In a recent HBR article, Eric Hellweg talks about the secrets to Pixar’s success. During the dominant Disney animated movie era—remember Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast—Pixar decided to do things differently. They took the opportunity to cast aside what had been done for what could be done. What were these secret guidelines?

• No songs
• No “I want” moments
• No happy village
• No love story
• No villain

What seemed like a recipe for failure to a Disney animation producer turned out to be gold for Pixar. And isn’t that why we all loved Toy Story? It was different. Edgy. Charming. Memorable. Finally, we had an animated film that captured the human spirit without songs, “I want” moments, or love stories. Going against the norm altered the course of history and established Pixar as a household name.

In the business intelligence world, too many companies stick to the old way of doing things. Insisting on songs, happy villages, and villains…I mean spreadsheets, IT, and clunky dashboards only limits the possibility of obtaining relevant data. The world of smart data analysis more closely resembles stagnate business decision movie making.

It’s time to follow the example of Pixar. Cast off the old. Look at business intelligence with a new eye. What should this new view of business intelligence contain?

• A range of self-service options
• All available data sources
• A transparent culture
• A visual approach

What else would you include on this list?