I was reminded recently that we use business intelligence methods a lot in our everyday lives and our everyday businesses.  For instance, many years ago, I was having trouble finding a peanut brittle I liked.  There were any number of options to choose from, but none matched a memory from my youth.  And I had to figure out why.  What was it, at the root of this memory, that made all other peanut brittle pale in comparison? 

As with all diagnostic analysis, I started with data, and some of the data I had the easiest access to at the time was from my grandmother.  I called and she lovingly gave me her recipe over the phone.  I followed it to the letter and crafted my first batch.  It did not disappoint, but it was not the perfect profile of flavor and texture I was looking for.  So, I did what any good analyst does – I went looking for more data and influencers.  I had multiple conversations with my mom, I scoured the internet, and I searched cookbooks that hadn’t seen daylight since they were purchased from a church fundraiser in the late 1900s.  And armed with the data and a kitchen full of potential influencers (a.k.a. ingredients), I began with my adjustments.  Eventually, the flavor profile I wanted emerged by adding a little more salt, a bit of vanilla, a dash of cinnamon, and 50% more peanuts.  It’s amazing just how much the addition of more peanuts changed the flavor.  Finally, the flavor was right and no change in influencers was making it better.  

Despite the flavor being right, something else was off.  I had switched from baking powder to baking soda.  I changed the amount of butter.  I was stretching the brittle to my heart’s desire.  But it was still deliciously “not quite right”.  So, I went back to the data and looked for more potential influencers.  After scouring the internet and cookbooks again, I called my mom.  In desperation, I asked her if she could think of anything, any tips or tricks that anyone had ever mentioned about brittle.  And that’s when it hit her.  She said, “Well, I do remember when I was a little girl, my uncle Vernon would make the best brittle, and he always said the secret was to pour it and not touch it”.  Now why she didn’t remember that during our first five phone calls, I’ll never know.  But that one influencer it turns out, the amount of stretching (or lack thereof in my case), was the one tweak that changed an “average” brittle into an “extraordinary” brittle.  Not touching it leaves all those bubbles created from candy chemistry suspended inside the liquid gold, resulting in an amazing airy texture to go with a delicious flavor.

So, whether we’re talking everyday brittle or everyday business, influencers exist, including some you potentially aren’t aware of that could have the biggest impact.  Finding those is what ConradBI lives for.  We can help you find and map influencers giving you the ability to make decisions.