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CI Book from EMP
Competitor Intelligence
Strategy, Tools and Techniques for Competitive Advantage. |  |
This book helps you identify the key factors for implementing a successful competitor intelligence strategy. | | | |  | |
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Online Consultation
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| Top Tips for CI
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Intelligence Failure & How to avoid it
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March, 2009 |
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Intelligence Failure – And How to avoid it
An old sage once said that “We learn from history that we do not learn from history”. And those who do not learn are condemned to repeating past mistakes. Which is why competent CI managers keep half an eye on the causes of potential CI failure. For good old human nature keeps on making the same mistakes and you could find yourself right in the middle of a big mistake which is made time and time again. So here’s a short list of some of the things to avoid when doing CI based on EMP Intelligence Service’s long experience.
Avoid Intelligence Failure No 1: Ask the right question at the beginning
Right at the beginning ask yourself: Why am I doing this piece of work? What is the potential benefit to the business? “We want to know more about…” is not good enough. You must identify what is the business benefit the CI is supposed to lead to. We all need to recognise the earth shattering fact that good CI is not about intelligence but about business. Think of yourself before you go any further as presenting the results of the research work. What does the first slide of your PowerPoint presentation say' It should be expressed as a question such as “How to increase sales in Region X – Opportunities & Threats of Key Competitors”. Not just “Activities of Competitors in Region X”. The first slide should answer the “So what” question. The ‘Why are you doing it?’ question. Or as Andrew Pollard , Director of EMP Intelligence, calls it “Where’s the business benefits?”.
Avoiding Intelligence Failure No 2: Take advantage of other competitive intelligence being carried out by colleagues.
Lots of businesses collect customer intelligence without ever asking customers about competitors. This is a great loss. Add questions to the questionnaire your colleagues are using. Good CI is not just about competitor intelligence. It is a blend of different types of competitive intelligence: customer, past customer, supplier, market and macro economic & social forces, such as demographic trends.
Avoiding Intelligence Failure No 3: Customer Contact Upfront
Check that your intelligence customers have OK’d the basic output template. In many circumstances this means the structure and headings of the PowerPoint presentation. Check with your customer that what you think you are doing and how you intend to present it, is what he or she wants you to do. Translate those (sometimes) vague words of instruction from a senior manager into a template of PowerPoint slides. Go back to the manager. “I want to make sure you get exactly what you want and how you want it”. Done the right way I’ve never found a senior manager won’t give you 10 minutes. But make sure you’ve got something clear to show the manager.
Avoiding Intelligence Failure No 5: Test the clarity & quality of your thinking
Last but not least the BIG ONE. Nothing destroys CI presentations faster than sloppy thinking and verbose use of language. Say it right. Say it short. Say it in the right order. And make sure there’s a thread throughout the presentation that is logical and builds to something important and worth listening to. Test your rough presentations before you collect intelligence. Find a friend who will tell you the truth that perhaps your English (I mean the clarity and appropriateness of the words you are using) is not good enough. Listen for the “What d’you mean by?” questions. They mean you haven’t been clear. Nothing gets shot down faster in a presentation to senior managers than poor unclear use of English. It implies you can’t think straight about the project you have been given. And that undermines your credibility. Why should they you seriously regarding any options for action you suggest. These days everyone in CI must be able to write clear unwordy headings to slides and clear short bullet points. If you do not have these skills you will suffer from Intelligence Failure, says Andrew Pollard. But it is a potential failure everyone can avoid.
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