Currently, we’re seeing that most organisations are operating at two extremes.
On one side, you have executives who are optimising for cost-control. They’re heavily evaluating risk and the purse is held tight, unless the commercial impact of a project is strongly justified.
On the other hand, you have executives moving quickly and investing in new tools and technology (particularly AI). They’re keen to deliver growth and competitive advantage - fast - even amongst choppy economic waters. They have the best intentions; but there are misdirected investments and they fail to deliver the ROI they’re looking for.
Despite their different approaches, both leaders have the same goals: deliver growth, reduce inefficiencies and risks, and create a higher-performing organisation.
But neither will achieve these goals unless they step back and quantify the true cost of their trickiest business problems.
And then, quantify the cost of NOT addressing them.
This is the dollar sign that, whether they know it or not, is hurting them the most. And it’s where the greatest competitive advantage lies.
Here’s why.
Many executives just see a price tag when determining their next investment. But time and time again, we see that the companies that drive the most growth (particularly in tighter economic times) focus on addressing the core issues at the heart of the business.
They look beneath the surface, to where value is leaking, or perhaps even hidden in plain sight.
Have a think about the problems festering away in the background. Perhaps the ones your predecessors tried and failed fix. The projects touted as the “Hail Mary” but went sideways and lost support within the business. Or the problems you can’t exactly pinpoint, but you know they’re creating workforce inefficiencies, high customer churn, operational friction, risk exposure, or margin leakage.
That’s the ultimate cost of letting any of these problems fester year after year: the millions of dollars of revenue left on the table.
A major energy company experienced just this. This company had been lacking visibility over the profitability of one of their commercial branches for ten years, leading to best-guess pricing decisions. It wasn’t until they partnered with Datamine to pinpoint the core of the problem that they regained total visibility - right down to how much margin each customer was generating. The work also uncovered several other hidden issues, such as customers that were over-discounted or incorrectly priced. Addressing these known and unknown issues has enabled the company was able to unlock millions more in revenue.
No matter the problem, over our 30 years of helping Australasian companies we’ve discovered that the root cause of all major company issues is typically weak decision systems, inefficient workflows, or disconnected data environments.
Learn more about the decision systems that can create disproportionate value.
It may not look like a major problem on the surface. But if left unaddressed, you’ll find that:
Complexity grows (especially when these problems overlap)
Inefficiencies multiply
Margin leakages compound
Organisational effectiveness dwindles
Just like the energy company example above.
What would that cost your company over 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years’ time?
It may sound dire. But this is the question leadership teams should be asking.
Every organisation has its complex problems. It’s normal! But what separates the high performers from the stagnant ones are how they address these problems.
They use a proven framework. Not hap-hazard technology initiatives they hope will be the magic bullet. The framework starts with dissecting the problem and quantifying its true financial impact and then working backwards from there.
When we work with partners across Australia and New Zealand, we bake this quantifying straight in. So, if we discover that it’s worth doing, you have a strong business case ready to present to the board.
Here’s the tried-and-true 6-step framework we use with leading companies:
Diagnose – We put a name on the core problem and quantify what it’s costing you by doing nothing.
Co-design – We design the solution together, typically starting with a pilot project.
Commit – We lock in the scope, investment, and intended outcomes.
Deliver – It’s time to build the solution, bringing together technical specialist and commercial leaders.
Embed – We embed it into your organisation so that your team can fly on their own.
Evolve – We measure the results. If the objectives are not achieved, the job is not done and we continue to optimise. Our aim is to give you board-ready, tangible proof of success.
By fully understanding the problem in front of you, costing the impact of leaving it unsolved, and building a robust plan to solve it, your commercial objectives can be achieved - even in the trickiest economic environments.
The problems that keep you up at night don’t have to be solved on your own.
Instead of focusing on the price tag of a shiny new tool (that’s unlikely to deliver the ROI you’re hoping for), focus on what it’s costing you not to fix the problem.
As commercial growth and data experts, our role is to help you identify where the value is leaking, quantify the opportunity, and then design and implement practical solutions using data engineering, analytics, optimisation, and AI where it genuinely adds value.
You essentially have three options:
At a time where every dollar counts, we’re here to help you unlock the hidden cost of your curliest problems and find solutions that just make sense. To your people, your business, and your bottom line.
If this sounds like something you’d like to explore, a short conversation is the perfect first step. We will help you put a name on the problem in front of you, and an early view of what it is costing you not to solve it. Get in touch with our consultants today.
