Repositioning CI - In Search of a New Product - Competitive Intelligence2024-03-28T11:58:39Zhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/forum/topics/repositioning-ci-in-search-of?commentId=2036441%3AComment%3A25560&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI've been reading recently ab…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-10-12:2036441:Comment:273602009-10-12T13:30:27.200ZMark Johnsonhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/MarkJohnson
I've been reading recently about the activities of the OSS during WWII. OSS was the precursor for the CIA. OSS stood for Office of Strategic Services.<br />
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I've watched the discussion of "WHAT WE CALL OUR DISCIPLINE" for a long time.<br />
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Competitive Intelligence has overtones of spying which this dialog addresses. Folks from Strategy Software a few years ago argued for Competitive Affairs. Business Intelligence would be better, but that term of art has been coopted by the CRM/Datamining discipline…
I've been reading recently about the activities of the OSS during WWII. OSS was the precursor for the CIA. OSS stood for Office of Strategic Services.<br />
<br />
I've watched the discussion of "WHAT WE CALL OUR DISCIPLINE" for a long time.<br />
<br />
Competitive Intelligence has overtones of spying which this dialog addresses. Folks from Strategy Software a few years ago argued for Competitive Affairs. Business Intelligence would be better, but that term of art has been coopted by the CRM/Datamining discipline which is fundamentally internally focused on analyzing mountains of customer transaction and account data for business insight.<br />
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That's what got me thinking about the OSS. What would be wrong with calling our discipline Strategic Services? We aren't entirely focused on competitors. We look at economic conditions, organizational dynamics, financial modeling, and a variety of other disciplines.<br />
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Our discipline depends heavily on close alliance and understanding of strategic planning. We do work on tactical issues, but our bread and butter should always be more strategic in direction.<br />
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So...would Strategic Services be a better way to position our discipline?<br />
Would this call for a larger skillset/training of strategic planning?<br />
Would our better organizational placement be in a strategic planning team?<br />
Would it successfully downplay some of the ethical garbage that bogs down our discussions? Michelle,
You make a good po…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-09-18:2036441:Comment:269042009-09-18T22:02:22.112Zmonica nixonhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/monicanixon32
Michelle,<br />
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You make a good point that I should have laid out in my piece with regard to what I meant by trained CI Pro-I meant those that had been trained by folks who were previously in the IC. I can see what you mean though, that those who might have been trained by SCIP, gone around calling themselves CI pros, and because SCIP has taken an overly broad view,have gotten lost and tried to compete against folks in all these other disciplines, which is a mistake. I did not take this element into…
Michelle,<br />
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You make a good point that I should have laid out in my piece with regard to what I meant by trained CI Pro-I meant those that had been trained by folks who were previously in the IC. I can see what you mean though, that those who might have been trained by SCIP, gone around calling themselves CI pros, and because SCIP has taken an overly broad view,have gotten lost and tried to compete against folks in all these other disciplines, which is a mistake. I did not take this element into account, and I should have<br />
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I think this still harkens back to one point I made, and that's that we collectively need to separate out CI from MR,MI, KM and library science because frankly there is room for all types of these various folks and their skills in most organizations but the skills are not the same, the deliverables are not the same and calling everything CI confuses those without much experience with real CI.<br />
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As much as some people may not like it, at the end of the day, I think we need to return to a more linear view of what CI really is because it is not helping any of us to throw everything in one bucket. We need some delineation between the disciplines again and I think things will go much smoother for all involved... Very well written, Monica. Yo…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-09-18:2036441:Comment:268992009-09-18T19:35:16.124ZMichelle Drabikhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/MichelleDrabik
Very well written, Monica. You have a well-defined understanding of how you contribute unique value. I think that part of the issue is in your statement, "...any trained CI pro knows this, and should not have any problem whatsoever articulating the differences and showcasing how their work product differs..." In my experience, "any trained CI pro" does not necessarily know this---some (many?) spend way too much time trying to do (poorly) the jobs of all the other types of professionals you…
Very well written, Monica. You have a well-defined understanding of how you contribute unique value. I think that part of the issue is in your statement, "...any trained CI pro knows this, and should not have any problem whatsoever articulating the differences and showcasing how their work product differs..." In my experience, "any trained CI pro" does not necessarily know this---some (many?) spend way too much time trying to do (poorly) the jobs of all the other types of professionals you mentioned instead of focusing in areas like SEWs and HUMINT where their talents shine. If CI pros are confused about how they contribute unique value, so is everyone else. I have seen this conversation…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-09-18:2036441:Comment:268972009-09-18T18:59:58.920Zmonica nixonhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/monicanixon32
I have seen this conversation continually proliferate on this board since joining, and it causes me great consternation and alarm to say the least; that there appears to be this need to define and differentiate CI, and that there is this impetus to want to distance CI from its roots, which is indeed with the IC. So, as a CI Director and Strategic CI analyst, I would like to chime in with my perspective.<br />
