Killer Analytics: Top 20 Metrics Missing from your Balance Sheet

Chapter 7

The External Factors Index

WHY AN ORGANIZATION MIGHT TRACK THIS

Questions Answered

• What economic factors such as the markets, real estate, interest rates, or other factors are having a major impact on our organization?
• What are our competitors up to and how might this impact us?
• What kind of threats or challenges will we face in the next few months?
• How are customer needs and priorities changing?
• Are there any emerging trends that we need to capitalize on?
• Is the political situation at the federal, state, and local level for us or against us?
• How are we handling negative events that have occurred in areas of the world where we do business or operate?

Why Is This Information Important?

Leaders are bombarded with information every day on what is going on in the world. You might read the Wall Street Journal each morning as my investment banker neighbor does while riding his exercise bike. You might listen to news radio on the way to work in the car or read another paper while on the train. You probably get news items sent to your work computer alerting you to factors such as market performance, politics, or world events. Other facts about the economy, competitors, or market research might be brought to your attention in meetings or in the hallway. The bottom line is that we are exposed to almost constant information about what is going on in the world. The problem is that we are overloaded with too much information, some of it relevant and accurate, and some neither. ...