ids to monitor competitive pricing, bundling arrangements in order to remain price competitive, but as well to investigate the Terms & Conditions to determine if there are hidden uplifts in multi year contracts they could exploit or differentials in the SLAs that might hand competitors an advantage. Further, often vendors will include their internal competitive positioning benchmarks and so forth in an effort to influence the customers choice, so the bidding process can be a good avenue to gain this information and to formulate competitive responses.
From another point of view (ie; counterintelligence), RFPs/RFIs can also be a potent and viable mechanism for an incumbent vendor to get their loyal customers to elicit naive competitors for them. This is common and I've seen it first hand! There will be a section in the RFI/RFP that reads like an outsourced CI project! Does anyone really think a high end luxury manufacturer cares who a printer company is going to partner with in the next 5 years? Or that the customer needs to know about strategic partnerships on the horizon? As a CI Manager in my first six months at a new firm, I actually had those involved in proposal generation come to me and say, hey you want to fill this out? It blew my mind that these folks didnt realize they were being elicited. Needless to say, I took on a massive education campaign with marketing, legal to help them understand how the bidding process can be used by savvy comeptitors to gleam intelligence and that we should put in standardized documents politely declining to furnish this information.
Additionally, by having CI review competitive bids it can enable a firm to see the degree to which their comeptitors are able to influence the bid process. One trick by smart vendors is getting the RFP written is such a way that they are the only ones who meet say, various category requirements to lock out competitors who might have gaps in their product line, etc. I've seen this multiple times as well.
Always good to have CI involved in the bidding process!
Regards,
M…
Added by monica nixon at 7:17pm on January 18, 2011
everal dozen of them, mostly in Portuguese. Unfortunately, my Portuguese is still as poor as that one which was proved in my discussion with that Brazilian woman [ http://www.geocities.com/tadfrompoland/floor6a.html , available now at http://www.geocities.com/eklezjastka/bbs459.htm , http://www.geocities.com/eklezjastka/bbs460.htm , http://www.geocities.com/eklezjastka/bbs463.htm , http://www.geocities.com/eklezjastka/bbs466.htm , http://www.geocities.com/eklezjastka/bbs468.htm ]: hence I've been satisfied founding there also a few theses and dissertations written in English, including Bernardus Johannes Odendaal's Competitive intelligence with specific reference to the challenges facing the competitive intelligence professional in South Africa ( http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02092005-112230/ ). Taking account of my almost ready blended learning course Information security ( http://triton.cs.put.poznan.pl/platon/files/opisyPrzedmiotow/ib_dzi/4/e101052134101052318.rtf ), I am going to start in the part Security devices and requirements in information preservation. Administrative, technical and physical data security ( http://geocities.com/eklezjastka/ester4w-6.html ) the discussion Counterintelligence self-protection of a company (in Polish Kontrwywiadowcza samoobrona przedsiębiorstwa), in which pages 27-28 of Bernardus Johannes Odendaal's Master's Dissertation ( http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02092005-112230/unrestricted/00dissertation.pdf ) will fulfill an important role.
Would you please help me to apply to the blended learning course Information security ( http://triton.cs.put.poznan.pl/platon/files/opisyPrzedmiotow/ib_dzi/4/e101052134101052318.rtf ) also some of those CI theses and dissertations written in Portuguese?…
sion w/Q&A electronically somehow? I was thinking about that somewhat this year, as I only spoke about 30 - 35 minutes in both my talks and there were plenty of questions. Why not set up the expectation for attendees that they can continue to ask questions after the session electronically and the speaker or other attendees will answer. Almost everyone brings an electronic device and we have the PCs set up in the exhibits area. Maybe we find a sponsor to have a PC in each room, and that sponsor gets a 3 minute intro before the talk, like Arik was suggesting. This might also be a good way to address Arik's issue of people who presentation hop. This might also be a way to engage nonattendees, who want to participate for a smaller fee.
What about taping all the sessions so they can be for sale including slides and voice after the presentations? I had this done in a webinar recently, and if people spend the time, they get so much more from listening while looking at the slides. So SCIP could make money by selling individual presentation w/ or w/o podcast.
