Written by Heather L. Cole, March 9th, 2023 I recently received what I felt was a curt email from our[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, February 23rd, 2023 Analytics and Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption has been on the rise in[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, February 2nd, 2023 I was WRONG!  GULP!  Wow that’s hard to say but I am[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, January 19th 2023 Almost every organization is striving to be data driven.  Companies are working[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, December 8th 2022 Are you ready to achieve your goals?  Are you ready to get[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, December 2nd 2022 Can you believe it’s December 2022 already?  This week I celebrated my[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, August 11th 2022 Are you looking to hire IT or Finance talent and struggling to[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, June 30th 2022 Are your budgeting and planning processes meeting your needs?  Wondering if what[...]

Written by Mike Bernaiche, June 23rd 2022 As someone who worked in finance and analytics for many years, I found[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, June 16th 2022 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be more challenging than people think.  [...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, June 2nd 2022Every company even privately held companies should pay attention to ESG reporting!  ESG[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, May 26th 2022 I recently spent significant time reaching out to executives and senior managers[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, May 12th 2022 Are you looking to hire analytics talent but struggling to find people[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, March 17th 2022 As I find myself glued to the nightly news watching as the[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, February 8th, 2022For years I thought I could just watch a video, read a Cognos[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, February 3rd 2022 “I can’t believe it! Our IBM Planning Analytics guru is leaving.  He’s[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, January 20th 2022 The world has changed!  Your business has changed!  Technology has changed!  When[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, January 13th 2022 I love this week in January as I use it to reflect[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, September 23rd 2021 For many organizations, it’s budget season.  That time of year when companies[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, September 17th 2021 Do you think the world changed in the last year?  If you[...]

Written by Heather Cole, September 2nd 2021The world has changed.  Organizations of every size are being forced to rapidly adjust[...]

Written by Heather Cole, June 23rd, 2021Are you ready to create your analytics roadmap?  Maybe you had a misstep in[...]

Written by Heather L. Cole, June 17th 2021 “This is going to be the year!  I swear this is the[...]

Written by Heather Cole on April 15th, 2021 Last week we discussed how the world is changing and as a[...]

Written by Heather Cole on April 8th, 2021 As the world continues to change, and more people are working from[...]

Written by Heather Cole, April 1st, 2021 As COVID 19 has changed the world, finance departments are challenged to rethink[...]

November 12th, 2020 The world has changed, and it is never going back!  A year ago we were able to[...]

Written by Cognos Consultant, Mike BernaicheApril 2nd, 2020 Over the past couple of weeks, the world has changed significantly with[...]

February 6th, 2020We are proud to announce that Heather Cole the CEO of Lodestar Solutions, Inc. was nominated and selected[...]

7/3/18 At the IBM Cognos User Group in Miami, I gave a presentation discussing how to increase executive engagement in Business[...]

6/12/2018 Have you ever worked with data and analytics experts that truly understand your business? Maybe they come in and worked[...]

5/8/2018 Business Analytics RoadmapDon’t know where to start in your analytics journey? Thinking about investing more money into analytics software[...]

Blockchain Will Improve the World 4/25/2018 I recently became fascinated with Blockchain and how it is forecasted to disrupt many[...]

4/3/2018 The Future is Man and MachineI recently attended IBM’s THINK conference in Vegas, a massive event where IBM announce their[...]

Have You Secured Funding Yet?  It's Budget Season.  Secure Funding Now for IBM Cognos!​Do you need process improvement and require[...]

Understanding Millennials​Aug 2017 by Heather L. Cole, Executive CoachAs a business owner and executive coach with an emphasis on IT and[...]

7/12/2017​More times than not, we see so many companies that have large business challenges and they tend to think software[...]

5/11/2017The Marketing and Sales Administrator is responsible for executing sales and marketing initiatives including event coordination, list management, deal registration,[...]

4/13/2017I have noticed a trend at a number of my long-time IBM Cognos clients. They come to me and say,[...]

