Learning From Failure
A New Journey Begins… part 1
Things are changing at Corsair’s. Two years ago, we launched Corsair’s Analytics with the goal of helping companies to build a bridge across the analytic gap. Corsair’s Analytics was essentially an analytic consulting company. It was also a seemingly simple means to a simple ends of building cash flow for what we really wanted to do… this was the first mistake. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Corsair’s started years earlier. It was a bootstrap, a dream, a side hustle. It was about innovation, iteration, and something revolutionary. All of these things remain, but for the last two years they took a back seat. Corsair’s Analytics had elements of these things too — but only elements. Corsair’s Analytics was more concerned with fitting in a box…
“The box your customers will understand.”
I now know what that looks like. I especially know what it feels like. And while I don’t believe this applies to everyone, I am certain it applies to analytics.
When we launched, we got a lot of advice. All of it was well-intentioned. Unfortunately, most of it was bad. Worse still, it took two years to figure out exactly which advice really was great advice. Admittedly, my track record wasn’t stellar on this front. I surrounded myself with smart people, so perhaps I can be excused for my poor assessment. It was incredibly hard to distinguish where we truly were different from where I was just being stubborn. In my world, stubborn and stupid start with the same letters for a reason — but etymology would disagree.
Analytics is different.
I am more sure of it now than ever before. I have the tested and I have learned.
That difference can make great advise transform. A wise man once told me after listening to my innovative model for analytics -
“George, You will attract two types of customers; those on the cutting-edge and those that are desperate. I am afraid there are more of the latter.”
He couldn’t have been more right. But unfortunately, the adjective “analytically” changes this statement. Analytics is learning. The “analytically cutting-edge” is just another word for “smart” and the “analytically desperate” is just another world for … well, “desperately stupid”.
My findings — “smart” companies have long analytic cycles and short change cycles. They are incredible to work with but repeat business comes slow. Meanwhile, they are morphing, growing, and often being acquired. This described most of my portfolio.
The “desperately stupid” are not desperate because they are stupid… not directly. They are desperate because they are losing money. They don’t understand they are stupid. This left me at a loss on two fronts. Analytics can’t fix stupid — I have tried, desperately. And without money… well, let’s just say my moral compass had nothing to worry about.
Things are NOT changing at Corsair’s Publishing. We will continue to publish 3–5 minute articles designed to educated and entertain people. We are still focused on introducing more people to the real science and discipline of analytics. We are still evangelists of decision science and information engineering.
That said, we have reached the four-minute mark in this article. There are a few more major lessons I want to share. I also need to tell you what lays ahead for Corsair’s. For now, know that the Corsair’s Analytics chapter has closed. But a new journey has begun — so stay tuned for part 2…
Or get a sneak peak of what we are bootstrapping here:
