Knowledge management 5 & 6 (learning organization & competitive intel)

Part 5.
A Learning
Organization?
david.vallat@univ-lyon1.fr

From O.L. to the L.O.
Peter SENGE and the concept of the ‘learning
organization’ in The Fifth Discipline (1990)
An ‘idealistic pragmatist’:
He wants to transform the workplace, bringing human
values in it.
He wants to decentralize the role of leadership in
organizations (to enhance the capacity of all people to
work productively toward common goals)

Society for Organizational Learning
(SoL)http://www.solonline.org
System thinking:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLFCrv7-XlI

Toward the LO (1)
What is a LO?
« …organizations where people continually expand their
capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new
and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where
collective aspiration is set free, and where people are
continually learning to see the whole together. » (P. Senge,
The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning
organization, London: Random House. 424 + viii pages,
1990, p.3).

Learning organizations are possible because we are all
learners:http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_t
each_themselves.html
J. Medina, Brain Rules: http://brainrules.net


Toward the LO (2)
Benefits of a LO:
- Maintaining levels of innovation and remaining competitive
- Being better placed to respond to external pressures
- Having the knowledge to better link resources to customer
needs
- Improving quality of outputs at all levels
- Improving Corporate image by becoming more people
oriented
- Increasing the pace of change within the organization


Toward the LO (3)
A fundamental shif of mind in needed…
« When you ask people about what it is like being part of a
great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of
the experience. People talk about being part of something
larger than themselves, of being connected, of being
generative. It become quite clear that, for many, their
experiences as part of truly great teams stand out as
singular periods of life lived to the fullest. Some spend the
rest of their lives looking for ways to recapture that spirit»
(P. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the
learning organization, Doubleday, New York, 1990, p.13).

From Survival learning to Generative learning =>
« learning that enhances our capacity to create » (Senge
1990:14)

Five Disciplines
A shift of mind from seeing parts to seeing wholes


The Fifth Discipline
Systems thinking – the cornerstone of the learning
organization
interview with P. Senge:
http://www.mutualresponsibilit
y.org/science/what-is-systemsthinking-peter-senge-explainssystems-thinking-approachand-principles


An famous example of system thinking:
M. Porter’s 5 forces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYF2_
FBCvXw

These are not
systems…
Systems are complexe ≠ complicated
This is complicated:
Dominos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDy2xWpZWVc
Chain Reaction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w


Systems thinking (1)
What Is Systems Thinking?
« Whenever I’m trying to help people understand what
this word ‘system’ means, I usually start by asking: ‘Are
you a part of a family?’ Everybody is a part of a family.
‘Have you ever seen in a family, people producing
consequences in the family, how people act, how
people feel, that aren’t what anybody intends?’ Yes.
‘How does that happen?’ Well… then people tell their
stories and think about it. But that then grounds
people in not the jargon of ‘system’ or ‘systems
thinking’ but the reality – that we live in webs of
interdependence.”
http://www.mutualresponsibility.org/science/what-is-systems-thinking-peter-senge-explainssystems-thinking-approach-and-principles

3 Characteristics Of A Systems Thinking Approach
” A very deep and persistent commitment to ‘real learning.’
I have to be prepared to be wrong. If it was pretty obvious
what we ought to be doing, then we’d be already doing it.
So I’m part of the problem, my own way of seeing things,
my own sense of where there’s leverage, is probably part of
the problem. This is the domain we’ve always called ‘mental
models.’ If I’m not prepared to challenge my own mental
models, then the likelihood of finding non-obvious areas of
leverage are very low.
The need to triangulate. You need to get different people,
from different points of view, who are seeing different
parts of the system to come together and collectively start
to see something that individually none of them see.”


A Fundamental Principle Of Systems Thinking: Smart Individuals
Are No Longer Needed, Collective Intelligence Is
« We all have probably spent too much time thinking about
‘smart individuals.’ That’s one of the problems with schools.
They are very individualistic, very much about ‘the smart kids
and the dumb kids.’ That’s not the kind of smartness we need.
The smartness we need is collective. We need cities that work
differently. We need industrial sectors that work differently.
We need value change and supply change that are managed
from the beginning until the end to purely produce social,
ecological and economic well-being. That is the concept of
intelligence we need, and it will never be achieved by a handful
of smart individuals.
It’s not about ‘the smartest guys in the room.’ It’s about what
we can do collectively. So the intelligence that matters is
collective intelligence, and that’s the concept of ‘smart’ that I
think will really tell the tale. »

In management, rather simplistic frameworks are applied
to what are complex systems
Focus on the parts rather than seeing the whole
Fail to see organization as a dynamic process
Learning from experience?
Delays and the decline in visibility

short-term improvements often involve very significant
long-term costs.
Emergence: From the mutual interaction of the parts of a
system there arise characteristics which can not be found
as characteristic of any of the individual parts.
Systems maps: diagrams that show the key elements of
systems and how they connect

Systems maps…


Figure 2: Subtract Relationship

How does it work? (1)

The alternative is that thing 1 can subtract from thing 2, as
indicated by the "-" sign in Figure 2, thus decreasing thing 2.
Introduction to Systems Thinking

All thisTo practice system thinking: to connect with so let's
thingness may a bit difficult http://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htm
consider a couple specific examples.
Figure 4: Product Sales and Inventory

Figure 3: Sales Increases Revenue
Figure 4 indicates that product sales subtracts from finished
goods inventory. If product sales increase it will subtract even
07/ 03/ 14 04:27
more from finished goods inventory. On the other hand, if
Figure 3 indicates that sales adds to revenue. Evenitif sales subtract from finished goods
product sales decrease will still
decrease it will still add to revenue, just not quite asso much. as
inventory, just not quite rapidly

o System s Thinking

htm

07/ 03/ 14 04

before. On the other hand, if sales increases it will add even more
Figure 4: Product Sales and Inventory
Within systems diagrams there are often items that are held
readily to revenue.

constant within the context of what is being considered. These
items will have neither a "+" nor a "-" attached to them.
Figure 4 indicates that product sales subtracts from finished
The Way of
goods inventory. If product sales increase it will subtract even
Systems
more from finished goods inventory. On the other hand, if
Page 1 sur 4
product sales decrease it will still subtract from finished goods
inventory, just not quite soFigure 5: Constant Contribution
much.

Introduction to
Systems Thinking

Within

systems diagrams there are often items that are held
Figure 5 indicates what is being interact with productivity in
constant within the context ofthat resources considered. These

and adds
omplete to form loops. There are only two types of loops, to the interest. Note that interest rate is considere
a constant in this example. Interest then adds to the princip
einforcing and balancing.

This reinforcing action happens every so many months depe
on the period over which the institution computes the intere
Reinforcing Loop
snowball rolling down hill is your signal that the loop is a
reinforcing loop. The small graph to the right of principle
A reinforcing loop is one in which the interactions are such that the growth of principal is exponential.
indicates that


ach action adds to the other. Any situation where action produces
result which practice system thinking:action is Typical examples of reinforcing loops are population growt
representative
To promotes more of the same http://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htm
f a reinforcing loop.
decline, uncontrolled nuclear reactions, snow balls rolling d

hill of course, runs on banks, wall street market crashes, etc

Balancing Loop

Figure 6: Reinforcing Loop

A balancing loop is one in which action attempts to bring tw
things to agreement. Any situation where one attempts to so
problem or achieve a goal or objective is representative of a
balancing loop.

Page 2 sur 4

Figure 7: Balancing Loop

Figure 6


re you let yourself become overwhelmed by the complexity of this
ram you had best fasten your seat belt as we're only about half way there.

To practice system thinking: http://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htm
rtime has this real nasty habit of costing more than regular time so there
ome implications of increasing Overtime.

Project System s

Figure 7

ncrease in Overtime brings with it an increase in Overtime Cost. As
rtime Cost increases there is an increased emphasis on cost which shows
s Cost Pressure. The Cost Pressure is interpreted by the management of
ect in such a way that it shows up as additional Schedule Pressure. This
eased Schedule Pressure then leads to even more Overtime. Here we
but one more viscous reinforcing loop in which actions influence the
all effect to be just the opposite of what is desired.

Figure 8

rtime and Overtime Cost have a couple more influences.
Prolonged Overtime has a tendency to lead to Burnout which means H

tems

07/ 03/ 14 04:50
To practice system thinking: http://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htm

Figure 12

Schedule Pressure has a couple additional influences that should be

When using system
thinking?
The following are some of the signs that indicate a systems
thinking approach is most likely warranted.
There are multiple perspectives on just what the situation is,
and how to deal with it
A previously applied fix has created problems elsewhere
After a fix is applied the problem returns in time
The same fix is used repeatedly
Growth slows over time
Partners for growth become adversaries
Limitations experienced are believed to result from insufficient
capacity
There is more than one limit to growth
Limited resources are shared by others
Growth leads to decline elsewhere

The four other disciplines
The core disciplines are :
System thinking
Personal mastery
Mental models
Building shared vision
Team learning


Personal mastery
« Organizations learn only through individuals who learn.
Individual learning does not guarantee organizational learning.
But without it no organizational learning occurs » (Senge 1990:
139).

« People with a high level of personal mastery live in a continual
learning mode. They never ‘arrive’. Sometimes, language, such
as the term ‘personal mastery’ creates a misleading sense of
definiteness, of black and white. But personal mastery is not
something you possess. It is a process. It is a lifelong discipline.
People with a high level of personal mastery are acutely aware
of their ignorance, their incompetence, their growth areas. And
they are deeply self-confident. Paradoxical? Only for those who
do not see the ‘journey is the reward » (Senge 1990: 142).


Mental models
These are « deeply ingrained assumptions,
generalizations, or even pictures and images that
influence how we understand the world and how we take
action » (Senge 1990: 8).

« The discipline of mental models starts with turning the
mirror inward; learning to unearth our internal pictures of
the world, to bring them to the surface and hold them
rigorously to scrutiny. It also includes the ability to carry
on ‘learningful’ conversations that balance inquiry and
advocacy, where people expose their own thinking
effectively and make that thinking open to the influence
of others » (Senge 1990: 9).


Building shared vision
« When there is a genuine vision (as opposed to the all-tofamiliar ‘vision statement’), people excel and learn, not
because they are told to, but because they want to. But
many leaders have personal visions that never get
translated into shared visions that galvanize an
organization… What has been lacking is a discipline for
translating vision into shared vision – not a ‘cookbook’ but
a set of principles and guiding practices. The practice of
shared vision involves the skills of unearthing shared
‘pictures of the future’ that foster genuine commitment
and enrolment rather than compliance. In mastering this
discipline, leaders learn the counter-productiveness of
trying to dictate a vision, no matter how heartfelt »
(Senge 1990: 9).


Team learning
Such learning is viewed as « the process of aligning and
developing the capacities of a team to create the results
its members truly desire » (Senge 1990: 236).
« The discipline of team learning starts with ‘dialogue’, the
capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions
and enter into a genuine ‘thinking together’. To the
Greeks dia-logos meant a free-flowing if meaning through
a group, allowing the group to discover insights not
attainable individually…. [It] also involves learning how to
recognize the patterns of interaction in teams that
undermine learning » (Senge 1990: 10).


A little experiment (1)
The MIT Beer
Gamehttp://supplychain.mit.edu/games/beergame/play

What it shows? => the bullwhip effect


A little experiment (2)
The Resistance
boardgamehttp://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/41114/t
he-resistance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_QRczGzXqw

What it shows?


Leading the learning
organization (1)
A new view of leadership…
Traditional leaders: set the direction, make key
decisions and energize the troops
The traditional view of leadership, « is based on
assumptions of people’s powerlessness, their lack of
personal vision and inability to master the forces of
change, deficits which can be remedied only by a few
great leaders » (Senge 1990: 340).


Leading the learning
organization (2)
In a learning organization, leaders are designers, stewards and
teachers.
Leader as designer: « the leaders’ task is designing the learning
processes whereby people throughout the organization can deal
productively with the critical issues they face, and develop their
mastery in the learning disciplines » (Senge 1990: 345).
Leader as steward: « the leader develops a unique relationship to
his or her own personal vision. He or she becomes a steward of
the vision » (Senge 1990: 346). (=> Nonaka)
Leader as teacher: « much of the leverage leaders can actually
exert lies in helping people achieve more accurate, more
insightful and more empowering views of reality » (Senge 1990:
353).

Issues
Companies’ priorities are overwhelmingly financial
BUT: « Productivity and competitiveness are, by and large, a
function of knowledge generation and information
processing: firms and territories are organized in networks of
production, management and distribution; the core
economic activities are global – that is they have the capacity
to work as a unit in real time, or chosen time, on a planetary
scale » - Castells, M. (2001), « Information technology and
global capitalism » in W. Hutton and A. Giddens (eds.) On the
Edge. Living with global capitalism, London: Vintage, p. 52.

Problem of competencies: the approach entails
significant effort on the part of the practitioner


To conclude
Difference, reciprocity and dialogue

More convivial and creative
workplaces

To go further
To practice system thinking: http://www.systemsthinking.org/intst/int.htm
A rare and yet an indepth interview with author
Peter
Sengehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1G0Fs__u4
g


Contents


Part 6.
Competitive Intelligence

A definition of C.I.
« Competitive intelligence is the action of defining,
gathering, analyzing, and distributing intelligence
about products, customers, competitors, and any
aspect of the environment needed to support
executives and managers making strategic decisions
for an
organization »http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitiv
e_intelligence


C.I. vs Business
Intelligence?
« Though the term business intelligence is sometimes
a synonym for competitive intelligence (because they
both support decision making), BI uses technologies,
processes, and applications to analyze mostly
internal, structured data and business processes
while competitive intelligence gathers, analyzes and
disseminates information with a topical focus on
company competitors. If understood broadly,
business intelligence can include the subset of
competitive intelligence » (Wikipedia – Business
Intelligence)


Starting point of C.I. (1)
“Competitiveness is based on knowledge. The way companies
acquire knowledge from their markets and apply it will
determine their ability to survive into the 21st century. The
competitive learning process is more essential to survival and
growth than any other management process.” - Gilad, Benjamin
(1998), Business Blindspot,. UK: Infonortics. (First edition, Il:
Irwin-Probus, 1994).
The basic starting point for competitive intelligence is to define
the problem or issue.
Competitive intelligence should be a value-added service to
managers who are facing critical strategic decisions.
What are the Key Intelligence Topics?


Starting point of C.I. (2)
What are the Key Intelligence Topics (KIT)?
What impact will bitechnology / internet have on our high volume
product line?
How is our competitor able to retain major government contracts year
after year
When these contracts come open for bid?
What is the timeline for when our competitor will launch their new US
service?
Should we expand our Saigon facility or build a new facility in Hanoi?
Who are the key customers of our competitor?
How does this new regulation impact our business?
How well does this supplier perform with other companies?

Then we have the baseline for our research and analysis


Recommendations (1)
Finally, here are a few points identified by Fuld and
Company, a leading consulting firm in the field of
competitive intelligence:
http://www.fuld.com/resource-center
State the facts with little or no dramatization.
Support your statements with sources, including
transcripts from critical interviews.
Avoid flashpoint type words and phrases, such as “we
will dominate the market” or “lock-out all our
competitor’s.” This could be used in an anti-trust
lawsuit.


Recommendations (2)
“Strategic intelligence is analytical. It is about what is
possible, not what has been. A good strategic
intelligence report takes a point of view. It argues,
defends, convinces. Doing so effectively requires that
data and facts be marshaled in support of analytical
conclusions. These conclusions come from one place
and one place only – your gray matter. If you are
hesitant to commit to writing your own commentary,
explanation and predictions, seek work elsewhere.”
(« Strategic Intelligence: An Oxymoron » by Ken
Sawka, Competitive Intelligence Magazine, Volume 7,
No. 1 ).


Don’t forget weak
signals


Weak signals - Definition
Weak Signals are past or current developments/issues
with ambiguous interpretations of their origin,
meaning and/or implications. They are unclear
observables warning us about the probability of
future events.


Some weak signals…
A changing value proposition
New unmet consumer or customer needs
The entry of new competitors and new suppliers
The advent of new breakthrough technologies
Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics
Unfulfilled business and other potential opportunities
Broad disruptive events
Premonitions, anxieties, and/or intuitions
http://www.forbes.com/sites/martinzwilling/2013/12/14/how-good-is-your-business-at-reading-weak-signals/

More weak signals…
1. Current Strengths & Weaknesses can be weak signal
2. Current Drivers, Trends & Challenges can be weak signals
3. Current Strategies & Policies can be weak signals
4. Emerging Issues can be weak signals
5. Future Drivers, Scenarios, Threats & Opportunities can be
weak signals
6. Shared Visions Megatrends & Grand Challenges can be
weak signals
7. Hidden Issues (Secrets & Unknowns) can be weak
signals
8. Past Wild Cards can be weak signals too!
http://wiwe.iknowfutures.eu/what-is-a-weak-signal/

Bad ideas for sorting
out weak signals
Remember the God complex?
Groupthinking
“THE ‘GROUPTHINK’ DYNAMIC LED THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY . . . TO BOTH INTERPRET AMBIGUOUS EVIDENCE
AS CONCLUSIVELY INDICATIVE OF A WMD (WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION) PROGRAM AS WELL AS IGNORE OR MINIMIZE
EVIDENCE THAT IRAQ DID NOT HAVE ACTIVE AND EXPANDING
WEAPONS OF MASS DE STRUCTION PROGRAM.” (Report on the
U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq Conclusions ) http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2004_rpt/ssci_concl.pdf

Relying (only) on Tools (SWOT Analysis, etc.)

Denial (=> Kodak)

What to do then?
People + Tools
SWOT Analysis => to understand your own
competitive advantages in relation to the
marketplace.
Porter’s Five Forces Model => industry analysis
Porter’s Four Corners Analysis => to understand the
position of a competitor.
System thinking!

C.I. TOOLS


SWOT
A method used to evaluate the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in a
project or in a business venture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis

SWOT Online: http://i-swot.com


PESTEL Analysis
Identifying "Big Picture" Opportunities and Threats
Objectives

PESTEL & SWOT


PEST Analysis Example


http://www.cosxo.com/analysis/

Porter’s 5 forces


Porter’s 5 forces (2)
Threat of New Entrants: an industry with low barriers
of entry will have intense competition as opposed to
an industry with major barriers of entry.
Suppliers tend to have strong influence within an
industry when they are few/acting together.
Power of Buyers: customers often dictate pricing and
they demand certain levels of quality.
Substitute Products: new or emerging substitutes for
a product will change competitive forces
Rivalry: this competitive rivalry may decline when
times are good and everyone can grow.

Porter's four corners
model
« Porter’s four corners model is a predictive tool designed
by Michael Porter that helps in determining a competitor’s
course of action. Unlike other predictive models which
predominantly rely on a firm’s current strategy and
capabilities to determine future strategy, Porter’s model
additionally calls for an understanding of what motivates
the competitor. This added dimension of understanding a
competitor's internal culture, value system, mindset, and
assumptions helps in determining a much more accurate
and realistic reading of a competitor’s possible reactions in
a given situation »
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter's_four_corners_model


http://www.cosxo.com/analysis/

Porter's four corners model


Blindspots analysis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindspots_analysis
It is a method aimed at uncovering obsolete assumptions in
a decision maker’s mental scheme of the environment.
Michael Porter used the term "blind spots" to refer to
conventional wisdom which no longer holds true, but
which still guides business strategy.
Step One: Conducting a Porter’s Industry Structure – aka 5
force analysis.
Step Two: Collecting competitive intelligence on the target
company’s top executives assumptions regarding the same
industry structure as in Step One.
Step Three: Compare the results of Step Two with the analysis
in Step One. Any contradiction with the analysis in Step One
is a potential blindspot.

War gaming (1)


War gaming (2)
« War Games can be useful for identifying a company’s
competitive vulnerabilities, evaluating assumptions about
competitors’ strategies, and exploring implications of
strategy changes in a “no risk” environment. A business
war game typically has the following characteristics: offsite venue; senior managers representing a crossfunctional mix of participants; two to three days’
duration; teams of four or more people, with each team
representing either the sponsoring company or one of its
competitors; preparation time in which each team
receives information describing the company they are
representing and its strengths and weaknesses. War
games usually comprise several “moves” or decision
rounds. A team of facilitators serves as the Board of
Directors to ensure strategic plans are acceptable and
legal, and conduct a review with participants to examine
the merit of each strategy ». http://www.bengilad.com