4/11/2017Are you an IBM Cognos developer? Are you tasked with rolling out reporting and dashboards to your end users but[...]

3/9/2017What are the Keys to Successful Analytics Projects?Have your analytics projects not been as successful as you thought they would[...]

2/1/2017It’s that time a year, when we ask ourselves, “Do I have my dream job?” Too often when I talk[...]

11/15/2016As business analytics coaches, we are constantly assisting organizations and individuals on achieving Faster Cheaper Analytics™. Today we are talking[...]

11/3/2016How To Do An Amazing Software DemoHave you ever felt like you are presenting a really cool solution in your[...]

10/18/2016Have you ever watched a video for training or documentation purposes only to realize it is so long of a[...]

9/27/2016Have you ever written an email asking someone for access to certain data or requesting that they do something but[...]

9/13/2016It’s time to get real and call some of you out. This might come across kind of harsh, but I[...]

8/3/2016Testing may be one of the most important steps in your project to deliver robust dashboards and reports. However, in[...]

8/16/2016Do you ever wonder where your time goes? You have a list of goals and strategic BI projects but you[...]

7/27/2016Are you considering a move to (SaaS) Software as a Service contracts for your Business Intelligence environment? Are you being[...]

5/26/2016Hey…This is Melissa Bryan, your Business Analytics Coach. It’s my continuing quest to socialize the nerds so that the world[...]

5/18/2016Sounds like fun, right? As Business Analytics Coaches, we are often asked questions like, “I own Cognos and I don’t[...]

As a business analytics coach, it is our passion to talk about things that make your job easier. Today, we[...]

4/6/2016I have always strongly recommended that all business analytics clients complete a Project Charter. The Project Charter is a working[...]

3/6/2016As business analytics coaches, it is our passion to talk about things that make your job easier. Today we are[...]

3/1/2016A C-level executive recently handed a 42-page stack of tabular reports to me and said business dashboards would need to[...]

2/22/2016Since our Lodestar coaches are gearing up for more client-filled success stories in 2016, we wanted to take you back[...]

1/27/2016Have you purchased expensive business intelligence tools and feel like you might have wasted your money? Are you drowning in[...]

1/5/2016Do you wish you had more time to work on your Business Analytics strategy? Looking for faster cheaper analytics? As[...]

12/25/20152015 has brought some exciting new programs and changes to Lodestar Solutions. Not only have we implemented a new goal[...]

If you have an IBM support renewal coming up, it is a great time to check the requirements of having[...]

12/15/15Do you have dozens of performance metrics and measures but are looking for a simple dashboard of 5-10 key performance[...]

12/8/15Call me one of those sticklers, but each time I hear the United States referred to as a Democracy, it[...]

11/23/15Are you a numbers person like me?  Do you struggle with what color to put on your dashboards and data[...]

10/21/15Think about it. You make thousands of decisions each day but have you ever really thought about the process behind[...]

10/13/15Our friend Joe Stangarone, President of mrc and 30+ year IT professional, wrote a great blog post on how many[...]

9/22/15Does anyone dispute that the budgeting and forecasting processes are necessary overhead activities? How painful was your recent process? Are[...]

9/16/15As a Business Analytics Coach, I’m often asked about security and version control. As most Cognos BI admins know, security[...]

9/9/15Today we will take a slight detour from the blog topics we traditionally write and explore some business philosophy. Hopefully[...]

8/25/15Evaluating and Choosing a Cognos ConsultantYou know what's possibly the biggest factor in the success of your Business Analytics Project?  Choosing business analytics[...]

7/30/15As a Business Analytics Coach, I work with executives, managers and the people in the trenches to help them create[...]

7/21/15It’s an undeniable fact that Taylor Swift towers over and dominates everyone when it comes to the music industry. And[...]

7/1/15Ironically, transparency is making us blinded by paper (and electronic copies) of narrative data.  The Wall Street Journal recently published[...]

4/14/15As a business analytics coach, I’m often asked about user testing and end user deployment when it comes to BI[...]

4/9/15How is predictive analytics being used these days? Let’s look at two examples of how gathering information through social media[...]

Heather Cole, President of Lodestar Solutions, was interviewed on her insight in to ways to improve BI user adoption.  Below[...]

As a Business Analytics coach at Lodestar Solutions, clients often ask me, “Where can I find talented Cognos BI and[...]

Convenient Cognos Training At Night Opportunity As we were planning our training calendar for the year, someone made a joke[...]

Why are some projects more successful than others? Why do some Cognos Business Analytics clients feel accomplished while others feel they[...]

How prepared are you to lead your organization to capitalize on the analytics age? Heather Cole, a thought leader and[...]

Lodestar Solutions was recently interviewed for their thoughts on building dashboards for the C-Suite.  We discuss Building Dashboards for the C-Suite! Businesses[...]

Have you ever received a custom reporting request or data request that makes no sense?  Maybe you ask questions and the response[...]

We at Lodestar have geared up for 2015 and one of our big topic has been BI Requirements Gathering. During the[...]

Are you designing executive dashboards that will be useful to the entire company as well? 1. Dashboards must be interactive[...]

16 Technology Phrases That Would Have Sounded Crazy 25-30 Yrs Ago Have you ever actually listened to some of the[...]

Are you struggling to find time for new IBM Cognos development?  Wanting to implement the new IBM Cognos Business Intelligence[...]

How to Demo Cognos Mobile on a Projector Are you looking to roll out a mobile solution to your organization[...]

We know from experience that finding information can be difficult while trying to navigate on IBM’s website. However, IBM Support is trying to make[...]

The total amount of information in the world is increasing. Simple enough concept to grasp, right?  Obviously, we would then[...]

Lodestar Solutions, a premier IBM reseller and educator of analytics, has formed a strategic partnership with www.Heatherized.com.  Heatherized is a[...]

I believe most organizations aren’t even tapping 30% of the potential benefits they could realize from their Business Analytics/Intelligence Solutions. [...]

What is Forward Looking Business Intelligence (FLBI)? Most of IBM’s Cognos customers may not know this yet, but IBM has[...]

In today's world, there seems to be an app for everything, so we at Lodestar thought it would be a good idea[...]

Software Presentations to Promote: Increase Your Software Demonstration Skills It was the mid-1980’s and I was a teenage girl, working for[...]

I recently posted a discussion in the LinkedIn CIO group, stating:  “Studies show up to 93% of all communication is[...]

We recently put out a Bi survey and what we learned was pretty eye opening…. Our survey of our internal[...]

Hated “Buzzwords” Rant of Summer Just wanted to take a break from the typical blogs with a brief list of[...]

Business in the 21st century; it’s very much dog eat dog. However, one way organizations are able to meet the[...]

I had a conversation with a perspective client the other day when he asked me, “What are the Best Practices[...]

Are you responsible for rolling out new software solutions throughout your organization?  Maybe you are in charge of software training. [...]

Leverage Videos for BI Training of End User? Are you looking to deploy IBM Cognos to a lot of geographically[...]

How to Rock your  next software demonstration!!!If you’re an IT professional or are responsible for demonstrating software to end users,[...]

Business Analytics Coaching can be game changing for your organization.  Not only can it result in an increase in productivity[...]

After surveying a number of clients who had implemented BI software, I realized that very few had gained the momentum[...]

Marketing Analytics provides valuable information on lead and customer data.   Marketing Analytics is one of many areas that contributes to[...]

Out of Control Email? 3 Steps to Reduce the Stress It is common knowledge that stress can kill us.  But[...]

Professional sports teams are changing the game and giving the nerds a chance to shine in the sports arena. After[...]

Have you ever noticed how many people are stressed out and overcommitted?  I witness the results at Starbucks when the[...]

What exactly is strategic thinking for BI?  According Robert Kabacoff, Vice President of Research at Management Research Group, "Strategic leaders[...]

If you’re an avid reader of our blogs, (which I’m sure you are!) you might have noticed a theme across[...]

