think Sears vs. Nordstrom) or retail books (Think Barnes & Noble vs. Amazon), or Automotive (Think GM vs. Toyota). Each situation is an example of a failure to see the changing landscape which, I believe, finance is mostly at fault for squandering these opportunities.
How come finance? I think finance failed their companies in each instance because they weren't effective enough in managing the day-to-day, low value tasks which, if they had them under control, they would have greater leverage to spend time on higher-value practices like forecasting and business analytics to uncover data points that can help the entire business spot emerging market forces before it's too late to respond. This responsibility to identify these threats and opportunities lies squarely on finance. If not them, then who else? Be careful because whomever you'll name will probably expect finance to provide them with the meaningful insight into performance results across the business as well as external information, which, again, means it's incumbent on finance.
So, how does finance get to that point where it's able to provide this kind of insight with the resources it has because Lord knows it's not going to get additional headcount? Well, it all starts with finding a way to better leverage the resources it has. This requires finance teams to get the lower value tasks automated as much as they can so that they can off-load these process management steps to take on added capacity for these analytic practices.
What are the world class finance teams doing to be analytic leaders in their industry? World class analytic finance teams have these repeatable practices down to great consistency and repeatability from end-to-end:
These practices are the foundational elements required for finance to be the advisor in providing guidance to the business. Excel at the practices mentioned above and you're soon positioning your analytic experts on your finance team to do the real analysis they're supposed to be doing. It's incumbent upon the CFO's finance department to provide this guidance and leadership given finance's role as the performance managers for the company. It is therefore finance's job to provide insights into past, present, and future performance but also trends, anomalies and market opportunities that become visible only after thorough analysis of the information-based business results gleaned from systems, i.e. ERP, CRM, SCM, etc. and processes, i.e. forecasting, what-if scenario analytics, etc.
This finance role is looked to not only explain past business performance and its financial effects but also advise and guide the strategy in determining where to make investments with the resources at hand. The CFO's analytics team – finance – needs to spend its time not on the everyday execution of basic, low value process steps, like compiling, validating, and reconciling data for various internal and external reporting needs but also analyzing past, present, and future to present guidance on what's happened, what's happening now, and what could happen. Only with an infrastructure in place to easily manage these basic elements of the finance team's mandate can the real value-added analytic insights come to light. Otherwise, their companies will continue to drive through its business climate with a perpetual blind spot on what's coming soon rendering them the next Tandy Computer, Silicon Graphics, or Apollo.
It's up to you finance to not let this happen.
Check out more blogs by Tim O'Bryan by clicking here!
Business Analytics Today Podcast: What's New In IBM Cognos Planningv10.1.1
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  businessanalytics businessanalyticstoday provenpractices timobryan | 0 Comments | 1,092 Visits
Learn the value of the new IBM Cognos Planning 10.1.1 (GA November 22). You will be pleased to learn of this release as it affirms IBM's continued commitment to ongoing support and value-added enhancements to the IBM Cognos Planning solution. The release fulfills our customers latest requests with:
- features for greater ease and speed;
IBM Cognos Planning v10.1.1 delivers additional functionality for contributors (end users), faster access to data for reporting, an improved installation features, and conformance with IBM Cognos BI version 10.1.1 and Microsoft Excel 2010, and other key solutions.
Click here to listen!
Financial Performance Management for the Empowered CFO (using IBM Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos Controller & IBM Cognos BI for Scorecarding)
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  timobryan businessanalytics businessanalyticstoday provenpractices | 0 Comments | 1,151 Visits
The evolution of the CFO from cost extractor and compliance enforcer whose primary concern had been to 'manage the numbers' into providing strategic support and organizational leadership helping drive profitability and growth for the enterprise certainly didn't happen overnight. There's been a series of events over the years driving this change, including the advent of Sarbanes-Oxley (Think Enron/Arthur Andersen/Worldcom) to today's Dodd-Frank as well as greater internal and external demand for performance data. In addition, there's increased CEO and board interest and oversight into the 'World of the CFO' where board members require more than just a simple view of the annual operating plan; They want it all now given that they have to put their John Hancock on documents like no time before. (The threat of a little jail time for malfeasance has a way of getting people to sit up straight and pay closer attention too.)
Given the CFO's more strategic role and influence in companies today it's no surprise that the entire finance function's visibility and criticality requires more demands on it too. In an ideal world, the CFO's finance department has its eye on implementing best practices to streamline inefficiencies and error-prone efforts. Yes, implementing best practices sounds good on paper but the common response I hear from finance departments concerning why they're not being adopted right now makes me think of the Beach Boys' tune, "Wouldn't it be nice…if we only had the time." (Note: Click that link if you want the actual Beach Boys song playing in the background while you read this post.)
Still, I'm consistently hearing that the goals for CFO's and their finance departments remain the same. They are:
Does this ring true with you too?
To read the remainder of this blog please click here.
Strategic Risk Management: It's The New New Thing, Right???
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  provenpractices businessanalyticstoday businessanalytics timobryan | 0 Comments | 1,254 Visits
The global economic crisis, which began with the U.S. housing market's nose-dive in late 2007, continues to burn brightly across nations far and wide. This financial meltdown has served as a jack-hammered catalyst for corporations today to re-evaluate their risk management practices – assuming, of course, they had one in the first place. Most didn't. Apart from very large, globally diverse corporate behemoths, formal risk management practices didn't really exist outside of the top-level business strategy sessions conducted between CEOs, CFOs, and other members of the executive team.
Until recently, boards of directors were simply there to listen and learn what the strategy and execution plan was. Not much more was asked. Part of the problem was that back in the day – let's call it pre-crisis – having some celebrity status for board membership was de rigueur. That's all gone, of course, in the name of being more legally accountable in their roles where board members are actually looking after the business in ways unlike before. (There's a famous story about a Goldman Sach-delivered board presentation where Gerald Ford stopped the presenters and asked, "What's the difference between revenue and equity?" …He was our U.S. president at one time. Ouch.) Yes, now boards are more actively involved in the business including taking an interest in not only the business strategy, but also what the risk assessments are for it and how they're going to be mitigated, including the next-step plans to address them in the unlikely event they come to fruition. For all of these reasons, risk management practices arebecoming more pervasive and universally adopted by organizations, both large and small. These companies are expected to meet the demands of an uncertain and ever-changing marketplace not to mention evermore interested (read activist) shareholders, regulators, compliance hawks, and don't forgot those employees. Yes, regulatory measures like Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II, Dodd-Franke and other forthcoming reporting requirements have pushed companies to throw much greater rigor around how they've planned and executed their responses to risk events. Companies now are adopting risk management strategies to assess, manage, and mitigate strategic, operational, and functional risks in all shales and sizes. A formalized risk management framework is no longer optional or a nice-to-have.
Still, many companies are way behind the curve. According to risk management trade organization RIMS, only 17% of organizations have implemented company-wide risk management to look at risk categories like operational, legal, financial, compliance, IT, strategic, market, and health and safety risk in total – not in siloed isolation lacking an "enterprise view". To a large degree, internal audit has been commonly given ownership of cross-organization collaboration.
If you're in the camp that hasn't implemented a risk management strategy or is only doing it in some, but not all, areas of the business, consider placing more (or some) focus around strategic risk management. Reason being is that according to the research firm, Corporate Executive Board, 70% of the risks that cause the most harm to corporations are strategic risks.
What is strategic risk, you ask? Well, it's any risk whether it exists today or may crop up in the unforeseeable future that could force the company to change, modify, or overhaul its business strategy forcing it to change the way you do business. RIMS defines it as "a business discipline that drives deliberation and action regarding uncertainties and untapped opportunities that affect an organization's strategy and strategy execution." Still too ambiguous? Well, think of it as defining what risks could be applied to your company's product lines, M&A actions, economic conditions, overall business model, or baseline assumptions that come into play when defining the business strategy. This is one reason bringing the risk team into the business strategy sessions is essential. The Risk Management team (or their leader) needs to have a seat at that table. More often than not the CFO, given his or her management of financial and operational risk, owns strategic risk. Gone are the days where the CFO is simply in charge of reporting prior year numbers – long gone. In this case, CFOs are the overseers of risk while delegating the task of 'selling' the concept to departments outside of finance.
