The Complete Guide to Business Analytics (Collection)

3Avoiding Analysis Pitfalls

This chapter illustrates the common barriers or obstacles to business and competitive analysis (BCA) effectiveness in contemporary enterprises. Analysis of failure is an elusive concept, and research of analysts about their understanding and experiences of these terms have produced little, if any, consensus.¹ We, the book's authors, are typically uncomfortable when we hear analysts or their clients claim that, "I'll know it when I see it."

It hardly needs to be said that organizations and managers can learn from failures if individuals thoughtfully talk about and examine them, something that is rarely done except in cases of catastrophic, publicly visible failures² that cannot escape the media's glare. Unfortunately, ...