Lodestar Solutions will Unleash the Power Within Recently, some members of the Lodestar Solutions team went to Anthony Robbins’ Unleash[...]

Gartner estimates that 4.4 million new jobs will be created around data in the next two years.  Why is that[...]

Let’s step back and draw a picture here. We’ll start off with an open field in a valley on the[...]

According to an IDC report, the Big Data technology and services market is anticipated to grow at a compound annual[...]

You are the Director of IT for a mid-sized company.   You hire a consultant and, while doing work for you,[...]

Copyright Laws when using Consultants You are the Director of IT for a mid-sized company; you hire a consultant to[...]

Most of us are familiar with the 3 V’s of Big Data.  They are: VOLUME - how much overall data[...]

5 Gathering Requirements Gathering Tips - What Are They Not Saying? The task of requirements gathering for any new project can[...]

With Analytics becoming more mainstream, we still see many companies shying away from it; perhaps because they have been burned[...]

Lodestar Solutions 2013 Wrap Up Since Lodestar Solutions is a company promoting how Analytics can provide insight to every business, we have[...]

The secret to high ROI is in the PEOPLE!  So today, I am going to focus on 5 tips for[...]

Guess where the Waterfall project implementation folks are going?  If you guessed “over the Falls like a barrel,” you would[...]

Prestigious Awards Program Recognizes Top Women Entrepreneurs Around The World and Lodestar Solutions' President, Heather Cole, is one of the[...]

5 Steps to Get Project Funding for Cognos BI & TM1You just survived another budgeting cycle and you are consumed[...]

Are you drowning in job frustration? Surrounded by a bunch of inefficiency? Feel like you’re stuck in the dark ages[...]

With Analytics becoming more mainstream, we still see many companies shying away from it; perhaps because they have been burned[...]

In case you missed it, IBM let its Data Models sense of humor show in a second blog interview with[...]

Clients often ask me to interview candidates they are considering for a position on their Business Analytics team.  As I[...]

I teach a number of workshops and training classes designed to empower people on Business Intelligence and Business Analytics.  In[...]

Do you have an existing project that you want to tweak a little bit? Distribute a notebook to start BI[...]

Many of you know that Lodestar Solutions’ tag line is “Business Analytics is People Process and Tools - in that[...]

When you hear someone talking about the Analytical Maturity of an organization – what does that mean? IBM has put[...]

You have successfully installed, built and implemented a BI solution on time and on budget. This is an incredible victory[...]

As I’ve said in my numerous blogs, Lodestar is a big proponent of training. However, all too often, companies see[...]

Fear Public Speaking More Than Spiders? Do you have a fear of public speaking that is more intense than your[...]

Have you created a LinkedIn profile but haven’t figured out to leverage it to help you in your business?  Here[...]

I recently met with a financial executive of a large distribution company and he expressed to me his frustration. The company had invested in a Data Warehouse and deployed a leading BI solution and yet, they still had issues with “one version of the truth” (OVOT). They spent significant hours trying to validate which numbers were correct. With a slight smile I said, “One Version of the Truth is Not Attainable.” He looked at me in shock, because many highly paid consultants had told him he just needed to invest in a data warehouse and master data management (MDM) and then put a BI tool on top.

With all of the talk about Big Data and Advanced Analytics, many companies are under the false impression that if they purchase a software package or invest in hardware, that will be all they need to be successful. In fact, many companies are finding that they are not seeing the return on investment they had expected. The problem is that deploying an analytic tool is easy. Understanding how the data might be used is less clear. There are a couple things to consider so you can maximize your investment in Advanced Analytics:

You are all excited about learning and implementing your new software package. You’ve done the “meet and greet” with your sales and service teams and are looking forward to this new relationship. You’ve now scheduled for your consultant to be on-site to assist your eager team. Just like when you prepare to have guests stay over your house, you should prepare for guests to be in your office. Waiting for the last minute or thinking someone else on your team already took care of it never really pans out. Sure, we can monkey around and muddle through the challenges, but the wasted time is longer than the preparation time involved.

