With three conferences planned for this year (CFI, Sales and Marketing, and Europe), SCIP continues to honor its commitment to provide quality competitive intelligence programs. SCIP is also delivering new value-added services such as Toni Wilson's Mentoring program.
The lead story of this issue exemplifies the goal of SCIP.online: to provide interesting, focused, and sometimes provocative articles on topics of immediate interest to CI professionals. I invite all readers to make their contribution to both this magazine and their profession.
Bonnie Hohhof, Editor, bhohhof@scip.org
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The seven deadly sins of information professionals.
by Chris Buckingham
The economy is suffering a hangover from the party of the 90s so the “nice to have” staff positions are being sacrificed to save the “must have” operational jobs. Typically, this is bad news for the information professional. Are there ways to keep your head off the chopping block? As a senior manager Chris Buckingham has hired, managed, and laid off information professionals and can speak with some authority on what they did right or wrong – not from an academic or scientific standpoint, but from a practical “how to save your job” point of view. Here are some deadly sins to avoid as well as some ideas on how to create value and bring attention to it.
[FULL STORY]
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CI in the internet era.
by Gaurav Rewari
While many CI models today are centered on analysis and interpretation of data that can be weeks, sometimes months old, Internet-based tools are making it possible for CI professionals to operate in near-real time. Such tools leverage the growing information available on the Web to provide corporations with actionable market intelligence about their business environment and competitors. Gaurav Rewari reviews how current software helps CI practitioners discover relevant information.
[FULL STORY]
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CFI covers more than financials.
The Chicago CFI conference covers a wide variety of CI ground:
- Mergers, acquisitions, and alliances in the New Economy.
- The importance of non-financial information in the due diligence process.
- Policy Futures’ workshop.
- The REAL business of doing Business Intelligence.
- Counting chickens: Tyson Foods' acquisition of IBP.
- Survive then thrive: opportunities to focus on profitable growth.
- 100 ways to bury your competitors: linking intelligence and strategy.
- Smart business environmental analysis.
- Listen to what they tell you: competitor profiling from advertising analysis.
[FULL STORY]
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SCIP's mentoring program.
by Toni Wilson
SCIP’s mentoring program officially started at the Cincinnati conference with 20 mentor/mentee pairings. This collaborative learning process provides value to the individuals on both side of the equation. Toni Wilson reviews the advantages of program participation and invites more mentors to take advantage of this service.
[FULL STORY]
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The forgotten source.
by Dennis Emerson
CI information exists beyond the secondary information sources. Company employees can identify and contribute unique information on a competitor’s capabilities and intent when they are properly involved in the CI process. Dennis Emerson provides a real-life example of their value.
[FULL STORY]
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Finding business information on US corporations.
by Charles Klein
If you are one of the many non-American managers, consultants, or government officials seeking competitive intelligence on US companies, there are many tools available to aid in your efforts. While more secondary information sources are becoming available, much of the critical information can only be found through interviews with industry insiders based in the US. Sound business decisions should be based on good business intelligence. Chuck Klein encourages non-American researchers to go beyond the Internet for competitive information.
[FULL STORY]
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CI authors: Bensoussan and Fleisher.
by Bonnie Hohhof
Analysis is one of the hardest steps in CI and is often performed poorly. Analysts use the tools they are comfortable with, rather than using the analytical tools that match the specific intelligence requirements of the project at hand. In their book Strategic and Competitive Analysis, Babetter Bensoussan and Craig Fleisher show how to use 24 different analytical methods. Here they talk about how they developed the book and identified its target audience.
[FULL STORY]
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Designing for the scan reader.
by Gerry McGovern
People have become incredibly selective in how they consume information. To be effective web readers, people have developed ‘scan reading’ behavior. Gerry McGovern provides several design guidelines for scan readers that are applicable to both corporate intranets and online reports.
[FULL STORY]
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Intellectual property: Miami Chapter.
by Jacques Island
Intellectual property lawyers and competitive intelligence professionals mingled at this Miami Chapter meeting on protecting intellectual property. Jacques Island provides an overview of the intellectual property issues discussed there.
[FULL STORY]
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Using profit optimization tools to guide CI.
by Gail Thomas
The Puget Sound SCIP chapter continues to have excellent programs. Here Gail Thomas reviews the May meeting, including a description of the featured linear equation programming software and how CI professionals can use it to create a product-market scenario.
[FULL STORY]
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FYI: new and noteworthy.
by Bonnie Hohhof
- When the market tanks, smart managers take a closer look.
- SCIP European Conference, October 16-18, Brussels.
- Member's activities.
- The status of CI after 9/11.
- SCIP chapter meetings.
[FULL STORY]
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