It’s been a while since I have posted a blog to Jobshuk, but there is good reason as to why it has been so long. I have just completed 6 months of army service but I have now settled back into civilian life and I have re-opened my business, Easy Data Solutions. I had the privilege of serving in the Combat Engineering core in which I was part of a unit that served way down South on the Egyptian border, about one hour North of Eilat. Our unit was responsible for guarding 32km of the border which included patrols, guarding from guard towers and camping out overnight in strategic areas along the border waiting in ambush for arms smugglers and any terrorist activity.

It was relatively quiet in our territory during my service and for good reason. The army command received daily updates on potential terrorist activity that was likely to occur in its area and, accordingly, designed its strategy to prevent the activity from occurring. For example, information was received on one occasion that pointed to an arms smuggler who was expected, at a very particular location along the border, to make a “transaction” in the coming week. In response, our unit increased the number of patrols around that location and set up ambushes in the event that the “transaction” occurred.

Well, the “transaction” never occurred, and it was because both parties, that is, the army and the would-be arms-smugglers, used the power of information. The army acted on its tip-off in the correct fashion and ultimately prevented any arms being smuggled into the country during that week. It achieved its desired goal, although the smuggler was not detained. The smuggler, however, also collected information and used it to his benefit. Having identified that there was increased activity at his chosen location where he was to carry out his “transaction”, he aborted his mission. Although he did not succeed in achieving his end goal, he was certainly in a better position than if he had attempted to make the “transaction”. The information he gathered saved his merchandise and probably his life too.

Information is power, but only if you use it correctly and to your advantage. Every business has some type of data feeding into it and going out of it. Customer information, sales data, staff performance, profits and losses, cost ratios, economic factors etc. The list goes on. But this information has no value if those involved in making decisions about the business do not use it correctly. Your business information tells a story about your business and you can only write the script of where you are headed if you analyse and understand the information your business is providing you. Ignoring relevant data will not help you achieve the best outcomes for your business, rather it may prevent you from achieving your goals. Successful businesses act on the information they have.

During the many arduous hours of guard duty way down in the middle of the desert, I had time to ponder my own business. It soon became evident to me that I could not wait to get back into it and to really get it up and running. I recalled that during the short time that my business was in operation before I enlisted in the army, I was able to gather important information. The information pointed to the fact that there is real opportunity to make the business a success, and if I harness this information correctly, anything is possible. I hope that this becomes a reality.

For assistance in building business and financial data management models to help you better understand your business information, or for assistance in improving existing spreadsheets, reports or presentations that you are already using, visit the Easy Data Solutions website, or email in**@******************co.il to arrange a free consultation.