Questions
Pablo Picasso once remarked that, “The problem with computers is that they only give you answers.”
You’d think that people would appreciate a machine that can give you answers. But it turns out that answers are easy. Questions are hard. Here’s an example:
For many years, car designers asked questions like “What causes injuries during a car crash?” They got answers and then redesigned the most dangerous parts. That’s very useful. But then somebody asked a different question: “When do injuries occur during a crash?” It turns out that most serious injuries happen within a split second of impact. So, to reduce injuries, you only have to protect the car’s occupants for a split second. The air bag was the ultimate result of this line of questioning. That’s even more useful. A better question led to a better result.
We think this is a useful lesson which is precisely why we designed Lawson Business Intelligence the way we did. LBI can answer questions – just like any BI solution. But because LBI is operational business intelligence rather than answer-questions-about-what-happened-yesterday business intelligence, it can help you do a lot more than reflect on the past. It helps you frame and re-frame your understanding of what’s happening in your business. It helps you see things that you might not see in a system that simply summarizes transactions. Ultimately, it helps you ask better questions.
It’s great to get answers. It’s better to ask smart questions. If you want to do both, it may be time to step up to Lawson Business Intelligence.
As its name implies, The Lawson Opinionizer offers opinions. We believe we've got our facts straight but we don't guarantee it. A new Opinionizer appears every Monday. If you have an opinion, send an e-mail to Opinionizer@lawson.com
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