We sometimes get so engrossed with the activities & techniques of Business Analysis that we forget to stop and think about the real impact we are making to organisations or the people around it.
To understand what I mean, take this example. An insurance company was unknowingly using wrong prices to value the policies over a period of time. Many months later, when they realised the error, they initiated a project to make up for the loss the Customers incurred. They hired a Business Analyst to analyse the historical data and prepare a report on who got adversely impacted, by how much, and help to redress the loss. The BA activities were pretty detailed, mundane, sometimes stressful. Anyway, the work was finished. Cheques were sent with apologies to Customers. The project was done and dusted.
Then a few days later, there was an email in every staff’s mailbox from the Head of Customer Services team with an extract from a letter written by a Customer who was sent the redress cheque. It read something as follows…
“Dear X, I thank you for the most timely gift ever. I am retired, old and broke. Now, I was heartbroken too when my dear old wife was recently diagnosed with a critical illness and I realised I can’t afford her treatment. It was going to leave a terrible scar inside me for the rest of my leftover life. Then last Tuesday, I got this £10,000 cheque from you, for the pricing error on my surrendered policy. Although you stated, it belongs to me, I felt it was Godsend. I cannot thank you enough for letting me enjoy the pristine smile I see every morning on my wife’s face, for a little more time. Yours…”
If you were that Business Analyst, would you not feel proud? As a BA, you are making positive impact on someone or something every day? As a student, you are not just learning those activities and techniques. You are learning life skill to create change in organisations, for people.
Well, this story was partly made up, but something very similar happened recently in where I was working. Do you have any inspiring story from your experience or from the industry you are in?