It was reporting in a 2011 Accenture survey that 39% of the organizations surveyed said that risk managers have a seat at the company objectives-setting table; In 2009, it was only 27%. It's getting there but needs to be at 100%. Rome wasn't created in a day but headway is being made.
In summary, if you're new in adopting a formal risk management strategy, given that 70% of the risks that cause the most harm to corporations are strategic risks, take a look at starting with strategic risk management. Then, attempt to apply financial metrics to these risk events and how they align with your business plan. You want to be asking questions that look at your strategic assumptions, specifically what if they're wrong. An example is, what if you're expected EPS growth is X% over the next 5 years…Ask yourself, what's stopping the company from getting there? Also, try setting up a risk committee to review the risk events in question and explore the outcomes and the company's response(s) to these events. Don't take this on yourself. Tackle strategic risk first.
Meanwhile, check out IBM OpenPages too to see if it might be able to help get you where you're going. IBM OpenPages is part of the Business Analytics for Finance platform that includes our first-rate solutions, including IBM Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos FSR, IBM Cognos Controller, IBM Cognos BI, and IBM SPSS.
Check out my other posts, podcasts, and videos @ http
Aesop's Rooster Fable, IBM Cognos TM1, & IBM Cognos BI for Collaboration
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  timobryan provenpractices businessanalytics businessanalyticstoday | 0 Comments | 2,086 Visits
IBM Cognos® TM1
One summer's day, a rooster scoured the barnyard looking for food. As he scratched the straw on the ground he uncovered a jewel. The rooster suspected the jewel might be valuable because of the way it glittered in the sun.
"The object is probably worth a lot", the rooster thought to himself, "but I'd trade a bushel of these shiny things for a single kernel of corn."
The primary moral, of course, is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. …But, there's something else to be learned from Aesop's fable. What would have happened if the rooster had seen the bigger picture beyond his simple need for a little sustenance? He certainly would have known that the jewel could fetch much more than, "a single kernel of corn." Because he lacked access to basic facilitators from which to discuss this discovery not much was to be gained from it. Imagine if he had collaborative access to his peers, including perhaps more wise and worldly roosters and hens with greater influence and relationships with other rooster groups, large villages, or other rooster- or hen-run businesses? If so, he might have been able to draw greater value out of this discovery. Workgroups could have been quickly setup to weigh options and determine how best to use this newfound resource. One might learn through this group involvement that the 'jewel' should be invested for a later date when times are not as prosperous? Maybe it could be used to purchase new equipment to update the existing company's plant & equipment or analytics technology? Maybe it could be used in smaller bits to payoff the dreaded fox community to keep them at bay from invading the sanctity of their henhouse?
Because the enabled collaboration and feedback mechanism didn't exist the Rooster was willing to settle for the hear-and-now need. Only he benefitted from this, not the other roosters and hens or the local community. Unfortunately, it only solved an isolated need and wasn't effectively exploited.
This scenario is obviously entirely made up but there's a great degree of truth in it, especially how it can impact a business enterprise. Look, 'jewels' exist in every organization. They don't always make themselves known. Basically, good ideas don't only come from the top. Or, "there isn't a monopoly on ideas coming from only the executive suite." They come from all over the business and can have high- or low-impacting repercussions: good and bad, that is. It's what happens with these ideas after they're learned that matters. A collaborative platform for wide participation in enterprise planning, budgeting and forecasting is the enabler that can take those jewels and turn them into something far more valuable that can benefit the entire organization. The key is capturing this information so that it can be acted on. Mis
We know the workforce is filled with employees' great ideas; McDonald's Big Mac Sandwich, 3M's Post-It Notes, Sony's Walkman, and Dunkin' Donuts' Munchkins are just some big-bang examples. All over the organization there's cost savings and process efficiencies (streamlining order-to-cash), growth opportunities (expanding into new markets and product lines), and a risk awareness (unforeseen commodity/raw material price changes) that front-line employees, middle management, and even back-office workers have visibility into that necessitate a feedback loop so they are captured and acted upon.
IBM Cognos TM1
and its planning, budgeting, and forecasting capabilities not to mention analytics power can promptly facilitate the ideas exchange process through managed contributions and enterprise-scale input and high-powered analytics with enabled comments facilitates best practices and the enterprise wide collaboration necessary to drive, monitor, and understand the business better.
IBM Cognos® Collaboration
Learn more by clicking here.
Something else to check out for enabled collaboration is IBM Cognos BI.
Learn more by clicking here.
These solutions have proven value for the small, medium, and large enterprises today. Check them out and learn how to become an enabled-enterprise.
KPIs & Triple-A (Alignment, Agility, and Accountability): Part III
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  provenpractices kpis timobryan businessanalytics strategymanagement businessanalyticstoday | 0 Comments | 2,164 Visits
The power of personally-assigned key performance indicators, or KPIs, is tremendous. If done incorrectly, KPIs might be used like a drunk would use a light post, for support not illumination. You could call KPIs industry-speak for one method to measure employee, departmental, and/or organizational performance. If effectively constructed, they can drive the right workforce actions supporting strategic and operational objectives. Yes, they could be tied to achieving an operational goal, such as on-time customer shipments, best-in-class inventory turns, or an industry-leading order-to-cash (Finance) or procure-to-pay (Procurement) process. Selecting the right KPIs is very important because they will drive employee behavior.
You might want to consider cros
So, how many KPIs is the 'right' amount? Well, I've seen as many as 40 KPIs for certain individuals. Is that a best practice? No. Absolutely not. There are levels of KPIs and, in this particular case, the person in question has their primary KPIs and their secondary KPIs. The primary ones drove their behavior (and, by the way, these primary KPIs determined his compensation as should everyone's primary KPIs…just sneaking in a best practice approach for ya!) So, to answer the question of what's is the right amount of KPIs for each individual, the answer is no less than 4 but no more than 12. If really pressed it's 6 KPIs per employee. If there's too many they're probably going to spread this individual too thin while too few KPIs might mean there's some activity for which isn't accounted.
The most important element to be aware of is the law of unintended consequences. You want these KPIs to drive the right behavior. Be careful what you measure because it will dictate employee actions, especially if you tie it to compensation (which you should). Conversely though, if you don't tie these KPIs to compensation then don't call me if they're not properly focused. Invariably people do what they like doing if they're not directed otherwise. They may be comfortable with some tasks versus others so they do what they like doing most. Everything else may be left at the altar. Hello, runaway bride. A set of KPIs by which they're measured will enforce (stick) the right employee actions while, by the way, tying them to compensation (carrot) helps nudge them in the right direction too.
These personal KPIs ensure people are doing the right things and not working on non-essential tasks that don't directly contribute to the organization's or department's primary goals and objectives. If they don't you at least can have an intelligent discussion with that employee and/or department to see if the related activities are important enough to continue doing. They also provide a benchmark by which to measure each employee's progress not to mention being effective at assigning accountability while better aligning the company. To determine KPI targets most companies will look at industry benchmarks for certain KPIs where actual decisions can then be made regarding what's a reasonable target given not only current conditions but also what the organization's goals are because these KPI targets need to be aligned with those corporate goals and expectations. KPIs clearly linked to enterprise strategy promotes greater transparency from the ivory tower executive suite down to the people in the trenches. People start thinking about how they can achieve their KPI targets and who the influencers are that can help them get there. They're collaborating more. They have a sense of purpose now. They know what they're supposed to do and they're being empowered to do it. No shades of gray. The corporate culture soon changes. KPIs become the stitching in the corporate quilt. Employees start to learn how to use the KPIs as a guide to clearer thinking in problem solving and weighing multiple options. They'll start asking questions about what data elements, departments, and individuals (internal and external to the organization) influence their KPIs. This is the epitome of using data to drive better decisions. It's partly about the actual data put in front of the individuals or teams; the other part is the resulting questions it inspires and behavior it drives. This is the behavior we're trying to inspire when we talk about the power of analytics and smarter decisions.
Of course, for KPIs to be leveraged most effectively you've got the provide the information technology infrastructure behind them to support constant updates to the actual KPI metrics. This would include drill-thru capabilities so that employees, managers, and executives can quickly and easily learn why they're on- or off-target for each KPI, say on-time customer shipments, by drilling-thru for more detailed reporting and analysis. Once they've explored the reasons they're on- or -off target, they'll then need to be able to quickly run scenarios to see the operational and financial effects of each option to help them determine the best course of action based on this analysis. At this point, the forecast is updated to reflect the decision made and its expected outcome(s). This is business analytics. This platform is the holy grail of fact-based decision making for enterprises today. Yes, I know just when you were getting comfortable with Performance Management as a business practice we throw Business Analytics into the mix.
