What Should An Analyst Actually Do?

Allow me to show you.

First, watch this video - it's pure interbreed dog craziness. 

https://x.com/i/status/1841956538048520557

We can break down the action into a series of images. Like this one. I've time-stamped each image for reference purposes.

We have a German Shepherd who leaves the pen, then jumps back in. Each time the German Shepherd jumps back in, one of the cream colored doxies (we'll call this pup "Sparky") tries to jump up and take a nibble out of the neck of the German Shepherd. Look at the elevation ... the extension of the back legs. Also notice that another cream colored doxie owns the observation deck.

Moving along.

Sparky is feeling a lot of joy ... Sparky already pivoted in anticipation of another chase.

In fact, three doxies are already anticipating more mayhem (above). Three seconds later (below), the German Shepherd has left the pen!

Sparky goes vertical, a little early if you ask me.

Again, Sparky excels at pivoting in mid-air. There's a lot of raw athleticism on display. Also, there will be a day eight years from now where a vet will say "Sparky has three bulging discs, do you know why?" and the owner will say, "no, I have no idea why".

Within the matter of one second, and for reasons unknown to anybody, one of the doxies decides that deck doxie needs to get lit up.

So yeah, deck doxie is about to get lit up. As you can see from the time stamps this all happens within the period of one (1) second. Deck doxie is not only ready, but gets in a series of nips that the black doxie doesn't appreciate.

In pickleball, we call those "counterattacks".

Notice that it only took Sparky one full second to refocus on the German Shepherd.

It's back to live action.

Once again, notice the outstanding bodily extension Sparky exhibits on each leap.

Sparky also behaves in chaotic and unpredictable manners. Seconds later, Sparky is headed back to the deck - and is quite happy about it.

The German Shepherd senses a chance to engage with Sparky, and heads to the deck. Sparky senses an opportunity, goes for the neck, and blows out two additional discs in the exchange.

The scene ends with a winded German Shepherd guzzling water from a bacteria-laden tray of tepid water.

What have we learned?

• The German Shepherd is an instigator. Via seemingly innocent acts, the German Shepherd causes complete chaos.
• Sparky ... well ... wow. Full of vim and vigor, Sparky is entertaining in an athletically manic sort of way.
• Deck Doxie ... willing to counterattack if required. If you don't want hip nips, stay away from Deck Doxie.
• Black Colored Doxie ... unsure of role, clearly smart and unwilling to damage joints by recklessly jumping after the German Shepherd, occasionally attempts to assert control over other doxies, then acts surprised when suffering a series of hip nips.

There are other characters in this plot, but they only play a support role ... like the waiter at a restaurant in a movie.

This, dear Analysts, is your job. It's your job to dissect a chaotic situation with seemingly unlimited moving parts, assign value to the individual players, and then communicate clearly enough that anybody following the plot can ... follow the plot. I mean, if you don't watch the video clearly enough, you'd never know that deck doxie is a hip nipper ... you'd come to the conclusion that deck doxie is just a distant observer.

Get busy breaking down chaotic scenes with many moving parts ... it's fun!

P.S.:  This also applies to Executive Leadership. It's your job to break down a chaotic and complicated business into individual parts that can be acted upon for the benefit of the p&l. Right?