Digital C-Suite: Information Self-Service and the Roll of CI - Competitive Intelligence2024-03-28T23:04:58Zhttps://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/forum/topics/digital-csuite-information?commentId=2036441%3AComment%3A25139&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI loved getting this particul…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-07-28:2036441:Comment:251392009-07-28T14:25:10.528ZScott Brownhttps://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/ScottBrown
I loved getting this particular article from Ellen's newsletter (and I love all of Ellen's entries :) And I agree with the comments so far. It is truly scary to know that, likely, executives are relying on open-web searches as a primary source of information. Is it their sole source? No - my guess is that, if something truly catches their attention and they want more info, they go to trusted sources - people they know. And this is to Ellen's point, that our job is to prove our value in whatever…
I loved getting this particular article from Ellen's newsletter (and I love all of Ellen's entries :) And I agree with the comments so far. It is truly scary to know that, likely, executives are relying on open-web searches as a primary source of information. Is it their sole source? No - my guess is that, if something truly catches their attention and they want more info, they go to trusted sources - people they know. And this is to Ellen's point, that our job is to prove our value in whatever way happens to present itself. You never know when those opportunities will come along.<br />
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And, as Ellen states, it's kinda good to know they are doing their own searching. As Tom says, we have to know that their web searching is our competition, so to speak. As August states, we should know what they're looking for. What are the sources they're citing when they're talking with others? What is authoritative in their minds? Maybe approaching executives as competitive targets would be a good thing - finding out what makes them tick :)<br />
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To August's third point, I do believe that teaching opportunities in finding information come along - but they are point opportunities and very brief. I don't think executives would ever actually sit down for a training to learn boolean or advanced search strategies. That's part of the value of what we bring. The point is not to get them to do it, but to get them to think of us when they need it. My experience with executives…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-07-27:2036441:Comment:251192009-07-27T23:10:47.431ZEllen Naylorhttps://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/EllenNaylor
My experience with executives is that to become a trusted partner as a CI professional takes time and an understanding of their motivation and corporate politics. When I was a practitioner, I first had to prove myself in some way so that the executives would even know I existed. And I would never have dreamt the way that I "proved myself" would be effective since I didn't think about it that way: I was simply doing my job.<br />
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I was called in to lead a competitive assessment of how an RFP (request…
My experience with executives is that to become a trusted partner as a CI professional takes time and an understanding of their motivation and corporate politics. When I was a practitioner, I first had to prove myself in some way so that the executives would even know I existed. And I would never have dreamt the way that I "proved myself" would be effective since I didn't think about it that way: I was simply doing my job.<br />
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I was called in to lead a competitive assessment of how an RFP (request for proposal) might be awarded based on how we HAD responded versus how we thought the competition might be respond. I thought this would be a collosal waste of time since we HAD already responded to this RFP, so this discussion to me would be a mute point. Turned out it wasn't since I had a dialog with the sales team, and they were so sure that if we didn't win the sale, AT&T would. I thought another competitor had a much better shot at the business, which I shared with Sales, and they didn't agree...however, that is who won the business and for the reason I had stated.<br />
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This got the Sales VP's attention, even though it didn't change the outcome of the sale. It did give me great credibility as a resource since "corporate staff" wasn't perceived to know enough tactically to help Sales. I had come from Sales and it's my tactical knowledge that made the day.<br />
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It was that event more than any other that got me in front of the c-suite for a future acquisition discussion, often thought of as a strategic item. Ya just never know what works, and I think that is a point with executives. It's often an indirect road to the c-suite especially in large corporations, and you have to be patient along the road to get there. August,
Interesting article.…tag:competitiveintelligence.ning.com,2009-07-23:2036441:Comment:250182009-07-23T20:57:56.106ZTom Haweshttps://competitiveintelligence.ning.com/profile/TomHawes
August,<br />
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Interesting article.<br />
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It reminds me of what is happening in the medical profession and how it it changing the relationship between practitioners and their patients. As you likely know, there is a great deal of medical information on the web. Some of the information is generated by patients or patient communities but there is a lot that is put there by researchers and other professionals. So, patients (like myself) have the easy ability to find information that is relevant to their…
August,<br />
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Interesting article.<br />
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It reminds me of what is happening in the medical profession and how it it changing the relationship between practitioners and their patients. As you likely know, there is a great deal of medical information on the web. Some of the information is generated by patients or patient communities but there is a lot that is put there by researchers and other professionals. So, patients (like myself) have the easy ability to find information that is relevant to their diagnosis or treatment. Indeed, when I go the doctor (as I did this morning), I am far better prepared than perhaps my parents would have been at my age. I have all of the basic information already, I know about some possible new treatments and I have much better informed questions. All of this changes the dynamic in my relationship with my physician. He is just as likely to ask me medical questions as he is to provide answers. In either case, we don't cover what is basic - instead we move to more complicated or advanced topics.<br />
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The key lesson to me is that I still need the doctor (there is much that he knows that I don't). However, I need him to understand that he is not my sole information source. He (not me) needs to adapt to provide his unique benefit. Otherwise, I will find another doctor.<br />
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Turning this around, I think that the article forwarded by Ellen reflects a similar situation. Web searches are easy. Amassing information is easy. Connecting to others in social networks and communities is easy. The number of useful and easy things in increasing. Apparently the surveyed executives know this. We (not them) have to adapt.<br />
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Our opportunity as CI specialists is to connect on the parts that are not easy. Interpretation, primary research, analysis and so on are areas that are not simple. Then, we have to deliver (as you have said) the results in forms that fit the styles preferred by the executives.<br />
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I like the three challenges that you have posed and agree with you on them. Still, the hardest thing to overcome is being excluded from the personal relationships that the executives value. As the survey says (I sound like Richard Dawson), they still get more from people than online tools. Thus, that is the biggest challenge and threat, IMHO, to being successful in a sustained way with executives. How then do we become trusted partners instead of (only) tools or data providers and search specialists?<br />
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-- Tom Hawes<br />
<a href="http://tomhawes.wordpress.com" target="_blank">Strategically Thinking Blog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.jthawes.com" target="_blank">JTHawes Consulting Website</a>