This article was originally published in the Intelligence Insights May 2010 newsletter of the Special Libraries Association – Competitive Intelligence Division.

I remember standing next to my fellow student as we both stared at the teacher in the front of the classroom. Fourth grade rarely got as intense as when we were competing to give the right answer to the teacher’s flash card question. The teacher would wait until we ready and then quickly display the card with a math problem. What was the answer to “8 times 7?” We rushed to raise our hands. It was not a small matter to master multiplication and we were proud when we did (especially when we won the competition).

In math (as in most subjects), we learn the basics first. Complex problems remain a mystery until a solid foundation of principles and techniques is established. We first learn to add, subtract, multiple and divide. Later, we learn about fractions, percentages, geometric shapes and trigonometry. Each topic builds on established foundations and represents significant learning.

About the time that we were satisfied with what we knew, our math teachers introduced a new challenge – word problems.

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ANNOUCING NEW WEBSITE AND OPPORTUNITIES!!

We have several recurring issues in the competitive intelligence community.

One common problem is that it is difficult to discuss factual competitive intelligence projects due to the reluctance of companies to share detailed information. Of course, CI projects often represent sensitive work that reflects a company’s priorities and/or concerns. There are good (legal and ethical) reasons not to share many kinds of information.

However, as a result, the competitive intelligence community has a paucity of rich, relevant stories that stimulate effective problem-solving discussions. Furthermore, side-by-side comparisons of problem solving approaches are often missing in competitive intelligence community discussion. Without those comparisons, the typical solution discussion reflects one approach from one person.

We can do better.

Why not have a place where practitioners can share realistic (but not confidential) competitive intelligence cases? Starting from those richly detailed cases, we could have experts address the issues of the case and suggest problem-solving approaches. The broader community could also respond to both the case study and the experts’ comments.

That is why the Competitive Intelligence Case Studies website was created.

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