People often asked me: Bernard, does measuring performance really help us improve? Can KPIs and metrics make a tangible difference in our businesses? And my answer is always a big and resounding YES!

Good news for all business managers that would love to have their business metrics — for which the data reside in databases behind the firewall (on-premise) — available on their smart-phone. We have made the integration of on-premise data into KPI Dashboard much easier with our Data Collector.

In many ways I believe the essence of strategy lies in the choice of a singular value proposition, or determining how you will balance your resources across the spectrum of choices. What is a value proposition? It’s the determination made by any organization of how they propose to create or add value for their customers. It helps answer the question: “Why would people buy from or work with us?” Traditionally, three choices have been available: Low Cost (through operational excellence), Product Leadership (supplying the best product or service through innovation and technological superiority), and Customer Intimacy (best value derived from outstanding service and relationship building).