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9. Narrow insight? Broaden your perspective. Analyze the business from multiple sources. The big
three angles are finance, marketing, and customer service. There is a tendency to favor one source
of information over others. This is natural and consistent with education, training, and experience, but
to truly understand the business, all three of these broad perspectives need to be taken into
consideration. Don’t understand the financials? Talk to someone who does. Read and understand the
implications of balance sheets, income statements. Learn about return on investment (ROI) and what
it looks like for your organization. Is marketing a mystery? Find out how your organization goes to
market. What’s the value proposition? What makes the organization stand out against the
competition. Unclear on customer service? Identify your key customer groups. Look internally and
externally. Find out how products and services are sold and delivered to them. Understand what they
want and need from you.

Want to learn more? Take a deep dive…

Cope, K. (2012, February 29). How to see the big picture, without losing sight of the details. Chief
Executive.net.
Kurtz, R. (2008, September 5). Analyzing your company’s strengths and weaknesses. Bloomberg
Businessweek.

10. Want fresh insights? Get close to your customers. Studies show that there is significant
correlation between indicators of financial health—such as increased sales, growth margins, and
shareholder return—and how customers rate service. Meet with a counterpart in customer service.
Have them explain the function to you. Listen in to customer service calls or, even better, handle a
couple yourself. Look for ways to gather feedback from some customers and strengthen the
organization’s relationship with them. What do customers expect from your products or services?
What is the biggest customer complaint? What delights them? Track their changing needs and
expectations. Include the customer perspective in your decision-making process.

11. Want to stay ahead in the game? Become a student of the competition. Part of knowing your
business is knowing how you stack up against other players in the marketplace. Use the same online
sources that you use to gain intel on your own business and the customer’s business to learn about
your competitors. Analyze their websites. Read up on customer reviews of their products or services.
Start a spreadsheet with columns listing their key features and how they stack up to yours. If it’s a
brick and mortar business or otherwise open to the public, go into stealth mode. Blind shop to get a
sense of their price points, customer service, and operational norms. See who is attending the same
trade association events as you. Grab brochures from their booth. When possible, audit sponsored
workshops or receptions. See how they position their business with customers.

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