To star or to snowflake, that is the question…Whether star schema or snowflake schema models perform better is an age old debate between database developers. Both star and snowflake are relational models made up of fact and dimension tables. The difference is a snowflake dimension is made up of several highly normalized tables that remove redundant attributes; whereas, a star schema dimension is a signal denormalized contextual table. Both have a place in data warehousing depending on the objective . However, in most cases when the end objective is killer analytical query performance, the datamart/database should be modeled using star schema techniques.

So, you have been tasked with finding a Budgeting, Planning, Forecasting or Reporting solution. This is an exciting opportunity for you to shine but there are a few steps in the process that you must accomplish. Below we spell out the steps and success criteria to running an effective Business Analytic selection process.

Microsoft has announced that they will no longer be supporting its FRx 6.7 product in 2012. They are replacing FRx with Management Reporter. Microsoft’s official FRx replacement is Management Reporter, and although it’s a promising technology and is definitely next generation. It only reports on GL data at the moment as well as lacking some key FRx features, and most importantly, it’s not available for Microsoft competitors. FRx was much more “feature” rich and functional than Management Reporter, making it preferred for the accounting staff and distribution of financial reports.

Are you struggling to figure out what should go on a dashboard? If so, you are not alone. Lodestar Solutions has created a methodology to help define what should be on the dashboard. The first step is to define the areas of Opportunity. Opportunities are areas of the business that would benefit from better access to information for example Sales, Human Resources, and/or Finance. Once you define the area you want to focus now you need to explore the risk factors.

A key step in a successful IBM Cognos implementation is testing. Many clients struggle with what to include in their test scripts. Here’s a little Lodestar Solution tip. As you go thru the design phase, make sure all power users have 3x5 sticky notes. As you define your design, write down each process that you believe should be thoroughly tested on a sticky note. Include on it a description, expected outcome, data requirements, and foreseeable issues.

Having to create documentation is like having to go to the dentist. You know you have to go and you dread it every six months. Documentation is similar because everyone dreads it and whenever it is mentioned you can find hundreds of reasons to do other things until your teeth start to hurt. Well, I have a great dentist for you and your Sql database. The product is called APEX SQL. First, before I give you a review and how to use it, there are few points that I have to make. The product only works if you have a normalized database with proper indices, primary keys/foreign keys, and good object naming conventions.

When IT departments start to apply these stringent standards to the IBM Cognos Planning/TM1 environment - the challenges begin. I see a lot of clients that utilize IBM Cognos BI and IBM Cognos Planning TM1, but they don’t leverage the great integration for these two components. When I discuss this with the teams they state they would love for their BI reports to include real time Tm1 data. However, after the initial excitement wears off and we map out the process to realize this vision; the reality of the stringent change management rules often kill the project.

Ever have a project that could be of great benefit to the company, but you can’t seem to get it off the ground because of a group of unhappy people? I like to call these folks “unhappies”. Every company has them and they seem to be able to instigate negative behavior just by walking into a room. They are never happy unless something is their idea or they somehow get the credit, even though they are masters at dodging work. All of us wish these people would magically decide to quit; but that never happens and the likelihood of them being fired is slim to none. The unfortunate reality is that project managers have to win over unhappies or wield enough power to silence them.

Communicate 1. Touch Points. Hold regular status meetings. Make sure all tasks are on schedule, issues are discussed, and solutions are proposed. 2. Email Minutes of the Meeting. Designate someone to type up the meeting notes and send them to all team members.

Educate 1. Know What the Software Can Do. IBM Cognos has a number of modules, so be realistic about what the software is designed to do. Clients often try to fit a square peg into a round hole by using modules beyond their capabilities. 2. Understand IBM Cognos Licensing. Take the time to understand what licenses you own and what they do. You might find functionality that you aren’t even using.

