Once you know, what will you do?

Once you know, what will you do?

I've yet to meet a client who didn't require, in some form or another, some way to analyze their data. Whether it was simple queries or reports, or more advanced dashboards or analytics, everyone wants to be able to analyze their data.

And that's a good thing.

But the first question that should be asked whenever we decide to analyze any data is "Once we've analyzed the data, what next action will we take as a result of that analysis?"

Or put more simply, "Once you know, what will you do?"

"That's interesting" or "It would be good to know" are not actions. "Let's try a different marketing message" or "Let's change the price on that" or "Let's stop doing that" are actions. Even "That's working, let's keep doing what we're doing" is an action!

So before you spend a lot of time and energy analyzing any data, ask yourself, "Once I know, what will I do?"

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

“The first time it lies to me is the last time I’ll use it.”

June 17, 2026

“The first time it lies to me is the last time I’ll use it.” Over […]

Improvement is never linear

June 10, 2026

Improvement is never linear One of the many lessons one learns over a lifetime is […]

Don’t forget to take a “before” picture!

June 3, 2026

Don’t forget to take a “before” picture! Whenever I start on a big home clean […]

Are you being penny wise and pound foolish?

May 27, 2026

Are you being penny wise and pound foolish? Two quick customer service stories to illustrate […]

AMS Products are getting better – and what that means for you

May 20, 2026

AMS Products are getting better – and what that means for you I’ve been working […]

Using AI beyond content generation

May 13, 2026

Using AI beyond content generation Recent surveys by ASAE and others suggest nearly 90% of associations […]

If you’re training, PLEASE do this…

May 6, 2026

If you’re training, PLEASE do this… If you’re doing any kind of software training, or […]

Don’t confuse motion with improvement

April 29, 2026

Don’t confuse motion with improvement I wrote recently how action can produce information. But an […]

Perfection is expensive (in fact, it’s not possible!)

April 22, 2026

Perfection is expensive (in fact, it’s not possible!) “Perfection is expensive. The last 5 percent […]

AI is a journey, not a destination

April 15, 2026

AI is a journey, not a destination Lately I’ve noticed a lot of associations talking […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top