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1) So, why is there this need to define and differentiate CI? My perspective on this is…
I have seen this conversation continually proliferate on this board since joining, and it causes me great consternation and alarm to say the least; that there appears to be this need to define and differentiate CI, and that there is this impetus to want to distance CI from its roots, which is indeed with the IC. So, as a CI Director and Strategic CI analyst, I would like to chime in with my perspective.<br />
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1) So, why is there this need to define and differentiate CI? My perspective on this is that at least some of the blame, if not a great majority of it, lies with SCIP. SCIP was supposed to be an organization for CI folks, but I watched them take MR/MI, industry analysts, KM, library sciences under their wing. In my opinion, this caused a lot of convolution of roles/responsibilities and was a hell of a disservice to real CI pros. I don't know if this was done to increase SCIP revenues and attendees at conferences, but yes all the sudden everybody and their dog was claiming the intelligence banner. And we wonder why now some people don't know what real CI is? Gee I cant imagine...KM,MR/MI, library sciences are not CI -and any trained CI pro knows this, and should not have any problem whatsoever articulating the differences and showcasing how their work product differs. I've certainly never had a problem, although when I started a new CI function at a company that never had CI , I initially had to fight all this-ie aren't you just like IDC, Gartner? How are you different from market analysts? SCIP seems to throw all this under the CI banner why wont you? Yeah, it took me about three seconds flat to clarify how I differ from MR/MI, industry analysts. That said, there is actually talk amongst the old vanguard of starting a new org for CI pros only...yes, I think it is long overdue and maybe in doing so we can finally get past this ridiculous co-mingling and separate CI back out which I think must be done for our survival.<br />
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2) So that then brings up the point of what CI is and how we differ from MR,MI, KM, library sciences, industry analysts. This is quite easy to articulate actually.<br />
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MR/MI-more tactical, more project focused than CI which has to be more of an ongoing,continuous effort. MR/MI emphasis on markets and customers.MR/MI dont have HUMINT, elicitation skills, not focused on competitors and providing SEWS, or understanding the nature of competitive advantage or disadvantage and cant answer questions like "what is really happening inside my competitors walls and how can I capitalize on it?" MR/MI however good at answering questions like how many units will be sold in 2010, is this market shrinking or growing, etc.<br />
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Library sciences-mostly manage data, again dont have HUMINT skills and dont provide SEWS. Gather secondary data and existing primary data that the company may have to put together a general profile, But don't go do primary work themselves and certainly couldn't answer questions like what are my competitors in depth IP/category strategies, how do we maintain technical advantage, nature of firm Y's competitive advantage, whats happening inside competitor X's walls...<br />
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KM=about managing, maybe mining, existing data that has been created.<br />
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Industry analysts-most have background in MR, see above, they operate on a short term project by basis , they focus more on customers not competitors. Competitive coverage very general, not much depth because they don't look at competitors systematically over time and build the linkage historically to go deep or put things in perspective. Not focused on SEWs, no HUMINT skills.<br />
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CI-provides SEWS so the company is not surprised and can proactively plan, HUMINT to know what is really happening with competitors that isnt so publicly visible. Deep context and perspective because we have followed things over time.<br />
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3) Yes,CI in the private sector came from the IC. It is irrefutable and we should be proud of this and embrace it, it gives us our background and history and does indeed provide the foundations for clarifying what we as CI pros DO. I think the folks who want to separate themselves from the IC link are not real CI pros, nope they are the KM, MR, LS contingency who fail to know how to showcase a few points of difference in private intel operation vs public sector/gov, and because they cant illustrate the differences, they worry about being associated with espionage etc and this just goes back to what I said above, KM,MR/MI, LS are not CI folks because CI folks have no problem demonstrating how their methods differ to stay within legal parameters for collection,etc.<br />
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Regards,<br />
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Monica Nixon I couldn't agree more with El…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-08-27:2036441:Comment:262682009-08-27T01:32:06.171ZVernon Priorhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/VernonPrior
I couldn't agree more with Ellen - well said. CI is a backroom task, lots of different skills and experience are needed in order to do it well - just like management, really. And our role in life (as it has been mine for many years - I have spread my articles far and wide in the process) is to try to convince decision-makers to get involved, to offer support and commitment, to listen to us, and to make good decisions based on their own experience and with what we provide. That means we need to…
I couldn't agree more with Ellen - well said. CI is a backroom task, lots of different skills and experience are needed in order to do it well - just like management, really. And our role in life (as it has been mine for many years - I have spread my articles far and wide in the process) is to try to convince decision-makers to get involved, to offer support and commitment, to listen to us, and to make good decisions based on their own experience and with what we provide. That means we need to PROMOTE ourselves much more than we currently do. I'm chiming in late on this d…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-08-24:2036441:Comment:262192009-08-24T16:27:54.269ZEllen Naylorhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/EllenNaylor