To further reinforce this concept, think of Business Analytics as a single platform of tightly-integrated solutions empowering users to run their 'personal data analysis' where each employee can easily measure and monitor – when possible, in real-time – their KPIs through a dashboard or scorecard. Once they've evaluated their KPIs in their dashboard or scorecard, they're able to drill-thru within the same screen on that metric in question to understand why this item is reported as such (Why are we off- or on-target?). Now, they've got real context around why they're on- or off-target. Perhaps, they discovered there's been a shortage of inventory in their Denver plant or poor weather in northern Europe caused a critical shipment of product to be delayed. At this time they can perform scenario and predictive analytics to evaluate different options to resolve this issue. Once an option has been determined the results can be updated in the enterprise forecast.
These actions are nothing new. It's simply that all of this would be done in a single, integrated platform to run through this decision-making process in its entirety. The real question is, how difficult is it for each employee, manager, and executive to get this type of information which we know they need to make their day-to-day decisions not to mention the more strategic decisions? Better yet, are they even getting this level of information in the first place?
For now though we're hear to discuss KPIs. KPIs drive behavior through better alignment, accountability, and transparency across the business. We'll explore further in future posts.
Between now and then, here's a quick exercise: Think about how your KPIs are created today. Are they manual or automated? Are they trusted by their owners to be accurate and timely? Do they understand what the drivers of the metrics are so they know what actions on their part will influence them? Are these KPIs tied to compensation?
Hope this was helpful. Any feedback is certainly appreciated.
Tim O'Bryan
Email: tim.
Drive Better Performance Thru Greater Finance Integration with the Sales & Operations Planning Process
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  businessanalyticstoday businessanalytics salesandoperationsplannin... provenpractices | 0 Comments | 2,522 Visits
In this blog, I'm going to highlight the critical importance of integrating the organization's financial plan and the actual finance function in general into the operations department-led sales & operations planning process. Yes, in this sales & operations planning process, or S&OP, where future supply and demand plans are compiled, aligning the S&OP with the financial plan results in greater corporate alignment, improved information transparency, and more timely and effective organizational execution. The finance function needs to lead this effort though they're already lord-and-master over what seems like too many critical business processes, including financial planning & analysis, treasury, finance transactional processes, compliance, cash management, tax management, and in most companies today, risk management. Adding this role to their agenda seems like it will only exacerbate an already overburdened finance team. My response is that a financial plan (and forecast), for which finance is responsible, isn't worth the paper it's printed on if it doesn't align with the S&OP process. Here's why:
Operations with finance involved in the S&OP process are able to develop a more robust supply plan and a single consensus demand plan than without finance involved. Yes, with finance actively engaged in the S&OP process, better performance can be attributable to finance, operations, and the executive team's improved understanding of the dependencies and business context of the S&OP process given finance's involvement in financial reconciliation to identify errors, inconsistencies and out-of- balance elements of the plan while even reducing forecast bias given finance's role as an objective participant in the S&OP process.
The key in all of this is that each plan needs to be on a common, integrated platform, with the same level of financial and operational data detail available to both. Granular alignment is critical. This way the impact of changing an assumption or parameter on either end can be seen from a financial and operational perspective. Sure, planning parameters are still unique to each, but the impact of a parameter or assumption change in one domain is directly reflected in the other. Imagine the benefits resulting from this alignment??? Indeed, the insights developed through this integrated process enable the allocation of resources and alignment of commercial and operational activities to support the real revenue and profit drivers of the business: your customers, products and services!
Other outcomes are that the quality of the sales and operation plans themselves improve. In addition, there becomes a corporate culture shift to a more long-term, strategic focus. Everybody's able to see the financial implications from their operational decisions. It puts everything in greater context for both sales and operations, which in turn helps the executive team make smarter strategic decisions because they've got greater insight into the financial and operational plans. The focus is on strategy and not on simply the veracity of the numbers. Also, improved buy-in and commitment to plans from the business results and increased cross-functional collaboration, financial modeling and planning assumptions materializes too.
Other things to consider to help jump-start this process are:
I encourage you to check out IBM Cognos TM1 which has the capability to manage massive data volumes at SKU-level detail with embedded controls, simplified modeling capabilities, and ease
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A Pilot's Cockpit: Aligned Scorecards Used For Better Agility & Execution
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  provenpractices timobryan businessanalyticstoday businessanalytics | 0 Comments | 1,280 Visits
Imagine entering the cockpit of a modern jet airplane and seeing only a single instrument there. How would you feel about boarding the plane after the following conversation with the pilot?
Q: I'm surprised to see you operating a plane with only a single instrument. What does it measure?
Q: That's good. Airspeed certainly seems important. But what about altitude. Wouldn't an altimeter be helpful?
We suspect you wouldn't board the plane after this discussion. Even if the pilot did an exceptional job on air speed, you would be worried about colliding with tall mountains or running low on fuel. Clearly, such a conversation is a fantasy since no pilot would dream of guiding a complex vehicle like a jet airplane through crowded airspace.
This is an often cited story by many business strategists and other management prognosticators which I will attribute to Drs. David Norton and Robert Kaplan, pioneers of the Balanced Scorecard. It's intended to reflect how critical the actual indicators are that we setup for not only pilots but also the indicators by which you establish for your entire workforce because these indicators will serve as the guiding force behind their decision-making.
Why is this so important? Well, many reasons starting with the business environment has substantially changed where no longer can a company operate rudderless without a core set of metrics to steer each of its employees individually and as a collective unit in the right direction. That right direction is the enterprise strategy. The speed at which these decisions are being made seem to have increased exponentially in just in the past 5 years. The days of top-down, command-and-control authority over decision-making are far from over in deference to a more nimble, decentralized execution hierarchy intended on keeping pace with the velocity of the related competition and customer expectations. The need for getting relevant and actionable information to the business users has never been more pronounced than we're seeing today. If you can't react fast enough to the market realities your customers will go elsewhere. We live in a world where product or brand loyalties are becoming more and more a thing of the past. It's about execution. Good execution is about making smarter, more informed decisions that support the organization's goals.
These decisions being made are happening across all levels, geographies, and functional areas of the business everyday. For this post I want to zero in on the first question asked which falls under measuring and monitoring the business. This question is, how are we doing?
Sure, the executive suite is constantly measuring and monitoring overall business performance to ensure the company is on track to meet its strategic targets. In addition, the function leads in marketing, sales, finance, HR, and development all the way down to the individual contributor levels of the organization are measuring and monitoring the performance of their area of the business too. But how does everyone know they're doing the right things at all times? What are their real priorities helping the organization achieve its goals? Is it guesswork? Is it trust-based that the entire workforce is going to naturally make the right decisions supporting top-line goals? How can we be so sure?
This fictional story referenced at the beginning of this post is
really about measuring and monitoring – not an aircraft – but your
business thru a tool called a scorecard.
There are personal, departmental, and enterprise scorecards. A
scorecard includes the key performance indicators, or KPIs, for which,
in the case of a personal scorecard, an employee is responsible which,
if these KPIs are correctly defined, would include measurements that,
when looked at in aggregate, support the enterprise's top-line strategic
goals and objectives. Inevitably, there will be shared targets for some
of the KPIs in a personal scorecard either within a specific functional
area of the business (Think Marketing Director/Marketing Associate
having similar campaign targets) or as shared KPIs across functional
groups like marketing, sales, procurement, and deve
The actual KPIs – typically there's about 6-10 for each individual – are critical because they will define the actions taken by the individual for which they're responsible. The ultimate alignment via scorecards composed of KPIs across these business groups, departments, divisions, business units, etc. is the embodiment of what we call a company's strategy execution framework.
Harvard Business School having done a study on this framework found that, "a 35% increase in Strategy Execution leads to 30% gain in shareholder value". That's a pretty strong argument for at least taking a harder look at it.
How do you deploy such a framework, you ask? Well, in theory it's very simple. You just translate the business strategy and its related goals into a set of performance indicators that outline the targets for which each department and employee within each department are responsible and away you go, right? Yes, I know. It sounds easy in theory. But, in practice it's a little more work.
