Strategically Thinking » CI Series: 8. Back to the Vision

Jun

CI Series: 8. Back to the Vision

Tom Hawes Competitive Intelligence 2009-06-19

I don’t know anyone that starts out their life with a personal vision statement like this one.

My plans are to be mediocre in all that I do. Perhaps my performance in my family, at school or at work will be good (perhaps not). No matter, it is okay if one day someone notices and remembers me.

If we heard someone say such things, we would feel pity for the limited hope that they feel and the small impacts that they aspire to make on those around them. We might suggest that if they started with something different, their life might result in far more significance. They might be inspired to achieve or be more than they are today. For isn’t our future often affected by what we hope to accomplish?

Well, the importance of a vision for a person is also true for competitive intelligence.

Remember where we are in forming a new competitive intelligence function in a business. We started by identifying an unfulfilled need in the organization (“Find the Pain”). Then, we took the initiative to address that need (“Get the Job”). The third step was to hint at the vision for competitive intelligence (“Tease the Vision”) without laying out the complete vision statement. Next, we put in place some fundamentals for the effort (“Frame the Foundation”, “Setting Some Standards”, “Introduce the Brand”). The last installment of the series described the practical step of identifying the needed tools (“Accumulate the Tools”).

Now we are back to the vision for our competitive intelligence function.

Similarly to a personal vision statement, the vision statement for the competitive intelligence function will describe both what we intend to be and what we hope to accomplish for the organization. The “being” part talks about the function and its role. The “accomplishment” part talks about the impact on the business.

The reason that we have waited until now to broach the subject of formalizing the vision statement is that doing so prematurely will result in an empty or ignored statement. If you have followed something like the steps that I have outlined, you have enough information about how to do the work, personal awareness of your work values (i.e., brand) and at least a little demonstration of your organizational value that helped a senior manager. Now you can begin to work out a future vision for the CI function.

What does a vision statement look like?

My preference is to have a succinct statement. Here are some examples.

Our company will have a best-in-class Competitive Intelligence system that makes a direct, positive, timely and measureable difference in our business and product strategies.

Our company will have a Competitive Intelligence system that is widely recognized as proving tangible, high value and well understood insights to those defining and implementing important business or product strategies.

The Competitive Intelligence function for our business will enable significant strategic advantages to be realized on an ongoing basis in support our business goals

There are three important things to remember when formulating the vision.

1. Most importantly, this should be done in conjunction with a senior manager sponsor. It is fine to draft a statement for their consideration, just be sure that they own the output. It is far better to have their ownership attached than for you to have the perfect wording. In fact, be sure that your drafts are not too polished. If appropriate, use the draft as the basis to interview the manager. Using the terminology and points made by the sponsor, and then revise the draft so that they can “sign” to signify their ownership.

2. Be ready to explain the implications of the vision. Any manager worth his or her salt will immediately want to know the cost and benefits of such a vision. The truth is that they are more likely to want to know the costs at this stage. (There may be lingering doubts about whether the value can be consistently delivered.) Since the next step in our The Human Side of Competitive Intelligence series deals with budget, I will defer the details to that post. Just assure them that the costs will not exceed the value over time and that you want the ROI for the CI effort to be the measure of your success.

3. Accept that creating a vision statement may seem a little academic. Your organization may embrace such statements as necessary and important. My experience suggests that more organizations will not value vision statements so highly. Ask to be humored and explain that the vision is part of your long term plan to deliver high value. Say that you are planning a step by step approach that you will shortly have ready that will be consistent with the vision.

Although the vision is very powerful for your organization, it will be most powerful for you. It is a way to keep in front of you the “dream” and “standard” that you have for the CI effort. Leaving out the dream and standard means that you will be more likely to lose focus and this will lessen your chances for success.

Set the vision and then get about planning to achieve it.

Next topic is “Secure the Budget”.

Here are the 15 steps that we are walking through. Which ones do you think are especially important?

The Human Side of Competitive Intelligence