The Role of Analytics
ProOrbis^® Analytics are designed to use numbers to tell the story of the strategy — what has happened, why its is happening, and what will happen next.  Putting numbers together in a way that can inform decisions is what ProOrbis analytics are all about.

Defining Measurement Terms of Art
ProOrbis uses specific definitions for three terms that often get used interchangeably: 

• Vision/Goal: “Where am I going?” - point B
• Objective: “Why am I doing this?”  - the point of B
• Strategy: “How am I going to get there?” - how to get from point A to point B

The ProOrbis^® Framework defines the nature of measures and deploys an array of those measures to create a comprehensive picture of performance.  These include the following measures: Effectiveness (Did you make it to point B or an interim goal), Efficiency (How much resource did you use to get there?), Cycle Time (How long did it take to get there?), and Integration measures (How well linked were the capabilities needed to achieve the goal?) These measures are designed to create a comprehensive picture of performance and are typically arrayed in Enterprise Dashboards (see ProOrbis^® Framework) or in Cross-Company Comparisons.

Cost vs. Investment
The most serious deficiency in the analytics used by the vast majority of organizations is that they adopt the traditional accounting view.  Most organizations see organizational assets (especially intangibles such as human capital, R&D, brands, channels, etc) as a “cost” — and therefore, often a cost to be reduced when times get tough.  The problem is that, as assets, these intangibles have value — therefore the “cost” is really an “investment”.  However, if the value is not visible, calculable, or even understood, it appears that “cost cutting” will lead to better results — yet often it does not.  ProOrbis analytics make the intangible visible, puts the investment in the context of value, and creates an ROI context for decision-making.

Cross-Company Comparisons
Once a company has a clear picture of its returns, the next questions is “are these returns any good?”.  Cross-Company industry comparisons offer a context to answer that question.  There are a myriad of external factors that effect a firm’s performance (such as increasing oil prices, shortage of a major input, technology shifts, etc…).  Cross-company industry comparisons wash out those exogenous variables from the analysis to clarify how well the organization navigated those factors. 

Most comparisons, sometimes termed “benchmarks”, are often misused by decision-makers.  They tend to be “cost focused” — with little or no relationship between the investment (cost) and the value it creates.  Well constructed comparisons must be relevant in terms of the comparative group, the data collected, and the measures constructed.