Lead the People 1. Clearly State Expectations. Be sure each member of the team knows their specific responsibilities and deadlines. This will save time and prevent duplication of effort or tasks being overlooked. 2. Promote Candor Within the Team. You can’t afford to have surprises, and direct communication eliminates them. No one has all the answers; encourage people to ask questions. This will help team members share information.

We are often asked by contacts what makes up a successful software implementation. Lodestar Solutions has come up with a list of 4 aspects that we believe are vital to the success of any project and can be used as a guide in nearly any field. Part 1: Lead the Project 1. Get an Executive Sponsor. Get sponsorship from your organization’s senior executives; determine their expectations. Meeting the expectations of the executives will help provide continued funding. 2. Create a Project Charter. A project charter is a mini business plan for your project that defines success, and is approved by the team members. It includes objectives, risk factors, timelines, and resources.

So, hopefully you read my previous blog on Innovation and creating an innovative culture..  It is essential to success in[...]

I recently attended the CFO Rising conference in Orlando, FL put on by CFO.com. At the conference it became clear that as the economy continues to challenge all of us, the companies and people that are thriving have something in common. THEY ARE INNOVATING! So what exactly are they innovating? Everything! From streamlining internal process that are time consuming and inefficient, saving man hours, to looking at new revenue opportunities for their products. I know not exactly ground breaking, but it made me think, “How do we get people in our organizations to INNOVATE?”

For those of us who come from the Cognos world and were just getting the hang of how to find answers to the most cryptic error messages known to man, I have news for you. Forget every trick you learned of navigating the Cognos Support system and welcome to the IBM Super Highway of Information a.k.a. IBM.com. This is a much needed blog for two reasons: 1. To forewarn any IBM client; DO NOT WAIT on getting your IBM.com ID setup until you have a production down issue. This process takes about 5 business days to complete. 2. Provide you the quick and dirty steps to get setup painlessly and quickly (relatively speaking).

So you're about to start a BI project and have to choose between a specific tool. There are a few major players in the BI world, each of which has pro's and con's and depending on the customer, one may be better than the other. Business needs and flexible functionality should always be a top priority.

I have you thinking about another environment for testing, development, and patches which is separate from your production environment, now we can talk about the process of deploying to production from development. In Cognos, you can move content from one environment/server to another environment by using import and export within the Cognos Administration. You can schedule import or export entries from a deployment archive to a separate server….see the topic Schedule Management in Cognos Connection Help for more details.

I have a client that we began working with about a year ago. They previously used another firm that had lost a lot of people, some of whom become “independents”. One such person had written an interface for them and they wanted it modified. So they called the “independent “ in without our knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, we play well with others - but communication is the key! The “independent” for some reason decided to upgrade their Cognos Finance, knowing they had Cognos Planning integrated with CF, but not thinking about the ramifications on upgrading one piece at a time. Choo Choo Choo, do you hear the train coming down the track? Yes train wreck ahead! So I get the distress call! "HELP!!!" As you suspected the “independent” killed access to the entire planning system and they were getting ready for a forecast. So I asked, “Can I speak with him to see what happened in hopes that we can fix it faster?” “No, he’s unavailable”. “Is he in the bar drinking?” I asked. “No he left,” they replied “What do you mean he left???” “Ummm, he’s on a plane going home.” Stunned, I asked, “Are you kidding me? Let me get this straight, he decided to upgrade a piece knowing there was integration with other moving parts, blew up the system and LEFT?” “Yes, he said, “I don’t know how to fix it, call Lodestar" and left.” Needless to say our technical team stepped in and working with the clients IT department, were able to get them up and running before their forecast was due.MORAL OF THE STORY! Independents typically work alone and can’t fix it if they screw up. You do not control them, so they can leave if they want. MY QUESTION – Do you think the “independent” billed them for his time and travel?

Looking for a consulting partner? Finding and selecting the right partner can be the difference between a great and mutually beneficial marriage and a marriage fraught with bad communication, unmet expectations, and cheating. I liken selecting a consulting partner to marriage because I believe it carries the same weight and should not be entered into lightly.