What is it we believe and why? A pretty big question without a pint of good ale to hand maybe, but nevertheless relevant given all of the information of which we are in receipt every day. Of course, that we have such flows of information today is amazing, and something we could not have imagined only a few years ago. But, there are challenges in managing this inflow of data – it can start to feel like drinking from a proverbial fire hose, or every which way seems confusion and contradiction when trying to understand what is going on.
Photo courtesy of Yoel Ben-Avraham
What is your perception, for example, of conducting business in the West African region? This will obviously depend on many contributing factors, like your previous experiences in that area, the information you have access to and your outlook on life in general. What becomes immediately obvious though is that some individuals and organisations would never go within ballistic missile range of the area, whilst others think the absolute opposite.
That example could be transferred to just about anywhere in the world and you would get the same result. I know people, from both extremes, who feel quite strongly about working in or around London, as just one example.
And this comes back to our question of… ‘What is it we believe and why?’ Could it be that with a better understanding, commercial opportunities particularly in challenging regions would be seen differently? Perhaps the perceived risks could be seen as less ominous and even could be mitigated to our advantage?
This works the other way round as well, where risks have existed, but had not been identified or taken heed of. As shown perhaps by Rio Tinto’s excursion into Mozambique and the Benga coal mine in 2011. Being unable to export the coal as planned via the Zambezi River caused a project write-off of $3.5 billion and the replacement of their CEO. I’m sure we can all think of a few other examples.
Everything we do in business and every decision made is based on information. It should go without saying that the poorer the information, the greater the chance of the operation going awry.
Image by courtesy of Vic
Which comes to one of the most surprising elements of the business world, most companies do not have anybody responsible directly for the worth and usefulness of information. There are people who archive information (knowledge managers), protect information (infosec managers) and provide the means to store and retrieve information (the IT Department), but these tend to look at quantity first and quality only a poor second.
Certainly there are few companies, outside of intelligence specialists, where a board member has the responsibility to drive the decision-making process through the use of quantifiable information. Perhaps it is time to challenge that structure…
Do you want to understand better the business dynamics in your sector? Are you looking for options to drive forward your business in a challenging environment? To find out more about what QRO Global could do to assist your business or to learn more about the types of projects that we have worked on in the past, see our Services Page or email us today – info@qro-global.co.uk
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