Many companies out there have project killers and dream destroyers. I like to call that person – Captain Analysis Paralysis. ??✈️
He (or she) is that one person that can stall out even the most promising fraud project with 5 simple words – “Can we do more analysis?”
The Heavens Open Up When They Speak
Captain Analysis Paralysis reaches his highest form when he listens to himself speak. It’s as if the heavens opened up and channeled all knowledge and intelligence through him.
He floats on Cloud 9 while pontificating on random “what if’s” in a room full of colleagues throwing out lines like “in a perfect world” and quoting ancient philosophers.
Their spirit soars when they are the center of attention and relish throwing a wrench in your fraud initiative.
Everyone groans when the conference call chimes, and you hear the dreaded words, “Now attending… Captain Analysis Paralysis”.
They know, when he joins, that the meeting will only have one outcome – more analysis.
Here are some time-proven ways Captain Analysis Paralysis uses to stall out or even kill your fraud project.
#1 – Captain Analysis Paralysis Just Needs One More Data Point
It never fails. You prepare a huge presentation with every graph, chart and analysis you can imagine.
You get to the end, and Captain Analysis Paralysis says, “This is all great. But I think we all need just ONE MORE DATA point before we are ready to approve your project and proceed.
Your whole project got derailed for that one more data point. You leave with more work to do, and the company keeps losing money to fraud.
#2 – Captain Analysis Paralysis Gets Everyone Buried in Minutia While The Company Loses Millions
Captain Analysis cannot see the forest for the trees. You just presented a way to save your company millions of dollars annually. You showed an ROI of 100:1. It was blindingly obvious to everyone this fraud project was a slam dunk.
But Captain Analysis Paralysis is still stuck on slide #2 of your deck. He noticed you had misspelled a word and thinks you should fix it and then everyone can regroup next month.
The fact is Captain Analysis Paralysis is costing your companies millions of dollars because he can’t see the forest for the trees.
#3 – Captain Analysis Paralysis Becomes a Philosopher. “How Do We Really Know What We Don’t Know?”
How do you really know the world is round? If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it really make a sound? Who invented liquid soap, and why?
Captain Analysis Paralysis derails every conference call while he pontificates on the theory of everything. It has nothing to do with the matter at hand, but everything to do with making himself the center of attention.
Your fraud project will not move forward until you can answer every hypothetical far fetched idea he can think of. Meanwhile.. your company loses millions of dollars.
#4 – Captain Analysis Paralysis Suggest a Long Champion Challenge Pilot to Defer A Decision
When all else fails. When he cannot possibly stall your project any further – he suggests a champion challenge.
“How about we test this new fraud solution of yours on 1% of the portfolio for a year and see what the data tells us then”
Never mind that you will lose $100 million in fraud during that time period. He wants to see “what the data tells us” !
#5 -Captain Analysis Paralysis Suggest We “Put a Pin In It” and Visit It At A Later Point
There are always bigger fish to fry than fraud, according to Captain Analysis Paralysis.
After all your company is too busy on the 3rd Re-Org of the year. Your shuffling, layering, downsizing, upsizing and rightsizing and synergizing all efforts to streamline the organization. 1+1 = 3 type of stuff.
So when Captain Analysis Paralysis suggests putting a pin in it and revisiting it later, only one thought runs through your mind…… Please, God, Can Captain Analysis be assigned a new role in “special projects”?
Thanks for reading! Do you have a Captain Analysis in your company?