I'm chiming in late on this discussion since I've been out of the office most of this year! I just attended a webinar last week <a href="http://grandview.rymatech.com/pmv/webinars/2009/06/why-are-there-so-few-great-product-managers-a-ceos-perspective.php" target="_blank">“Why are there so few good product managers: a CEO’s Perspective.”</a> The webinar will be posted <a href="http://grandview.rymatech.com/pmv/webinars/archives.php" target="_blank">Ryma's webinar archives</a> in the next week or…
I'm chiming in late on this discussion since I've been out of the office most of this year! I just attended a webinar last week <a href="http://grandview.rymatech.com/pmv/webinars/2009/06/why-are-there-so-few-great-product-managers-a-ceos-perspective.php" target="_blank">“Why are there so few good product managers: a CEO’s Perspective.”</a> The webinar will be posted <a href="http://grandview.rymatech.com/pmv/webinars/archives.php" target="_blank">Ryma's webinar archives</a> in the next week or so. Look under August 2009 & listen & view the slides on your time.<br />
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As I put on my CI hat listening to this discussion about CEO's perspective on product managers and their frustrations, it made me realize that <a href="http://cooperativeintelligenceblog.com/2009/08/20/contrasting-the-traits-of-good-product-managers-competitive-intelligence-managers/" target="_blank">CI is really a behind the scenes function especially compared to product managers</a>. We don't have a career path for CI like there often is for product managers...and CEOs often have product management experience along the way...and not CI.<br />
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I think what competitive intelligence is missing is PR, and I would like to highlight Robert Bugai, NJ SCIP coordinator who is a PR guru. Look at this <a href="http://www.njmarcom.org/scip.htm" target="_blank">meeting</a> he organized with 10 other professional associations in NJ in July with over 400 attendees. He does this at a time when CI chapter meetings are dying.<br />
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I agree with Babette and Vernon about defintions and firms that "get it," but I think we could do a far better job with PR and getting the word out about CI and its benefits than anyone has done to date. It's touchy since companies don't want to tout or give away their competitive programs, and consultants sign NDAs. However, there are exceptions to this, such as <a href="http://cooperativeintelligenceblog.com/2009/04/27/are-we-in-a-rut-in-competitive-intelligence-innovation-scip09-post-conference/" target="_blank">Best Buy who touts their competitive advantage openly</a>. May I point out that the diff…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-08-21:2036441:Comment:261512009-08-21T00:27:59.103ZVernon Priorhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/VernonPrior
May I point out that the difference between "competitor" and "competitive" resulted in a change of name for SCIP? For obvious reasons.
May I point out that the difference between "competitor" and "competitive" resulted in a change of name for SCIP? For obvious reasons. I found the clear answer rega…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-08-20:2036441:Comment:261502009-08-20T22:02:17.442ZAlan S. Michaelshttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/AlanSMichaels
I found the clear answer regarding the definition of what CI is .... and because the source is the best available (and because I fully agree with the definition)... hey, I'm happy... and I hope you are too.<br />
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Competitive intelligence is... "the legal and ethical collection and analysis of information regarding the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions of business competitors."<br />
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Source: SCIP website / About SCIP…
I found the clear answer regarding the definition of what CI is .... and because the source is the best available (and because I fully agree with the definition)... hey, I'm happy... and I hope you are too.<br />
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Competitive intelligence is... "the legal and ethical collection and analysis of information regarding the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions of business competitors."<br />
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Source: SCIP website / About SCIP <a href="http://www.scip.org/content.cfm?itemnumber=2214&navItemNumber=492">http://www.scip.org/content.cfm?itemnumber=2214&navItemNumber=492</a><br />
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P.S. - At <a href="http://www.eCompetitors.com">http://www.eCompetitors.com</a> we track who the competitors are for the top 10,000 global industries. (We do not define their capabilities, vulnerabilities, or intentions.... so maybe opportunity to partner with those who do.) Information Harvesting to Ide…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-08-17:2036441:Comment:260812009-08-17T07:06:55.193ZVivek Raghuvanshihttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/VivekRaghuvanshi
Information Harvesting to Identify Strategic Inflection Points and generate Early Warning.
Information Harvesting to Identify Strategic Inflection Points and generate Early Warning. Hello, Michelle, have you eve…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-08-16:2036441:Comment:260632009-08-16T07:50:05.394ZTadeusz Lemańczykhttp://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/TadeuszLemanczyk
Hello, Michelle, have you ever heard the similar thanks ( <a href="http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/video/the-thanks-of-our-dream" target="_blank">http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/video/the-thanks-of-our-dream</a> ) for your CI work?<br />
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Best wishes,<br />
Tad<br />
<a href="http://fedcba.ning.com/" target="_blank">http://fedcba.ning.com/</a>
Hello, Michelle, have you ever heard the similar thanks ( <a href="http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/video/the-thanks-of-our-dream" target="_blank">http://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/video/the-thanks-of-our-dream</a> ) for your CI work?<br />
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Best wishes,<br />
Tad<br />
<a href="http://fedcba.ning.com/" target="_blank">http://fedcba.ning.com/</a>