Business Intelligence (BI) & The Tale of Five Blind Saints

A Story That Still Holds True

There’s a well-known story many of us heard growing up. A wise king invites five blind saints to experience an elephant for the first time. Each one touches a different part of the elephant:

• One feels the leg and says, "It’s like a pillar."

• Another grabs the tail and thinks, "It’s a rope."

• One touches the trunk and says, "It’s like a snake."

• Another holds the ear and calls it a fan.

• The last one leans on the side and believes it’s a wall.

They all argue, convinced that what they felt was the complete truth. But the reality? Each one had only a partial view.

Business Intelligence (BI) & The Tale of Five Blind Saints

What This Tells Us About Business Intelligence (BI)

This parable reflects what often happens in our organizations. Different teams look at different parts of the data, come to conclusions, and work in silos. Sales might focus on revenue, marketing on leads, finance on budgets, and operations on process metrics. Each team has its truth, but without seeing the whole picture. That’s where business intelligence (BI) comes in. Not just as a tool but as a way of thinking that brings everything together.

BI Is Not Just About Reports

A lot of people think BI means dashboards or reports (Power BI/Tableau/etc.), But real BI is about joining the dots. It’s about

• Understanding what’s going on in different departments

• Connecting different data sources

• Giving business leaders a clear, shared view of what’s happening

BI helps people stop guessing and start seeing clearly. It helps teams collaborate better instead of debating with partial truths.

Asking the Right Questions

Good BI professionals don’t just build reports. They ask questions. Simple, powerful questions. These questions lead to better outcomes. Not just more data, but smarter decisions.

• Who is using this data?

• What are they trying to solve?

• When did this issue or trend start?

• Where is this data coming from?

• Why does this matter to the business?

• How can we make this easier to understand and act on?

BI as a Big Picture Discipline

BI sits across functions. It brings together people, processes, and platforms. It’s about curiosity, storytelling, and clarity. It helps teams zoom out before they zoom in. This is where we can bring in the concept of Enterprise Data Mesh.

In traditional setups, data often stays locked in centralized warehouses or IT-controlled pipelines. This creates bottlenecks and disconnect. But with an Enterprise Data Mesh approach, we say:

• Each business domain is responsible for its own data.

• Teams act as owners, not just users.

• There’s a culture of accountability and collaboration.

• BI becomes part of the delivery, not just the output.

Enterprise Data Mesh supports the BI umbrella by pushing ownership and making teams more responsible. With proper federated governance, we can ensure trust, security, and alignment without losing speed. This helps organizations move from reactive reporting to proactive insights. From silos to synergy.

Final Thought

You don’t need to see the whole elephant at once. But you need to listen to those who’ve touched different parts of it. And if you’re in BI, your job is to bring those views together. Not to prove someone wrong but to help everyone see what’s going on.

Have you ever faced a “partial elephant” moment in your work? What helped you and your team see the bigger picture?