A diversion -- your favourite CI and strategy quotes

[Alli Marshall]

A diversion to start the work week -- what are your favourite CI/strategy quotes?

"Skate to where the puck's going, not where it's been."
Walter Gretzky (Wayne's father)

"Fools rush in..."
Alexander Pope

"Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated."
Sun Tzu

...?

[Kevin Mulcahy]

From Mark Twain ... "We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it — and stop there;
lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit on a hot stove lid again — and that is well;
but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore"

From J.R.R. Tolkien ... "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him"

[Vivek Raghuvanshi]

"Competitive Intelligence is PERCEPTION Driven" :

We all know that an optimistic would see half full glass of water,
while a pessimist would see a half empty one. What would people of
different professions and walks of life say?

A Banker would say that the glass has just under 50% of its net worth
in liquid assets.

The Government would say that the glass is fuller than if the
opposition party were in power.

The Opposition party would say that it is irrelevant because the
present administration has changed the way such volume statistics are
collected.

The Economist would say that, in real terms, the glass is 25% fuller
than at the same time last year.

The Philosopher would say that, if the glass was in the forest and no
one was there to see it, would it be half anything?

The Psychiatrist would ask, "What did your mother say about the glass?"

The Physicist would say that the volume of this cylinder is divided
into two equal parts; one a colorless, odorless liquid, the other a
colorless, odorless gas. Thus the cylinder is neither full nor empty.
Rather, each half of the cylinder is full, one with a gas, one with a
liquid.

The Seasoned Drinker would say that the glass doesn't have enough (or
too much) ice in it.

[Deviyani Rohatgi]

"To be forewarned is to be forearmed" .

[Rob Duncan]

Heard a funny one the other day that I hadn't heard before. For somebody who is making a mountain out of a molehill, or obsessing on some trivial battle:

"Is this really the hill you want to die on??"

Not exactly a quote, but certainly something I can see using with clients and colleagues!

Cheers.. Rob

[Deviyani Rohatgi]

The lion king is said to advance three steps, then gather himself to spring, unleashing the same power whether he traps a tiny ant or attacks a fierce animal

[Seena Sharp]

Hi Alli,

The Sun Tzu quote you noted is frequently used at SCIP conferences. This quote applies to war, not business, because war is a zero sum game and business is not.

Sun Tzu had another quote that is more applicable to business and CI, which I have not heard at SCIP:

“It is best to keep one’s own state intact; to crush the enemy’s state is only second best.”

In my upcoming book - woo hoo!! - Competitive Intelligence Advantage (Wiley, Oct 2009), I expand on this by stating that "As it relates to business, a company’s primary goal is to have a profitable, viable, and growing business. Competitors that are diminished because of your good decisions and cleverness...."

In short, the better goal is to make your business successful rather than to focus on driving competitors out of business.

[Alli Marshall]

Hi Seena,
Great to hear from you and congrats on your upcoming publishing date! Do you have any plans to visit Canada or the northern U.S. as part of your book promotion efforts?

Thanks to you and all the other contributors for sharing the excellent quotes -- I love reading them and look forward to many more!
Alli

[V Narasimha Reddy]

“Tell me, I forget, show me, I remember, Involve me, I understand.”

Carl Orff


”A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.”

Albert Einstein