A Secret to Competitive Intelligence Success

I suppose that the crux of the title of this post really comes down to how one defines success in their competitive intelligence efforts. Personally, I think CI has to be more than a library of information. You have to know to improve market share, beat the competition (both in the marketplace and in individual engagements) and discover new markets that are ripe for the picking.

If you have a different definition of success, let me know (cdalley@primary-intel.com)

In order to have a chance of achieving my brand of success, you have to have a company that a) embraces improvement and b) can use intelligence to make decisions.

In other words, measure your real decision and difference makers within the company. Can they use information to make decisions? Are they willing to lean on intelligence or does everything come from experience and “the gut?”

If either answer is “no,” you need not read much further. Go back to what you’re doing and hope that your management environment changes for the better soon.

If you are in a company where difference makers value intelligence, you have the opportunity to drive change through your efforts. But, the secret is making sure that you are looking for the intelligence that has the best chance of showing your company where success is.

This information may reside in your current customer base. It may come from information in the public domain. (If you make your living with information available in the public domain, you had better be very good at interpreting and analyzing. If everyone has access to the information, you are the differentiating factor). It really doesn’t matter to me where your information comes from as long as it help your company achieve success.

But, do make sure you’re in a place where your work can be appreciated in the form of leading to business change.