We need to brainstorm a few areas that could make a huge difference, August and I'm happy to participate:
1. Electronic sharing, taping etc
2. Networking in all its forms before, during and after the conference to keep people engaged
3. Organizing sub-groups as Claudia we mentioning and identifying a leader for each, like Martha Matteo for CTI. (I would be willing to host a sales intelligence SIG)
4. Attracting non-CI professionals/associations as sponsors, presentors, attendees, like Eric G mentioned
Arik...I also agree that the old format works better since it also lends itself to more networking time. Alan, I like the idea of a CI networking room, and perhaps we could also have CI networking areas by specialty like CTI, sales intelligence, counterintelligence, etc. The issue here is finding the space, and we could also support this electronically.…
, and possibly the most important is the ability to gain valuable information from human sources in a non-threatening form, without directly asking for it. The technique for this is known as elicitation. Definitely one of the more difficult intelligence skills to master, elicitation is more of an art than science. It is a skill that needs to be learned, practiced and honed. Elicitation techniques can be used to improve all primary research activities to get maximum value from telephone and in-person interviews as well as collection at trade, industry and professional events.
Ms. Foley will provide an overview of what elicitation is; what it is not; and how to use it in everyday intelligence collection.
Beginning with planning, she will cover the basic models of elicitation and several of the primary techniques to get the source to "open up". The program will cover the most common psychological tendencies of human sources and how to best apply elicitation techniques that are effective with them.
About the Speaker
Catherine L. Foley, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of CM2 Limited
With twelve years of investment banking experience and fifteen years of intelligence experience, Ms. Foley has significant expertise in both disciplines. As the founding Director of the Competitive Intelligence Group of a privately held investment bank in Washington, DC, she designed intelligence collection and analysis methodologies that supported mergers and acquisitions for more than 80 projects. She also led intelligence and risk assessments for deals ranging from $10 million to $5 billion. She served four years as a member of the bank's Board of Management. Additionally, Ms. Foley has extensive experience in senior executive search and recruitment.
Previously, Ms. Foley was employed by the United States Department of Defense for eighteen years in a number of human intelligence and counterintelligence positions, with a focus on strategic debriefing and collections. Her international experience includes operations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Latin America. In her free time, Ms. Foley enjoys sea kayaking and volunteers her time on the Board of Directors of North Shore Paddler's Network, a non-profit group that promotes kayak safety and training.…
Przedmiotow/ib_dzi/4/e101052134101052318.rtf ), I'm very interested in pre-, during the conference, and post-asynchronous discussions about some topics present in those five tracks proposed by you. Naturally, also I teach my students how not to be hunted by CI hunters ( http://www.scip.org/About/content.cfm?ItemNumber=5785 ): hence being up-to-date on all the latest methods and techniques of CI is as important for them as being up-to-date on all the latest methods and techniques of intelligence is important for every member of the counterintelligence community. I'd like to ask you the following question: What do you mean writing "The relationship of CI and IT security" in the track CI Offense/Defense (Ibidem)? In order to explain my doubt let me use the guide ( http://www.rjhresearch.com/SecurityGuide/Home.htm ) mentioned by me already in discussion Addressing the problem of faculty resistance to using IT tools in active learning instructional strategies ( http://innovate-ideagora.ning.com/forum/topics/addressing-the-problem-of?id=2216838%3ATopic%3A26&page=8#comments -- on August 29, 2008 at 3:22am). Are you really convinced that we should limit ourselves to discussing only its part Computer and Other Technical Vulnerabilities ( http://www.rjhresearch.com/SecurityGuide/Contents.htm#Shortcut )? Therefore, I'm really looking forward to John Lauria and Emanuele Criscione's workshop Implementing a Counter-Intelligence Program: Playing Zone Defense ( http://www.scip.org/content.cfm?ItemNumber=6238 ), and to two education sessions: Naomi Fine's Mastering Company Secrets in Ten Easy Steps and Mark Danner's The Intelligence Value of Cyber Attacks – Learning from Your Enemy ( http://www.scip.org/content.cfm?itemnumber=6260 ).…
on on your market and competitors. However, most organisations are unfamiliar with the techniques that can be used to gather and analyse this information for competitive advantage. This one-day workshop will show you how. We’ll walk you through the entire trade show intelligence process, from identifying your information needs to communicating your key findings. You will be shown how to gather information on rival products and services, as well as on customer and industry trends. We will also provide plenty of practical recommendations on the tools you can use to support your effort, and how to protect your booth from your competitors.