The key is working top-down with each business and support unit area to translate their contribution towards meeting these higher level targets so that these lower-level, cascaded measurements, or KPIs, will, when rolled up in total, directly tie to the top-level enterprise's strategic goals. This ensures proper alignment of the organization while providing an ongoing set of metrics by which the workforce can measure themselves.
Even more important in defining the right KPIs is the understanding that whatever the indicators are, this will determine the individual's behavior so take care as you define these. Something else that makes this framework so effective is that it makes it that much easier to reset the workforce when those top-level strategies change. the infrastructure is in place to restructure the scorecards. This allows the company to adapt more quickly.
Think about deploying such a framework for your organization. The best incentive I can give you for taking on this effort is that going through the KPI definition process for each set of scorecards it forces discussions across functions, within departments and at the executive level that will expose how achievable these targets really are with the current resources in place today and who is ultimately responsible for what. This is just about the most important exercise I think a company can go through to make sure it's not setting itself up for failure because its strategy isn't attainable given the resources currently in place. Once this KPI definition process is complete and everyone knows who's doing what and where the synergies lye it's all about execution. This framework sets companies up to execute well because they've already identified their needs and resources at their disposal and now it's a matter of delivering. It's go time.
If done right this will be the outcome for your organization:
More coming on this subject. Stay tuned. In my next post I'll tell you some of the best practices in defining the right KPIs for personal scorecards.
Email: tim.
Blog @ http
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Leadership Lessons from the American Civil War & Master Bathroom Remodels
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  businessanalytics businessanalyticstoday timobryan leadership | 1 Comments | 1,232 Visits
"He who hesitates loses."
The ugly truth of this phrase rings true in the case of battles that never occurred in the American Civil War. For those unfamiliar with this war the American Civil War occurred during the mid-1800′s from 1861-1865 on U.S. soil. It was fought between the North (Union States) and the South (Confederate States) and was primarily triggered by the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Its definitive starting point occurred on April 12, 1861 at 4:30am when the first Confederate shot hurtled into Fort Sumter, a Union stronghold, sitting at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
The conflict continued until a final peace was made at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 between Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee. At the outset of the war, the North was better organized, better equipped with a much larger conscription of troops not to mention having far more resources at its disposal than its southern counterpart. Despite the South's opening victory at Fort Sumter, a largely symbolic victory for the South, many predicted the North would prevail swiftly and decisively. In 1861, President Lincoln was resolutely confident that a string of Union victories as they marched their way from Washington, D.C. to the seizure of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia would be enough of a blow to the Rebels that the Confederates would be forced to give a total surrender. The key for this surrender to be given though was that the Northern Army needed to move quickly from their current position in Washington, D.C. down to Richmond to dismantle the South's capital and central command post: without the shepherd (Richmond) the sheep (Southerners) would lack direction forcing an end to the war. All pointed to an assured victory for the North. Or so it seemed. "On to Richmond!" was the northern cry. Lincoln gave the job of leading the Union Army to General George B. McClellan. McClellan was revered for his many talents. Smart, pedigreed, and more than capable, McClellan had the trust of all Northerners. March to Richmond, plant the Union Flag and McClellan was assured to be a hero. As I mentioned earlier, no battle never fought was ever won. Despite overwhelming odds in his favor and indisputable evidence that his army far outnumbered the Southerners, General McClellan repeatedly hesitated to march his troops into battle against the Confederate army which stood between him and his ultimate objective, Richmond. The Confederate capital at the time of his hesitations was literally within McClellan's sights but he never made it there because he failed to act. Instead, after a few defensive squirmishes with Southern forces and despite multiple requests from Lincoln to fight, McClellan all-too-eagerly retreated hat-in-hand back to Washington, D.C. giving up ground to the South's General Robert E. Lee who made an aggressive march northward to Antietam into Northern territory. What a turnabout. I wonder if this is what prompted Lincoln to later say, "I can make more generals, but horses cost money." Obviously, Abe had to mind his dollars and cents now given that this would be a long and protracted war.
My point isn't to denigrate the character of General McClellan. Not at all. He did many exceptional things in his life of which he should be proud. What I mean to do is to illustrate an example where sitting idle, even when there's overwhelming evidence to support taking that action, is a missed opportunity. We've all done this in one way or another. We wait to act. It happens to the best of us. A lot of times taking action on something means change from the norm and, regardless of the ultimate benefits, we can resist that change because, well, it's change. These reasons alone are what cause a lot of people to hit their personal pause button and not do anything.
Let's look at this from a different perspective. Have you ever had your master bathroom redone? If so, then you'll know what I'm talking about. Tons of benefits here. Maybe you'd be getting a new jacuzzi tub, a nice steam shower and even more cabinet space not to mention your own sink this time around… Still, most resist a project like this because it'll mean losing your bathroom for quite some time before it's ready for prime time. Big benefits to upgrading your bathroom but there's certainly going to be some inconveniences (read change) before it's usable.
No matter how necessary the project is whether it's redoing your master bathroom or marching regiments of 100,000 men into enemy territory don't let the forces of hesitation get the best of you. Yes, there will be initial adjustment pains as you go through the process but keep your eye on the ultimate prize – and, when applicable, make sure you're keeping everyone else's eye on the prize too.
If you see measurable benefits justifying an investment in something, try to see the benefits beyond the initial ramp up time and just go for it.
(Shameless plug) If you're thinking of deploying Business Analytics solutions to enable critical business processes at a minimum take stock of what the possibilities are. Look at your processes such as the following:
…take stock of what the best practices are in one or two of these areas and see how your company measures up. Perhaps this is an opportunity to drive a planning & analytics optimization initiative across finance and the rest of the organization (Check out IBM Cognos TM1). Or, maybe you want to look at automating your financial statement reporting practices (Check out IBM Cognos FSR), or even review your risk management practices (Check out IBM OpenPages). Look at the processes first. See what's preventing these processes from being at a best practice level. There could be many reasons for this. After you've done this take a look at the enabling solutions that are out there that address these processes. Whatever it is don't hesitate because there might be some additional work in the investigation phase or in the technology implementation phase because, once it's up and running, you'll be glad you did.
The measurable benefits in adopting these solutions, such as automation, embedded controls, workflow management, minimal administration, etc. which allows for higher frequency forecasting, stronger analytic capabilities, access to real-time reporting, effective scenario analytics, best-in-class predictive analytic capabilities, rigorous statutory reporting & risk management enablement, etc.,with you championing the project can be your path to success while the organization benefits from the bottom line ROI. Everybody wins. You can become the figurehead for it too because you acted on it.
"Fortune favors the bold".
Tim O'Bryan/IBM
Email: tim.
IBM Cognos TM1: The Swiss Army Knife of Technology Used For Profitability Modeling & Optimization
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  profitability-optimizatio... businessanalyticstoday timobryan businessanalytics | 0 Comments | 1,099 Visits
IBM Cognos TM1 is like a Swiss Army knife – it has capabilities to do a
lot of different things extremely well. One of the practices it's
being utilized for with incredible results is an emerging, but no so
well understood, practice entitled profitability modeling and
optimization. The power of IBM Cognos TM1 is the primary reason this
practice has emerged. Companies adopting IBM Cognos TM1 as the
technology of choice for this practice is the primary reason they're
thriving moving from 'also rans' to industry leaders. Still, this post
is less about IBM Cognos TM1 and more about the process, Profitability
Modeling & Optimization.
When talking about profitability modeling & optimization it's more illustrative to start with the ever-important strategic element of price. It's that set amount that can make or break a product or service or even the company's acceptance by the marketplace. Price, of course, is most often set by what the market is willing to pay for this product or service. A lot of factors can go into your pricing strategy including things like the brand equity and image of the product or service (Think Tiffany's), expected sales volumes (Think economies of scale), competitive factors (Only game in town?), or if it's a new category being created. Of course, we know that companies profit by selling this product or service at a margin greater than its cost. Then, a profit is turned.Now, what you do with those profits is then up to the company to decide. Do you reinvest those profits? Most do. If so, how do you allocate them across the business for the most profitable return? Maybe you even want to release some of them to shareholders via dividends? What about making acquisitions? These are important decisions to make based on what the future needs of the business are. This is a good problem to have.
