As information thunders through the digital economy, it’s easy to miss valuable
“weak signals” often hidden amid the noise. Arising primarily from social media,
they represent snippets—not streams—of information and can help companies to figure out what customers want
and to spot looming industry and market
disruptions before competitors do. Sometimes, companies notice them during data-analytics number-crunching exercises. Or employees who apply methods more akin to art than to science
might spot them and then do some further number crunching to test anom-
alies they’re seeing or hypotheses the signals suggest. In any case, companies are just beginning to recognize and capture their value. Here are a few prin-
ciples that companies can follow to grasp
and harness the power of weak signals.