What You Will Learn
Course Introduction
- Introduction to trade show intelligence - Legal and ethical considerations
Pre-Show Preparation
- Identifying your key intelligence requirements - Developing a trade show collection plan - Pre-show intelligence gathering - Assembling and briefing the collection teams - Tactical preparations
At the Show
- Establishing and operating the “war room” - Executing your collection plan - Primary and secondary data collection - Interview and elicitation techniques - Staffing your booth - Information security and counterintelligence
Post-Show Analysis
- Debriefing your collection teams - Analysing and evaluating primary and secondary data - Preparing and delivering your trade show report
Teaching Method: The course combines theory with practical exercises. Participants are expected to take part in group and individuals exercises and provide constructive feedback to their peers.
Instructor: Chris Pallaris
Language of Instruction: English
Fee: CHF 300
Target Audience: Senior and middle managers, marketing and sales executives, R&D staff, etc.…
Added by Corine Löffel at 6:59am on October 25, 2011
to be about "growth" it is a theme we are going to endeavor to weave throughout the conference in part through the proposals we choose. In our current economic environment we felt this theme addressed an immediate need of the ultimate consumers of CI insight.
Derek and I have also worked very hard to address feedback that the conference needs to offer more programs for the veteran CI professional. We've done our best to balance the needs of beginner, intermediate and advanced professionals by making some modifications to the track structure. The tracks for SCIP09 are as follows:
* CI Offense/Defense
* Professional Effectiveness
* Critical Skills
* Entrepreneurial CI
* Intelligence R&D
* Active Dialog
The first three tracks are traditional conference tracks with some slight modifications. We've combined CI Offense and Defense into a single track. "Offense" is fertile ground for topics related to CI in growth areas such as "blue ocean" strategies and new geographic markets, while "Defense" can be related to protection of intellectual property and methods for counterintelligence. We're positioning "Critical Skills" as the track to address the needs of beginning practitioners and give them the basics they need to conduct quality CI. "Professional Effectiveness" is geared more at the intermediate level and is intended to address issues of management, communications, career development and other competencies outside of the core CI skill set we still must have in order to be effective professionals.
"Entrepreneurial CI" is intended to scratch the itch of the veteran attendee. We've developed this track with the clear direction that proposals should show us something we haven't seen at a SCIP conference before. The emphasis in this track is in practical applications of these methods. "Intelligence R&D" is a slight modification on the legacy "Scholarly & Innovation" track to explore new topics from the world of academia and research.
"Active Dialog" is a continuation of a track from previous years that takes us outside the presentation format to create a more interactive forum for discussion of topics in CI. A successful proposal for this track will propose an interesting topic that will spark a conversation and describe some sort of output from the dialog that will be brought back into the CI community of practice to describe the diversity of opinion and experience of those in attendance at the session.
The text of the call for proposals goes into deep detail on each one of the tracks and even includes some suggestions for potential topics. Our purpose in doing this was not to be prescriptive but rather to give interested presenters some ideas that would get their creative juices flowing.
One important piece of advice I want to give to prospective presenters is to really spend some time developing a quality proposal. Show the programming committee that you have a firm grasp on your topic of interest and that you bring something unique to it. Demonstrate competency by describing themes and sub-themes you intend to address. Real-world cases are always a strong selling point. Tell us how your professional experience relates to your topic. Clearly articulate what the audience will gain from your presentation. Spend the time to have proper spelling and grammar. Do an outline and a draft over the course of a few days. Have colleagues review your proposal before you submit it.…