Enter Profitability & Optimization.
To sustain competitiveness in the marketplace organizations must be able to model their profitability to maximize profits and optimize the components to profitability that incur costs. Most companies are performing some form of profitability and optimization activities everyday. The BIG difference is that some are much better at it than others. Why is this? What separates them from the others? It comes down to the best-in-class organizations investing in their people, the related processes, and a capable technology.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Now, how would your colleagues in Sales, HR, Marketing, IT, Operations, etc. answer these questions?
It's critical to know that every area of the business is looking at some element of profitability. Running scenarios, what if, and profitability analysis with a 360-degree viewpoint of the data is the lifeblood of value-added analysis for making smarter decisions which, if done effectively, translates into better corporate performance. Without better insight and understanding of the information derived from profitability modeling and optimization, business users are forced to go on their gut and/or out of date information — or, worse, they're waiting until they do get the information they need before they can act…tick, tick, tick. Time is money.
If you and the rest of the workforce don't have this information at your fingertips don't fret because you're not alone. However, things are changing. Companies today are investing more and more into this practice area as technology has caught up in a way that's allowing for massive data volumes to be sliced-and-diced in seconds for this very purpose.
Now is the time to act. The technology is there so I'd ask why isn't your organization there too. Hustle up. I know a lot of companies that are doing this practice very well – and some that aren't unfortunately. They're the ones looking to leverage IBM Cognos TM1 to put them on the path to better PM&O.
If you want to know more about this subject feel free to email me to discuss further.
Click here to see more resources on IBM Cognos TM1.
Tim O'Bryan/IBM
Email: tim.
More Blog entries @ http
IBM Cognos FSR, Aesop and Sun Tzu
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  businessanalyticstoday cognos cognosfsr businessanalytics timobryan | 0 Comments | 1,104 Visits
When I think about the capabilities of our IBM Cognos FSR solution it reminds me a lot of Aesop's fable about the Ant and the Grasshopper. It's about preparing today for more challenging times. If you don't know this fable I've included it below as it's so short it's not worth paraphrasing. The story goes like this:
When I think about the capabilities of our IBM Cognos FSR solution it reminds me a lot of Aesop's fable about the Ant and the Grasshopper. It's about preparing today for more challenging times. If you don't know this fable I've included it below as it's so short it's not worth paraphrasing. The story goes like this:
One summer's day, a merry Grasshopper was dancing, singing and
playing his violin with all his heart. He saw an Ant passing by, bearing
along with great toil a wheatear to store for the winter.
Get your house in order so that when the onslaught of work comes you can focus on the right things. IBM Cognos FSR is one of those solutions that helps with that "preparation" and the FSR solution can grow with those changing regulatory, compliance, and performance reporting requirements. I spoke with our Product Marketing Director, Dan O'Brien, about IBM Cognos FSR and how he explains the capabilities to our customer base. He said the hardest part is explaining how transformational this software is for finance departments. It's almost like "selling cars to people still using a horse-and-carriage. This solution is so far advanced that a lot of customers find it hard to believe that it can really work that seamlessly." No buggy whips required. I've seen the technology in action and its pretty incredible.
Look, we all know that today's hyper kinetic, ingloriously competitive business climate is calling for organizations to react and respond more ably than ever before while at the same time these organizations are being asked to comply with increased regulatory, compliance, and external reporting requirements showing no signs of abatement.
Analytically-driven organizations are not wasting time while these ever-changing, always demanding disclosure management-related processes spiral out of control. At risk is more time robbed by these lower value activities from the real analytical and predictive research finance needs to be doing that's the most value added. Also, we know the outcome of reporting late or reporting the wrong numbers. Why not take a look at IBM Cognos FSR???
Top performing companies have found a way to manage these additional regulatory and external reporting requirements through the use of IBM Cognos FSR. This solution has raised the bar in not only managing the disclosure process, including XBRL capabilities, but this solution also has assisted organizations with their performance reporting needs too. This solution can automate and manage the complex tasks of collecting, editing and reporting various performance and financial data for finance, treasury, reconciliations, portfolio and asset management, audit, and risk management, etc.
Reporting now requires structured and unstructured information which is highly susceptible to errors, especially when handled manually to edit, review, and publish that data into narrative management reports. So get out ahead of these manual intensive, error-prone processes and leveraging an integrated solution that can automate and effectively manage these tasks because the pace of change for what's being expect of the office of finance and it isn't slowing.
I encourage you to take a look at IBM Cognos FSR and see what it can do for your organization because there's only more changes coming. Be prepared for it with IBM Cognos FSR.
"The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable." – Sun Tzu
For more information on IBM Cognos FSR, click here.
Hope you enjoyed.
Tim O'Bryan/IBM
Business Analytics Software
More of my blogs @ http
IBM Cognos Controller 10.1 & the Financial Consolidation process: A perfect automated marriage
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 firstname.lastname@example.com | | Tags:  timobryan ibmcognos businessanalytics financialconsolidation provenpractices businessanalyticstoday cognoscontroller | 0 Comments | 2,551 Visits
If asked to describe their financial consolidation process most corporate finance teams might spit out a few unprintable adjectives as they attempt to explain their effectiveness in harnessing all of the moving parts in this bear of a process. The primary issue they have is managing all of the inputs and one-offs throughout each step, making it difficult to track or audit it because of their lack of transparency, visibility and ultimate control over it. Riddled with disconnected systems that have major control risks requiring manual intervention and maintenance (Think spreadsheet-based systems) and other standalone technologies lacking any audit control make it an administrative nightmare. Financial consolidation isn't a stationary target either given the ever-growing mountain of new regulations, report filings, and financial governance procedures required to which they need to adapt. (Think Dodd-Frank, IFRS, and XBRL to name a few.)As I mentioned in another blog post, "Close, Consolidate, Report & File: Automation & Embedded Controls Else It's A House of Cards", there's so much to manage throughout the FInancial Consolidation process including manual inputs, offline adjustments, in-process reports, and stakeholders to keep a handle on it all. We're not talking about nice-to-have reports here. We're talking about reported Balance Sheets, Cash Flow Statements, 10Ks and 10Qs and other monthly, quarterly, and annual reports that go to shareholders, The Street — and, oh, by the way, these results are the primary drivers of business decisions being made across the organization to run the business. Hard to believe more organizations haven't adopted an end-to-end solution to produce credible, timely, and reliable results while allowing finance teams to really focus on the important stuff like analyzing the results, not compiling them.
To set a little context I'll briefly walk through a sample consolidation and reporting process. See if any of this sounds familiar.
Simplified Global Consolidation Process
Imagine we're dealing with a North American-based organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that has subsidiaries and international operations throughout the world. The consolidation process starts with this corporation's subsidiaries and country-specific operations consolidating their data and producing financials for their own legal entity relationships for their local reporting and local ownership and tax purposes. These same entities capture their 'local' data in their 'home' currency through their own general ledger systems and/or receive data from manual inputs and manual processes via tools like spreadsheets. At this point the subsidiaries and countries will prepare trial data submissions in local currency which will then be fed to the corporate finance department in Milwaukee. Typically, files are securely sent to corporate as uploaded to a common repository for corporate handling. Usually, there's a lot of back-and-forth communications with these entities and corporate while they're preparing their data.
Corporate finance receives these data submissions from all of the subsidiaries, country operations, and/or legal entities and consolidates this information into a common reporting currency; in this case, US Dollars. From there, corporate finance will perform additional consolidation activities including inter-company eliminations, group adjustments, such as investment eliminations between subsidiaries, and, ultimately, they will perform the final financial consolidation. Once these activities are completed they will then go through the process of analyzing the financial results and circle back with different participants in the consolidation, i.e. subsidiaries, legal entities, regions, etc. and relevant stakeholders in the process where variances are to be explained. Comparative reporting is then done across periods (last year vs. this year) or against plans (budget vs. actual) or even against budget foreign exchange rates to take out any f/x anomalies which might skew the data. These results are then fed into the management reporting and corporate planning process where the real analytics and decision making ultimately takes place. Then, for financial governance, statutory financial results need to be prepared and signed off for external reporting for investors, analysts, and regulatory agencies.
Phew…and that was a VERY simplified version of this process. Believe me, there's a lot more to this process.
