Science is organized knowledge.
Wisdom is organized life.
Immanuel Kant

Analysis is defined as the separation of a whole into its parts for study and interpretation. Clearly there are few things in life that have such widely diverse interpretations as does the concept of an "adequate analysis".

When you are trapped in a traffic jam caused by the police collecting evidence associated with an injury accident, the amount of time needed to conduct an "adequate analysis" becomes increasingly less as the outdoor temperature climbs. When doctors are collecting information to determine how to handle the severe illness of a loved one, "adequate analysis" should take whatever time is required to deliver the results you hope for.

In major explosions and fires in industrial facilities, the regulatory bodies understand that most companies want to clear things away too quickly and get back to business as usual. As a result, in particularly serious situations, the regulators take control of the sites and do not allow the evidence to be removed until all the information needed for a thorough analysis has been preserved.

So, what needs to be said concerning "adequate analysis"?

First, it is important that a basic corporate value be "learning is important". It is doubtful if any executive in this era would argue with that statement, but there is more to the importance of learning than a simple platitude. There needs to be a belief that learning has value, and that ultimately learning will lead to progress. There is then...