ERP systems, like Microsoft Dynamics NAV, gather data.  (Navision, Attain for some of you real oldies in the industry!) The gathering of transactions that revolve around inbound orders, tracking inventory, shipping product, recording time, processing payroll… this data is housed in a repository to help us make business decisions.  But do we use that data?  How often have you known that you need to hire another position, or even need to make a change to your company’s direction?

I would encourage you to take time to look at your data.  Use tools like NAV, Power BI, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, Excel Pivot Tables, or Azure Stream Analytics.

What inspires the Innovia 'Team Awesome' to help solve your business problems?  We are passionate about using the data within NAV to help you make decisions.  The next time you speak with one of our staff, take notice of how we typically start with a few questions to assess the history of a problem. Questions such as: How long has the situation existed? Has it happened before?

It’s refreshing to decide.  The military teaches that if a soldier in the field has 70% of the facts that he will make an effective decision immediately.  How often do we support our team’s decisions?  Do we create a culture of decision, or a crippling culture of CYA?  If a less desirable decision is made, isn’t it better to forgive a decision and praise for the act of at least moving in a direction?  You can always turn around! How often has your GPS required that you start driving before it can tell you the correct direction to drive?  Left or Right is a 50/50% chance of getting it correct.  Funny, eh?   

Here’s a few steps that we use to solve problems and execute a decision: 

1. Review the current situation: Look for solutions within the problem. Get the team involved. Communication is essential.  
2. Choose alternatives that support change: Create and define ways to solve the issue. Always have more than one in hand. Evaluate every avenue.   
3. Pick the best one: During the assessment period, one solution typically pops out. Discuss all aspects with everyone involved. Get a discussion going and move forward.   
4. Execute: Implement and test the solution to make sure it makes sense and that it will work. If it does not, go back to bullet one and begin anew. 

Make a decision. Get it done.

Cheers!
Donavan

Donavan D. Lane
CEO, Innovia Consulting