Cognos Controller is a comprehensive, Web-based solution that offers power and flexibility for streamlined, best-practice financial consolidation and reporting – all in one solution. Its full suite of capabilities delivers a complete portfolio of financial results and provides an integrated platform for financial and management reporting. Cognos Controller makes it easy to deliver financial statements and reports to finance stakeholders, as well as managers, line-of-business executives and regulatory bodies. It also provides the de facto starting point for planning, budgeting and other performance management processes.
Just a few reasons why IBM Cognos Controller 10.1:
…and these are just some of the features of IBM Cognos Controller 10.1!!!!
Special Note:
For external financial statement production & XBRL, IBM Cognos Controller data and reports are directly available within external financial documents developed in our IBM Cognos Clarity Financial Statement Reporting (FSR) solution.
IBM Cognos FSR is the market leading solution to control, automate and audit the "last mile" of finance, the challenging collaborative collection and assessment of data from multiple sources that must be brought together into important external documents such as 10Q, 10K or annual reports, or highly confidential documents such as board books. IBM Cognos FSR documents can access IBM Cognos Controller data and text directly, enable collaborative approval, and embed the financial information into any report. The connection is permanent, providing for automatic updates as required, including new versions of the document in future years.
To learn more about IBM Cognos Controller 10.1 here are some additional info for your reference:
IBM Cognos Controller Web Page
IBM Cognos Controller White Paper
Related White Papers & Best Practices
Additional Information:
Financial Consolidation and Reporting is part of a larger end-to-end process fully-enabled by our IBM Financial Performance Management solutions. In the illustration below you can see how our solutions work together to solve this larger process we call, "Close, Consolidate, Report & File".
For more information on this or other Business Analytics topics, feel free to contact me at your convenience.
Tim O'Bryan
Blog @ http
The Close, Consolidate, Report & File process: Without Automation & Embedded Controls It's A House Of Cards
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  businessanalytics financialperformancemanag... businessanalyticstoday ccrf close-consolidate-report-... timobryan | 0 Comments | 1,111 Visits
Predictive Analytics & The Minority Report: It's easier to prevent a crime than solve one!
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  predictiveanalytics timobryan forecasting businessanalytics | 0 Comments | 1,319 Visits
Remember the Tom Cruise and Colin Farrell movie, The Minority Report??? For those who don't recall this movie it's a science fiction thriller based in the year 2054 where Tom Cruise plays Captain John Anderton, the chief of the Washington, D.C. PreCrime police force. The movie's other star, Colin Farrell, plays the Justice Department's auditor in charge of evaluating the PreCrime unit's strategy and tactics before the program goes nationwide. The PreCrime unit has been very successful having prevented any crime from being committed for over 6 years since its implementation apprehending criminals before they've committed their future crime based on what they call foreknowledge. In other words, this department has predictive insights into these future crimes allowing all in the community to sleep safe and sound knowing they're being protected from the bad guys. (Look, I know there are multiple holes in this story (Think of the legality of a pre-crime arrest) but, it's a movie, so you gotta seriously suspend your disbelief like in most movies.) Yes, I'm sure you're thinking this is an extreme and unrealistic example of how predictive analytics can revolutionize the way things are done. Or, maybe this movie's storyline isn't that unrealistic???
Enter the Santa Cruz, California Police Department. Just like most police departments (and businesses for that matter) the Santa Cruz police department spends a majority of their time allocating their existing resources most effectively to produce the best bottom line results. These bottom lime results being fighting or preventing crime while protecting the safety of its community. Apart from identifying who the specific individuals are that will be committing these future crimes like was the case in the PreCrime unit in the movie, The Minority Report, the Santa Cruz Police Department is able to identify specific times and actual locations where crimes are most likely to be committed using their own set of predictive analytic capabilities. This allows them to proactively be there and wait for these crimes to unfold and swoop in before anyone or anything is put in harm's way. They call it predictive policing which utilizes 'Predictive Analytics' to make better decisions about the future. Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of techniques from statistics, data mining and game theory that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future events – to identify patterns or likelihoods of afuture outcome – in this case, crime. Erica Goode of the New York Times says that, "Santa Cruz's method (of predictive policing) is more sophisticated than most. Based on models for predicting aftershocks from earthquakes, it generates projections about which areas and windows of time are at highest risk for future crimes by analyzing and detecting patterns in years of past crime data. The projections are recalibrated daily, as new crimes occur and updated data is fed into the program." Amazing.
Predictive policing is working so well that it's being employed by other police departments around the nation. Besides it being an effective way to fight and prevent crime it's a cost-effective and efficient way to leverage resources, especially in light of shrinking police departments trimmed by the global slowdown. Erica Goode goes on to say in her excellent article that, "efforts to systematically anticipate when and where crimes will occur are being tried out in several cities. The Chicago Police Department, for example, created a predictive analytics unit last year."
Besides wanting to share this incredibly interesting story with you showing how far we've come as a society in leveraging data to make better decisions, I also wanted to use it as a way to illustrate how using predictive analytics to manage your organization's resources (read make better decisions) based on knowing what the future will most likely look like applies to business and government just as well as in policing. Think about it. Why shouldn't corporations employ a similar approach in how they run their businesses? And, Police departments aren't stopping there. They're now thinking about "Crime Forecasting" to understand future events to ensure they're prepared for what this future will most likely require of them. The question is, where is your business on this predictive analytic path? Better, where is your competition?
Financial Performance Management & The Agile Enterprise: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Tim O'Bryan 270001NMX7 email@example.com | | Tags:  provenpractices businessanalytics financialperformancemanag... businessanalyticstoday fpm timobryan | 0 Comments | 949 Visits
Ever sat through a presentation and thought to yourself, "I have no clue what that person just said for the past 45 minutes!"
Includes processes like:


text:
I watched the movie The Devils Advocate tonight but could not understand why did the satan(played by Al Pacino) choose Kevin(played by Keanu Reeves) to make him a conscientious person. A satan does not do that(making a person good). I admit in the dream he tried to make him bad, but I sensed that satan had had a bigger plan, that is to make Kevin a good person, free from all types of greed. But why did he want to do so? And Why Kevin and not some random person? Is it because he is really his son? But given the fact the whole thing was in dream, I believe the son thing was just part of the dream. So what is the actual reason then?
Satan's aim wasn't making Kevin a good person at all. His ultimate goal was creating the Anti-Christ, a supernatural being who would lead Satan's war against God. To do that he needed two of his children to conceive a child, that child would become the Anti-Christ. That's why he engineered that two of children, Kevin and Christabella (Connie Nielsen), get together. Kevin committing suicide put a monkey wrench in Satan's plans (cue Satan screaming his head off).
Then we see Kevin wake up back at the courtroom. Whether the preceding was a dream, or whether Satan used his powers to reset things is up to interpretation.
But what is apparent is that Satan hasn't given up on corrupting Kevin. He comes to him again, this time in the guise of a reporter who is promising to make him a star for his sudden courtroom performance. While Kevin did the right thing in court (as opposed to what he did in his past iteration), he is still vulnerable to his own vanity. Thus Satan's closing quote: "Vanity! Definitely my favorite sin!"

subset: commoncrawl


text:
What's open / what's closed on Thanksgiving
Retail: Shaw's and Hannaford supermarkets will be open Thursday until 3 p.m. in most locations.
Many retail stores and malls will be opening on Thanksgiving evening. Best Buy will open at 6 p.m., beating the Simon malls — Mall of New Hampshire, Pheasant Lane Mall, Mall at Rockingham Park and Fox Run Mall — which won't open until 8 p.m. The Steeplegate Mall in Concord will also open at 8 p.m. Thursday.
State liquor stores will be closed Thursday, with normal hours Friday. Banks will be closed Thursday, even TD Bank branches in stores, but will be open Friday.
Government: State employees get Thursday and Friday off, as do city employees in Manchester, Concord and Portsmouth, although Manchester's Tax Collector Office will be open Friday.
Federal offices will be open Friday, with one exception: Social Security field offices. All Social Security field offices will be closed to the public. State courts will also be closed, except for arraignment of any detainees in Circuit Court.
Schools: Public schools will be closed Thursday and Friday.
