Analysis Intuition Judgment Experience & Imagination

I was motivated to write this after listening to some of my friends and colleagues say – analysis is the most important contribution that one can make at work! I also believe that analysis is important – however there are more things that are equally, if not more, important.

In theory, analysis seems to be an important skill for any kind of work. However, from the applied skills perspective – analysis is the easiest thing to do. This is because it starts with some facts and information as an input, and in these times information and facts are not impossible to get as long as we are ready to pay for these (and many times we do not even need to pay!).

So, if information and facts are easy to get, that leaves us with analysis right? May be not. To me in any particular assignment, looking for some information, facts and starting the process of analysis actually come later. What comes first is to define the problem or the opportunity correctly or as we say in creative businesses defining the problem creatively. This is linked with asking the right questions. To me this is the biggest contribution that can be made by anyone.

Going back to why is defining the problem or the opportunity correctly, the most important activity in any assignment. I would say it is so because in real business (and life) situations – problems do not come to us in neatly organized packs. We need to ‘figure them out’. This is where our skills come into play. To be able to ‘figure out’ the problem requires judgment, intuition and a good dose of experience.
Having said this, I must also add that, every new assignment or situation calls for an open mind because there is a lot of randomness lurking in almost every situation that one finds oneself in. It is not enough to have all the judgment, intuition, analysis, and experience on one’s side. It is equally important to realize that every new situation deserves imagination, for it to be approached in a whole new way. This is because while problems can come in patterns, this pattern can break without telling you and me. It is our job to ‘figure out’ when that happens!