Technology

The Art of Prediction: Thinking Two Steps Ahead for Succesful Entrepreneurship

Everyone is tired of the rat race. People are realizing that they would rather take risks than get stuck in a 9-to-5 wage-slave life. According to Guidant Financial, only 4.5% of small business owners reported being “very unhappy.”

As it turns out, people really enjoy life when they aren’t working in toxic corporate companies. Entrepreneurship is growing at unprecedented levels, and this has some interesting implications.

It means more businesses are trying to make their mark on the world. Unfortunately, success for everyone isn’t that easy to achieve. In life, there are only a few ways to get what you want.

Hard-work

Smart-work

Luck

Of course, the best results come when you combine those three factors.

Still, it does appear that society has conditioned people to focus only on hard work. Those trying alternative methods to find success are often branded as lazy or trying to look for shortcuts.

Well, sometimes, you need a bit of smart work to stand out from the sea of hard workers out there. In this article, we will look at the art of prediction and how you can cultivate and wield it in your business.

What Do We Mean By Prediction? The Art of Prediction

 

Making use of prediction to find success isn’t some mystical skill. We are not using crystal balls just yet, but we are able to combine insights to help make well-informed decisions.

This is essentially the core of prediction. You look at insights that indicate what sort of consequence a decision will create. We do this every day in our daily lives.

When you see your spouse walking into the garage on a Saturday, you ‘predict’ that they’re going to be in there for an ungodly amount of time. How did you come to that conclusion? In an instant, your brain pieced together a range of factors based on previous experiences and highlighted the most probable scenario.

It goes without saying that this same skill can be used with great effect in the world of business. How? Let’s find out.

The Elements That Create Good PredictionsThe Art of Prediction

 

Predictions aren’t black and white. Think of it more like a gradient or like an artillery strike. You aren’t always going to be landing perfect hits. That’s okay. You use previous impact zones to zero in your guns better.

Anyone can make predictions. However, a prediction that can have a net beneficial impact is what is truly valuable. Let us look at some of the key elements that go into making good predictions.

 

1. Using Multiple Data SourcesThe Art of Prediction

Every prediction starts with the analysis of data. You want to gather and leverage as many data sources as possible. This would include the collection and organization of both internal as well as external data. Here’s a quick breakdown of what each type typically involves.

Internal Data

  • Sales figures
  • Website analytics
  • Customer feedback
  • Competitor analysis

External Data

  • Industry Reports
  • Market Research
  • Demographic data
  • Social media trends
  • Emerging technologies

If you are a new business, you want to ensure that your business has the logistics to be able to document and track each of these metrics. Only when you have data from multiple sources can you start working on predictions.

Many companies ensure that they store several years’ worth of data to analyze in the future.

2. Comprehensive Data AnalysisThe Art of Prediction

Once you have collected and organized the data, you will need to start analyzing the data. This means making use of human or software-based solutions. Data analysis is one of the most important fields of work there exists.

Did you know that most CIA officers are not field agents? Nope! The majority work as analysts and review tons of data daily.

What is the purpose of this? One answer is pattern recognition.

When you start recognizing patterns, you have begun the first phase of creating a prediction. To do so, you would hire people to analyze your data and create a map of inferences. Next, the relationships between these inferences are carefully studied.

Virtually every major company and institution has teams of analysts that focus on doing exactly this. As you might imagine, engaging in this sort of data analysis to create predictions is not cheap. It is not uncommon for companies to spend 2-6% of their total budget on salaries for analysts, specialized software tools, and other services.

How can new companies hope to compete?

It does seem like the cards are all in the hands of established companies, but thankfully, new entrepreneurs aren’t left empty-handed. SaaS companies provide many of the expensive prediction services that big companies use for a fraction of the cost it takes to develop one in-house.

According to SEO Vendor, branch prediction, driven by AI, is the closest thing we have to logical thinking. It allows businesses to tap into what works, whether it be for SEO, marketing, or even for providing decision-makers with valuable insights.

3. Scenario Planning

The Art of Prediction

Scenario planning is a form of strategic planning that analysts use to anticipate and prepare for potential future events and circumstances. It involves developing and plotting multiple plausible future scenarios based on the insights gained from analyzed data.

These scenarios represent different combinations of outcomes and possibilities. When you are able to assess the risk and impact a particular decision will have, you end up making wiser choices.

Here are some ways that scenario planning can assist you:

  • Risk mitigation
  • Opportunity identification
  • Strategic flexibility
  • Better resource allocation
  • Improved stakeholder communication

Of course, there are countless more uses, which might differ based on your specific situation.

Conclusion

The most robust prediction models can make business decisions significantly easier for entrepreneurs. Many of these new AI-based prediction models are already in play in the market. You really don’t have to be Warren Buffet to realize how valuable these tools are for entrepreneurs of the modern world.

However, making use of such models is an art form. Even with a highly accurate model, there is still a degree of human inference and judgment, without which prediction models hold little value. The more experience you gain as a decision-maker, the better you learn how to work with the insights you are given.

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