Trash pickup: There will be no Thursday trash pickup in Manchester, Nashua, Concord and Dover, with pickup sliding a day later than usual, except in Portsmouth, where Thursday's trash pickups will be done a day early. In addition, there will be no yard waste pickup Wednesday, Thursday or Friday in Portsmouth.
Mail: There will be no regular mail delivery or counter service Thursday, but the post offices will be functioning normally on Friay. UPS is closed Thursday and will only be doing delivery and pickup of air and international packages Friday. FedEx is closed Thursday, but will have ground and home delivery service Friday.
To improve the chance of seeing your comment posted here or published in the New Hampshire Union Leader:
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text:
Pro-Jump EXO Pro
Bionic Power-Running
These bionic stilts enable the wearer to run at 40kph and jump 2.4 metres high with relative ease. Unusually, Pro-Jump's simple design has the fibreglass spring attached directly to the frame, reducing the overall bulk and allowing the spring further travel. As on a trampoline, the more energy you put into the arched spring, the more you get out.
£209.99 pro-jump.co.uk
Credit: Richard Maxted


text:
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) - Chris Carpenter realizes his baseball career may be over.
The 37-year-old right-hander made a surprise appearance at the St. Louis Cardinals' spring-training camp Monday and said he's still dealing with numbing and tingling sensations in his pitching hand, arm and shoulder.
Asked if he wanted to continue pitching, the former Cy Young Award winner said, "I do. I just don't think I can."
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Associated Press


text:
Le Mars Community Holds Open House For Phase II Project
(Le Mars) -- About 1200 people turned out Monday evening to see the new Phase II addition to the Le Mars Community High School. It was seven years in the making from beginning to completion. The new addition includes a new gymnasium, band room, art room, multi-purpose/wrestling room, locker rooms, public restrooms, and the renovation of the choir room. Current School Board Director and past president Pat Murphy praised the leadership of his fellow board members, the administration, and the community for taking on the project. Murphy says it took both leadership and creativity to make the project a reality. He says seven years ago, members of the booster club approached the school board with a plan to expand.
Listen to
The school board director says he and his colleagues knew Le Mars Community deserved such a facility, but financing such a project, perhaps would stand in the way of progress.
Listen to
Murphy says it was a courageous move for everyone to go ahead with the construction of Phase II, and he says he is proud of how the board approved the project, without placing a higher tax levy on the community.
Listen to
Community pride was evident on nearly everyone's face as they toured the new addition. That pride carried over to the Bulldog spirit night when the students of autumn activities were introduced.
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text:
715 per 100,000 in USSA jails. Thats allmost 1%.
In fakt with a bit of snooping i feel sure that the official stat of 715 would go up to an unofficial raw real true stat of close to 1000.
Afterall the ozzy official stat iz 116 -- whereaz raw data aktually shows 168 per 100,000.
On this basis the USSA stat of 715 might go up to a real true raw stat of 1,035 -- thats 1.035%.
The land of the free. The land of liberty.


text:
2012 Events
2012 News of the Year | Some January-November remarkable providences
January 1
Chinese authorities arrest nearly 50 members of Beijing's largest unregistered church after the congregation decides to continue meeting outdoors for Sunday worship services.
Iran says it has produced its first nuclear fuel rod.
January 2
Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram issues a warning to Christians in northern Nigeria to leave the region within three days.
January 3
The presidential primary season begins in Iowa, where Rick Santorum ekes out a 34-vote win.
January 5
President Obama announces a new defense strategy, cutting military spending dramatically.
January 11
The U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously that courts can't intervene in church hiring decisions.
January 12
Police arrest 43 New York City pastors and lay people who were protesting the city's ban on church use of public schools for worship services.
January 13
The cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground at the Isola del Giglio in the Mediterranean Sea with 11 deaths and 14 other casualties confirmed.
January 18
After President Obama announces he will reject TransCanada's bid to build a crude oil pipeline from Canada to refineries near the Gulf Coast, Canada indicates it will expand its oil exports to China.
January 20
President Obama announces that most religious groups must provide full medical insurance coverage for contraceptives, including abortion-causing drugs like Plan B and Ella.
January 23
Security forces under the Syrian government kill at least 22 civilians. They kill 52 the next day, and another 100 die on Jan. 27.
January 28
Oakland, Calif., police arrest about 300 protesters during Occupy Oakland demonstrations.
January 31
Mitt Romney wins the GOP Florida primary.
February 1
TBN faces lawsuits alleging clandestine affairs, crimes, and cover-ups.
February 3
Susan G. Komen for the Cure retreats from its decision not to make future grants to Planned Parenthood.
February 4
China and Russia veto a UN Security Council vote on an Arab League peace proposal to resolve Syria's crisis.
New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin launches his team on a winning streak that sparks "Linsanity."
February 5
New York Giants win Super Bowl XLVI.
February 6
Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her ascension to the throne.
February 7
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns California's Proposition 8, the 2008 referendum defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
February 10
CIA and Alabama state websites go down, with Anonymous claiming responsibility.
February 13
Greece passes austerity measures that earn it a bailout of 130 billion euros from the European Central Bank and other public sources.
Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire signs a bill legalizing same-sex "marriage" in the state.
February 14
More than 200 protesters chant and wave signs outside the White House as Xi Jinping, a Communist official set to become China's next president, visits the White House and President Obama tells him, "I'm sure the American people welcome you."
A fire at a jail in Comayagua, Honduras, kills at least 350 inmates.
February 17
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoes a bill that would legalize same-sex "marriage" in his state.
February 21
After an Arab Spring uprising, Yemen undergoes a peaceful transfer of power with the election of Vice President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi.
February 26
George Zimmerman allegedly shoots and kills Trayvon Martin, sparking protests and outrage.
February 27
Ohio student T.J. Lane allegedly shoots and kills three peers and injures two more in a rampage at Chardon High School.
March 1
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley signs a law legalizing same-sex "marriage" in his state.
An Iraqi student shoots and kills American teacher Jeremiah Small as he begins to pray at the start of class.
March 2
Deadly tornadoes ravage the Midwest and the South.
March 4
Vladimir Putin claims victory in Russia's presidential election.
March 6
Mitt Romney edges Rick Santorum in the GOP Ohio primary and, with other "Super Tuesday" victories, takes control of the Republican race.
March 8
Toyota recalls 700,000 cars over safety issues.
March 10
Militants kill 45 women and children in Homs, Syria, just hours after a UN visit to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
March 11
Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales allegedly kills 16 Afghan civilians near Kandahar.
March 12
For the first time since his arrest in 2009, Iran admits it convicted Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani of religious crimes.
March 14
The International Criminal Court in The Hague declares Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga guilty of war crimes. He is later sentenced to 14 years in prison.
March 16
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returns home after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba.
March 17
A Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in China, the latest in a series of similar incidents involving nearly 30 monks.
Pope Benedict XVI launches a probe into leaks of confidential papers alleging corruption, financial mismanagement, and power struggles among senior church officials.
Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III dies, adding to the uneasiness of Egypt's Christian minority amidst growing political uncertainty and Islamist persecution.
March 17-18
Bombings in Syria strike Christian districts in Aleppo and Damascus, killing dozens and wounding over 100 people.
March 18
Gunmen shoot and kill American teacher Joel Shrum in Yemen.
March 24
Chinese officials allow imprisoned Christian attorney Gao Zhisheng to see relatives, the first such visit in nearly two years.
March 27
Following controversy over Bible translations in Muslim contexts, Wycliffe and its translation partner SIL agree to an independent review of their translation practices.
April 2
Alleged gunman One Goh opens fire at Oikos University in Oakland, Calif., killing seven people and injuring three.
April 4
A court sentences former New Orleans Police Department officers to jail for shooting civilians after Hurricane Katrina, and then covering it up.
A female suicide bomber walks into Somalia's newly reopened National Theater, killing herself and 10 others as dignitaries meet to celebrate the first anniversary of the nation's TV station.
April 8
A suicide bomber detonates explosives in Nigeria's Kaduna state, killing 38 people in a blast apparently meant for nearby churches.
Golfer Bubba Watson wins the Masters.
Twelve Iranian Christians await a judge's verdict after spending Easter Sunday on trial for "crimes against the order" of Iran.
April 10
Apple Inc. becomes the all-time most valuable company, with a market capitalization of more than $600 billion.
Rick Santorum suspends his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.
