How Can Star Wars Help Your Business?

Dec 15, 2015

NEW YORK - NOV 7 2015: Studio portrait of an EFX brand Star Wars ANH Stormtrooper helmet. Star Wars The Force Awakens opens December 18th 2015 worldwide. The Star Wars franchise is owned by Disney

What does December 18th, 2015 mean to you? Ok yes, it is one week before Christmas but if you are a Star Wars fan, then you know it means much more than that. The awaited release of “The Force Awakens” has caught quite the buzz around this holiday season. Jim Hopkins does an awesome job at bringing Star Wars and Business Data/Analytics side by side in his article: How Star Wars Can Help with Your Data Problems.

If you are new to Business Intelligence terms such as CRM, Big Data, Analytics, this article does a good job of laying it out clearly.

Hopkins first relates “the Force” to “the Data” in the business world. “The Force” is an abstract power that connects them and controls their world. Which is incredibly similar to “the Data”. What would we be without data? What would we analyze to gain crucial insight on the decisions that are made to strengthen our businesses? The same analogy holds true for businesses’ CRM systems. The CRM (Customer Relationship Management) connects everyone from Marketing, Sales, Finance, Support and Administration.

This leads into Hopkins’ next comparison: “The Dark Side”. Without the proper care and management of a CRM system, it can quickly turn “dark” as Hopkins puts it. Collecting large amounts of useful data is a great thing, having the ability to store and organize this information is also a great thing. However, without close attention to detail many businesses can allow their knowledge of information to turn sour. It is a crucial part to the success of a company, to pay attention to detail and making sure what is being stored is accurate. What is meant to strengthen and prosper a business, can quickly do the opposite if not properly maintained.

When Luke Skywalker is attracted to the Jedi lifestyle, he begins to gain greater knowledge of his father’s past, a Jedi master. Through this, he is able to strengthen the power he holds within himself. In the business world, we must truly understand what our goals are and how our decisions are impacting them. When we run analysis reports, what patterns do we see? What story is the data telling us?

As Darth Vader said about Luke Skywalker, “the force is strong with this one.” Hopkins relates this to having a strong set of policies and mechanisms in place when implementing any data analytic strategy or program. Everyone must be on the same page and follow the same guidelines to ensure the highest quality of data outcome within a business.

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