During my youth “Double Dip” meant a trip to the ice cream stand where we enjoyed two scoops of ice cream in those funky cones that held two scoops side by side.
Then, in the 1990’s, “double dip” was something that Jerry Seinfeld built an entire TV episode around—that and a salsa bowl.
Now it may be that our economy is headed for a “double dip” recession.
Double Dipping Data Prevention
The first dip was sufficiently severe to trigger a lot of changes, many of which were painful and difficult. As a result, earnings have improved as businesses have adjusted to new economic norms.
Now the question is “What to do?” if there is a significant second dip? My sense is that many organizations went beyond belt tightening to implement fundamental changes to ratchet downward. These serious changes and adjustments that were made in Round 1 are no longer are available during Round 2.
Taking the same perspective during the Round 2 probably will not yield new insights. Changing our perspective can in fact yield new insights—revenue ideas as well as cost reduction ideas—during Round 2.
Typically, organizations look closely at their historical data when they undertake these reviews. So, why not change up the analysis process and maybe the results by looking at the performance data in a new way? Most organizations of scale have a lot of data. By using new Visual Analytic techniques to analyze and view this data, new insights will emerge.
When internal teams can see various data elements pulled together in an understandable visual representation (think picture), new insights flow.
So, if we experience a double dip, let’s at least react in a fresh, new way by applying Visual Analytic principles to data analysis to trigger new, fresh insights.