War gaming (3)
Human-based simulations. These are intelligence-driven, analytically
and behaviorally modeled role-playing exercises
http://www.bengilad.com
Simple - over-sophisticated, long and large scale games cost a lot more
but do not produce better results.
Transparent - if you don't understand the exotic algorithm, how likely
are you to trust the strategy?
Empowering - computer games don't understand internal politics, but
you have to.
Fun - teams that learn how to role-play competitors with real market
intelligence and character-building techniques maintain enthusiastic
external focus for years.
Inexpensive - there is no good reason for games to cost hundred of
thousands or even millions of dollars. If you know a good reason, write
us.
Accessible - to truly improve the bottom line, managers at all levels of
the organization should be able to use this amazing tool, not just few
senior execs at the top.
Realistic - intelligence-based, human games are magnitudes more
realistic than even the most sophisticated mathematical modeling.

War gaming (4)
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/playing_war_game
s_to_win
« As the global downturn kicked in, a high-tech company’s senior
executives decided to run a war game to prepare themselves for
the uncertainties of the post-crisis landscape. After two days of
simulations—when teams representing competitors and
stakeholders role-played against a “company” team—the
executives understood that a strong competitor on the sidelines
was likely to enter the market aggressively. The executives also
realized that the low end of the product range would face more
price pressure than they had been anticipating. Moreover, while
there would probably be industry mergers and acquisitions, as
the company had expected, the deals were unlikely to kick off a
wave of M&A or to have a material impact on the company’s
share of any market. »

War gaming (5)
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/innovation/battletest_your_innovation_strategy
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/playing_
war_games_to_win
Ben Gilad’s book: http://www.amazon.com/BusinessWar-Games-Outmaneuver-Competition

http://www.bengilad.com


Business Agility
An imperative for survival in a VUCA world.
Business agility is the ability of a business to adapt
rapidly and cost efficiently in response to changes in
the business environment. => LO
History: http://agilemanifesto.org


Business Agility
All about people…
Theory X and Y:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theor
y_X_and_Theory_Y
Freedom Inc.
http://www.amazon.com/Freedom
-Inc-Employees-BusinessProductivity/dp/0307409384
SEMCO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mav
erick_(book)
GORE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._L.
_Gore_and_Associates
IDEO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDE
O

What is Competitive
Intelligence?
COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
IS

COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
IS
NOT

1) Competitive Intelligence is Information that
has been analyzed to the point where you can
make a decision.

Competitive Intelligence is not spying. Spying
implies illegal or unethical activities. While
spying does take place, it is a rare activity. Think
about it; corporations do not want to find
themselves in court, nor do they want to upset
shareholders. For the most part, you will find
spies in espionage novels, not in the executive
suite.

2) Competitive Intelligence is a tool to alert
management to early warning of both threats
and opportunities.

Competitive Intelligence is not a crystal ball.
There is no such thing as a true forecasting tool.
Intelligence does give corporations good
approximations of reality, near- and long-term.
It does not predict the future.


http://www.fuld.com/company/what-is-competitive-intelligence/

What is CI? (2)
C.I.
IS...

C.I.
IS NOT…

3) Competitive Intelligence is a means to
deliver reasonable assessments. Competitive
intelligence offers approximations and best
views of the market and the competition.

Competitive Intelligence is not database
search. Databases offer just that — data.

4) Competitive Intelligence comes in many
flavors. Competitive intelligence can mean
many things to many people.

Competitive Intelligence is not the Internet or
rumor chasing. The Net is primarily a
communications vehicle, not a deliverer of
intelligence.

5) Competitive Intelligence is a way for
companies to improve their bottom line.

Competitive Intelligence is not paper. Paper is
the death of good intelligence. Think face-toface discussion or a quick phone call if you can,
rather than paper delivery.



What is CI? (3)
C.I.
IS...

C.I.
IS NOT…

6) Competitive Intelligence is a way of life, a
process.

Competitive Intelligence is not a job for one,
smart person.

7) Competitive Intelligence is part of all best-inclass companies.

Competitive Intelligence is not an invention of
the 20th century.

Competitive Intelligence is not software.
8) Competitive Intelligence is directed from
the executive suite.

9) Competitive Intelligence is seeing outside
yourself.

Competitive Intelligence is not a news story.

10) Competitive Intelligence is both short- and
long-term.

Competitive Intelligence is not a spreadsheet.



Knowledge management 5 & 6 (learning organization & competitive intel)

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