A market-reading framework for businesspeople

Separate three layers of information before discussing action

A news report often mixes events, interpretations and predictions. Businesspeople should separate these layers before taking information into a meeting. Events answer what happened; interpretations reveal the writer’s perspective; predictions are possibilities still needing validation.

With these layers clear, teams are less likely to be swept along by headlines and can more easily identify what genuinely matters to the business.

Translate news into business impact

A development merits inclusion in a plan only when it affects at least one of four areas: customer demand, costs, cash flow or operations. The same news can be hugely significant for one industry and barely affect another.

Rather than asking how to react immediately, identify which department is affected, which metric will show the impact and over what period.

Choose testable actions

A good decision need not be big. A small change in messaging, sales policy or customer service processes can help test a hypothesis before allocating more budget.

Every experiment needs an owner, an end date and criteria for keeping or stopping it. Without these three elements, the business is merely changing activities rather than creating a learning loop.

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