The BBQ

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Unfortunately I missed posting on Friday due to the 1st Annual Bell BBQ which my family and I have been planning for a month. It's amazing how you can use business analysis in everything you do. We started off with looking at the Farmer's Almanac to figure out the best day to have this event without conflicting with our schedules. We picked our date but unfortunately, despite our efforts, the weather didn't hold out and we ended up having a rainy day in the morning, it cleared up in the afternoon somewhat, but not enough to do the inflatable waterslide and ice cream truck as pplanned. However, we still had the BBQ and it was aa HUGE success.

How many times as business analysts do we have a plan and then some external force we have no control over alters that plan? We have to be flexible as business analysts, it's not a black and white thing all the time. Though it may be frustrating we have to alter our plan to accommodate the current environment. Not alter to the point of losing quality but alter to the point of effectively navigating through the environment to reach the end goal. So how do we do this?

1. Don't panic - when there is a change it is not necessarily a bad thing. It may need to change to provide a better solution or it may be the environment you're in that you have no control over it. So if you have no control over it then why stress over? Get over it, reposition yourself, vent if you need to and keep it moving.
2. Know your battles - know the battles to fight. This may not be one. Don't waste energy on things you have no control over.
3. Keep a level head - don't immediately get confrontational, understand why the change has occurred. Understand what you are facing and react accordingly. The first instinct is not to go off but to understand.
4. Be flexible - if you have a hard time being flexible then business analysis will be challenging because flexibility is our middle name.

I will stop here as I'm tired and need to go to bed. Today has been a long day but I will be back shortly.

Regards,
Paula Bell