New Business Concept

Analysts used to be the ones who had a technology degree but were able to back it up with some basic business knowledge.  Now the times are changing.  Business analysts are business people who specialize in technology.  They can work both spectrum’s of the field.

Qualities of a business analyst may include some degree in technology.  They know that the business is to lead the way in technology, not the other way around.  Just because it is a cool new thing does not make it a practical application for today’s market.  It may not fit the bill next month or even next week.

Another quality a business analyst has is the ability to be comfortable in the board room as well as in front of the drawing board.  He or she will know how to address a meeting of the stakeholders, while still going back to IT and mapping it out for the department.  A great quality for any business analyst is what some call bi-lingual speech.  Being able to discuss issues in a clear concise language everyone can understand.

The business analyst is going to be a research person.  He or she will always be doing something to gain more knowledge.  Whether it is for the company or for their own personal gratification the business analyst will know knowledge is the key to success.

One of the best attributes for the business analyst is being able to supply options.  He or she will know what is available and from whom.  The business analyst is not a bobble headed yes man.  He or she will state the facts and tell the stakeholders or department leaders if the idea is solid or not.  He or she will let people know when a problem exists with a concept or idea.  The business analyst will be able to tell why the problem occurs.

Being open minded is a good quality for the business analyst.  He or she can impart an impartial viewpoint to theories and opinions.  The business analyst will be able to choose vendors from an objective point of view.

Qualities bestowed on a business analyst include knowing the attributes of another individual.  He or she can show that person where their expertise can help a project.  The business analyst will not surround him self or her self with people who do nothing.  He or she will find the people who can do the job.  This may mean the large team stakeholders are expecting may only be a handful of qualified individuals.

The qualities of a business analyst will allow him or her to look into the future to see where business and technology are going.  He or she will be collecting information all along the way to help with the next step or phase which is coming.  He or she will be able to map market trends.  The business analyst will be able to see economic bubbles before they occur and take steps to avoid disaster.

A good business analyst will be one of the best assets a company or organization can invest in.  Finding a business analyst with these qualities is like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.  The business analyst will tell you where to invest it.

Every now and then a business book comes along that revolutionaries how the business world views an area of focus.  One such book had the amusing title “Who Moved my Cheese” by Spencer Johnson.  This short book that is illustrated like a children’s story has some profound ideas in it that will radically change how any business approaches the marketplace.  It is a book that has had his biggest impact in helping employees who have been displaced view their job change.  But the ideas that are made simple in “Who Moved my Cheese” can impact virtually every area of business dealings.

The book communicates its message through a story of a mouse who finds that the place where he can find his cheese is no longer reliable.  The mouse’s friend continues to go to that same place to find more cheese only to continue to get hungrier and hungrier.  But the hero of the story finds the new location of his cheese.  When he finds his new source of cheese, he not only is astounded by the bounty but that even after telling his friend of the new source of cheese, that friend continues to insist that his cheese will be there where it always had been before and that in fact, the hero of our story is mistaken about the new location of cheese.

This, obviously, is not a tale about cheese location.  It is a parable of how to handle change.  The core value being taught by “Who Moved my Cheese” is that we cannot always look to the same resource for our supply.  Markets dry up, businesses go through slumps and have to lay good people off and revenue streams change.

But one thing is for sure.  There is always a new reservoir of funding somewhere in some market.  And the wise business can foresee a change in the marketplace well in advance and make the changes they need to make so that they go where the money is, or move with the cheese to find the new source of rich funding and tap into it.

It is more than just a parable about looking for a new job.  But it sheds light on the plight of the unemployed.  So often someone who loses their job gets stuck in a mental cycle of waiting for their old job to hire them back or looking for an identical job in a very similar industry.  However, if that industry is under economic pressure or if the business paradigm for that industry has changed dramatically, there may no longer be rich sources of funding and employment availability there that was once so reliable.  In short, the cheese has moved.

This lesson has rich wisdom in business beyond the employment scenario.  The businesses who have learned to be adaptable in a changing marketplace and have made the changes to follow the changes to the new source of “cheese” are the businesses that survive decade after decade.  The grocery industry has seen that kind of change.  Many grocery chains went belly up waiting for the cheese to come back to the old paradigm.  But others saw the invasion of the big discount stores such as Wal-Mart and found ways to combat that change, to find new niches in the industry where an untapped market need existed or to compete in the new business paradigm.  Other industries where such dramatic changes have forced businesses to find out who moved their cheese are the record industry and the book sales business environment that have been so heavily impacted by internet sales.

But those businesses have survived.  And if they can be aggressive and adapt and change with the markets, it’s a good example for all of us as we continue to look for the new source of “cheese”.

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