Analysis Without Paralysis: 10 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions

Chapter 2. The Analysis Process

Analysis is the ugly duckling of effective management. Few management authors write about analysis, not many people want to talk about it, and even fewer people claim to be expert at it. Just compare the commercial availability and visibility of data analysis to data collection. Data collectors are found on every street corner, data collection methods are common and available to most takers, and data collection agencies are plentiful. Don’t believe us? Go to your local library, search the Internet, or read the commercial ads in your industry magazines.

Why then has analysis gotten the bad rap? We think there are a number of reasons that can potentially explain why analysis is not among the most popular topics ...