Look Twice Save a Life is a bumper sticker many motorcyclist and bicyclists put on their cars to remind motorists to look out for us at intersections. I used to think that the motorists did see me and would cut right into my path because they were in a hurry and thought they had enough time to complete their maneuver. As it turns out this may not be the case according to a new Australian study titled “Allocating Attention to Detect Motorcycles: The Role of Inattentional Blindness”.

Part of the problem is the phenomena called “inattentional blindness”. Our brains can’t process every detail so we only focus on the import information and what we expect to see. What they found that since motorcycles where not as common as cars motorists where not expecting to see them and focused mostly on the cars and what they expected to see. Here is a little video to help you understand how the human mind works.

We can relate this phenomenon to the massive amounts of data we have collected over the years. Not focusing on all the data, we have collected can be a costly mistake to your business. Business Intelligence software can be used to improve visibility and help eradicate “inattentional blindness” to your data. Most of us focus on the data we are expecting to see, just like the motorist, and are not analyzing all the other data we have collected. Some of the data we collect we do not deem important and we do not focus on it. This can be a costly mistake to your business.
Using advanced business intelligence tools, we can begin to focus on all the data we have collected. This can help you create better relationships with your customers as you analyze your data to find out what your customers are interested in. Business Intelligence will also help you to improve your control over various important processes in your organization, BI will improve the visibility of these processes and make it possible to identify any areas that need improvement.

If you’ve previously operated on the belief that BI software is an unnecessary added expense, now is the time to reconsider. In today’s data-driven climate, you stand to lose valuable opportunities without this software. Essentially, you’re putting the success of your organization on the line. Whether driving on the road or driving new goals for your business seeing all the available information is extremely important.