[For my non-US readers: In the 1992 US presidential campaign, Governor Bill Clinton’s staff coined the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid” to remind themselves of what was most important to voters. It helped them to focus all of their efforts on the most essential determinant of their success.]

As a mentor once told me, all problems are people problems.

I was reading my local newspaper this morning. In the sports section, there was an article extolling the positive impact that the new pitching coach had had on the professional baseball team in my area. All of the pitchers were suddenly pitching better. More strikes, longer outings and more wins seem to be rule instead of the rare exception that we had enjoyed in past years. What had made the difference, the new pitching coach was asked. Was he emphasizing new techniques or trickier pitches? Maybe he was having all of the pitchers exercise more or differently than before? Perhaps it was not only the pitchers but the also the catchers (who usually decide what kind of pitch – fastball, curve, change up – that the pitcher throws) that had improved?

Yes, it was all of that he reported to the newspaper. Pitching is complicated but he was nevertheless finding ways to be more effective with the same group that had performed poorly the year before. But, and this was important, something more significant than technical improvements was going on.

Undergirding all of his approaches was the simple truth given to him many years ago by a veteran coach. That coach told him that “pitching was a people business.”

Everything revolved around working more effectively with and through people. The new coach had begun emphasizing relationships, communication, trust and all those other things that help people work together better for a common cause. Obvious, you might think, but it is a simple understanding often ignored by other coaches that are convinced that superior mechanics alone win games.

What about business strategy and competitive intelligence?

My business motto is simple.

“Helping Smart People to Think Clearly About Their Business and Competitive Strategy”

I chose that phrase because it captures what fascinates me about people and challenges that they face. There are a lot of smart people in the business. Experts at technology, manufacturing processes, financial models and so much more inhabit the corporate world. Yet, these smart people sometimes get “stuck” when they work outside their expertise.

In the high technology industries that I am most used to it is a merit badge of sorts to be considered “smart.”  Knowing facts, solving problems that others struggle with, completing tasks faster are things that separate smart people from the crowd. Over time this helps increase the confidence that the same smart people feel about their capabilities.

With so many smart people, we might expect strategies that are well considered and implemented. Many people that I speak with tell me that this is not the case for their companies.

So why aren’t business and competitive strategies better?

There are two reasons that I have observed in nearly thirty years of work.

I have traveled around the world for business and pleasure. From the Old City in Jerusalem to the rural villages of Kenya or the crowded streets of Bangalore, I can always find certain things that mean just about the same thing that they mean in Texas. For instance, no matter where I have traveled, I can always get a Coca-Cola. The markings, bottle shape and product are essentially the same everywhere. You and I can rely on those facts which make it comfortable for us to choose Coke (or maybe you are a Pepsi person?).

Coke is a valuable brand. It got that way because many years ago there was a vision for the product, an explicit way to market the vision and scrupulous enforcement of the brand that emerged. Brands are powerful shorthand ways that we assign value to or judge the worth of something. They help us cut through the noisy clutter of life to make simpler decisions. If we are associated with a “good” brand, then we find our pathways smooth and clear. Conversely, few things are harder to overcome than a “bad” brand (if they were still being made, would you consider a Yugo?).

Of course each of us establishes a personal brand. Personal branding is a bit of a rage in corporate life today. Establishing a brand, the thinking goes, ensures that your unique value is recognized. (Translation: you get to keep your job.)

It is also important when starting a new Competitive Intelligence program. The CI brand that you develop will empower you to accomplish great things. In previous entries in this series, we have already talked about Setting Some Standards and hinted at branding elements at the Tease The Vision step. Now it is time to make the critical branding elements explicit. So, here they are.

Eight years ago I was diagnosed with a life threatening condition that required surgery. I understood that the surgery would be quite difficult and so I searched high and low for the right surgeon. The doctor that I found was recommended to me. He was personable and seemed competent. I knew that he had been successful in many surgeries and I expected (hoped) that he would do what was necessary for me.

When I awoke from the surgery, my doctor was standing over me. Through the fog of anesthesia, he told me that the surgery was not a success. He said that they had opened me up and looked me over before simply closing the incision that they had made. After my wife joined me, he went on to tell me that the surgery was impossible to complete without killing me. His kind suggestion was that we should go on whatever dream vacation that we had planned (with the implication that no solution was possible). My time was short.

Flashing forward 8 years …

Sometimes smart people have competitive intelligence questions that are also quite difficult. It could be that they have tried to get answers themselves or have asked others in their work group to get answers. In the end, the answer eludes them all and they conclude that it is impossible to the get the answer. Thus, oddly comforted, they go about business imagining that everyone encounters and responds to such impossibilities the same way.

The fact is that some people are undaunted by the impossible (or what seems impossible to others).

In competitive intelligence there is an article of faith that almost every question has an answer that can be discovered ethically, albeit with some uncertainty. That is, evidence can be assembled, primary sources queried, data correlated and so on to produce credible and actionable answers. Smart people sometimes doubt that this can be done because they have previously tried for the same answers or relied on someone that tried and failed.

Here are some things to remember (as a competitive intelligence professional).

1. Read the rest of this entry