University of Arkansas officials fire head football coach Bobby Petrino for an inappropriate relationship with a female employee.
April 15
Islamic militants attack a Pakistan prison, freeing nearly 400 inmates.
April 22
Chen Guangcheng, a blind human rights lawyer, escapes captivity after 18 months of brutal house arrest in China.
April 26
The Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague convicts former Liberian President Charles Taylor of aiding and abetting war crimes.
May 1
President Obama visits Afghanistan and signs an agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai that outlines a continuing U.S. role in Afghanistan after 2014.
May 2
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, takes the oath of office to become a member of Burma's lower house of parliament.
May 4
Mexico officials discover 23 bodies in Nuevo Laredo following a mass killing involving rival drug cartels.
May 5
A military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay arraigns accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants.
May 7
The CIA says it foiled a plot by Fahd al-Quso, a Yemeni affiliate of al-Qaeda, to blow up an American-bound airliner.
Vladimir Putin begins his third term as Russia's president.
May 8
The New York Court of Appeals rules that viewing child pornography online is not a crime.
North Carolina bans same-sex "marriage."
May 9
President Obama announces that he supports same-sex "marriage."
May 13
The Falls Church Anglican congregation meets for the last worship service in its historic building.
May 15
François Hollande becomes France's 24th president.
May 18
Facebook holds an initial public offering and shares plummet.
May 19
Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng arrives in the United States.
May 21
NATO heads of state agree to a framework for winding down the combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
May 31
A jury clears former Sen. John Edwards on one count of corruption, with a mistrial declared for the other counts.
June 2
An Egyptian court finds former President Hosni Mubarak complicit in the deaths of protesters and sentences him to life in prison.
June 3
A car explodes outside a Nigerian church, killing 15 people and injuring 42.
June 5
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survives a recall election.
June 6
French President François Hollande announces that the government will lower the retirement age for many workers to 60 from 62.
June 10
Terror group Boko Haram claims responsibility for attacks against two Christian churches in Nigeria's Jos and Borno states.
June 14
Chinese officials apologize to Feng Jaimei after a graphic photo of her lying next to her forcibly aborted 7-month-old preborn baby goes viral and sparks worldwide condemnation of the nation's one-child policy.
June 15
President Obama announces that the United States will halt the deportation of some illegal immigrants.
June 17
Greece's pro-bailout, pro-austerity New Democracy party wins national elections.
June 19
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange seeks refuge at Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on charges of sexual misconduct.
June 21
Moody's downgrades the credit rating of 15 major world banks.
WORLD reveals that the National Association of Evangelicals takes money from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which promotes contraceptive use by the unwed.
The Miami Heat win the National Basketball Association championship.
June 22
A court convicts Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State University football coach, on 45 charges of child sex abuse.
June 23
The Waldo Canyon Fire begins, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands of Colorado residents to flee.
June 25
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that most of Arizona's immigration law is unconstitutional.
June 28
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds Obamacare.
The House of Representatives holds Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for obstructing the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious.
June 30
Mohamed Morsi becomes president of Egypt.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska issues a permanent injunction against New York City, calling its policy prohibiting church access to school property a violation of First Amendment rights.
July 1
Masked attackers kill at least 17 people in attacks on Kenyan churches.
July 3
The Obama administration files two cases with the Supreme Court that challenge the Defense of Marriage Act.
July 4
Physicists in Switzerland announce the long-awaited discovery of what they believe to be the "Higgs boson," a subatomic particle first predicted in 1964.
July 6
Following a final recount, Enrique Peña Nieto wins Mexico's presidential election.
July 7
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., "marries" his longtime partner Jim Ready.
July 8
Gunmen kill dozens of people in northern Nigeria's Christian villages.
July 18
Wheaton College joins other Catholic and Protestant institutions fighting the Obama administration's contraceptive mandate.
A bombing at the National Security Building in Damascus kills several senior Syrian officials.
July 20
Alleged gunman James Holmes opens fire at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, killing 12 people and injuring 58 more.
July 27-August 12
The Summer Olympics in London draws 10,500 athletes from around the world.
August 1
Customers flood Chick-fil-A restaurants around the nation in support of CEO Dan Cathy, attacked for defending the biblical definition of marriage.
A federal appeals court blocks Arizona's ban on most late-term abortions, one day before it was to take effect.
August 5
NASA's Curiosity rover lands on Mars.
August 6
Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab defects to Jordan.
August 11
Mitt Romney chooses Paul Ryan as his running mate.
August 15
Alleged gunman Floyd Lee Corkins II opens fire at the Family Research Council, shooting a security guard.
An outbreak of West Nile virus kills at least 17 people, spurring Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to declare a state of emergency.
August 19
Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin sparks controversy by saying women's bodies have ways of preventing pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape."
August 20
UN observers leave Syria as their mandate expires.
August 24
A Norway court deems Anders Behring Breivik sane and sentences him to 21 years in prison for killing 77 people in July 2011.
August 28
Hurricane Isaac makes landfall in the United States.
September 4
The UN says 100,000 Syrians fled to another country during August, the highest monthly figure in the 18-month conflict.
September 5
During the Democratic National Convention, Democrats reinstate in the party platform a reference to God and a declaration that "undivided" Jerusalem is Israel's capital.
Scientists announce that "junk DNA" plays a vital role in how cells, organs, and diseases behave.
September 8
Iranian authorities acquit condemned pastor Youcef Nadarkhani of apostasy charges and release him from a Tehran prison.
September 10
Chicago teachers go on strike.
September 11
Moody's says the United States may face a credit rating downgrade if its debt problems continue.
Gunmen storm the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, killing Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.
September 12
Craft chain Hobby Lobby becomes the largest business to sue the federal government over its healthcare contraceptive mandate.
September 13
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the Fed plans to buy $85 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month for the rest of the year, and $40 billion worth each month thereafter.
September 15
The United States orders all non-essential staff to evacuate the Sudan and Tunisia embassies and urges citizens to avoid traveling there.
September 23
Syrian opposition figures meet in government-controlled Damascus and try to position themselves as an alternative both to the Assad dictatorship and the armed rebellion.
September 25
A new report, Untold Atrocities: The Stories of Syria's Children, details suffering and devastation during the civil war in Syria.
September 26
The New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts recalls painkiller medication linked to a national outbreak of meningitis. By Nov. 26, fungus-tainted steroid injections had sickened 510 people in 19 states and killed 36.
October 1
California becomes the first state to ban "conversion therapy" for gay teens.
October 6
A Vatican court finds Pope Benedict XVI's former butler Paolo Gabriele guilty of stealing and leaking confidential documents, and sentences him to 18 months in prison.
October 9
Taliban gunmen shoot Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old Pakistani advocate for women's education rights.
October 14
Felix Baumgartner dives out of a helium-filled balloon and becomes the first person to eclipse the speed of sound without traveling in a jet or spacecraft.
October 22
The International Cycling Union strips cycling champion Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles, banning him from the sport for life.
October 26
China blocks access to The New York Times website after the paper publishes an investigation into the finances of Premier Wen Jiabao.
October 28
San Francisco Giants win the World Series.
October 29
Superstorm Sandy strikes, bringing havoc to the Northeast.
November 1
Iranian aircraft fire on an unmanned U.S. Predator drone in international airspace.
November 6
President Barack Obama wins reelection.
Voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington approve same-sex "marriage," while Minnesota rejects an amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
November 9
CIA Director David Petraeus submits his resignation, citing an extramarital affair.
November 14
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a treason law that opponents believe he will use to silence critics and those who associate with foreigners.
Following numerous rocket attacks from Gaza, an Israeli airstrike kills Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. More attacks follow.
November 20
A Pakistani court dismisses the blasphemy case against Rimsha Masih, a Christian girl arrested in August on allegations she burned portions of the Quran.
November 21
Israel and Hamas reach a cease-fire.
November 22
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi passes a decree granting himself extensive new powers.
November 24
A fire erupts at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, killing more than 115 workers.
November 26
The U.S. Supreme Court orders a federal appeals court to review Liberty University's lawsuit against Obamacare, including whether the healthcare mandate violates religious freedom.
November 28
The first ruling from a circuit court on the healthcare law's contraceptive mandate goes against the Obama administration.
November 29
Egyptian Islamists unilaterally pass a draft constitution.


text:
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