Some people just have “It.” When there is a crowd, they still are able to be noticed. People want to hear what they have to say and their opinions seem to matter more. From the outside, it is not always clear just what they have done to earn such esteem. After all, much of what they are saying is no different than what you said or thought months again. Nevertheless, their presence and how it affects others is quite tangible.

Organizations can be the same way within a business. Often it is the outgoing, extraverted functions (think Sales) that dominate the culture. Other times, it is the engineering group and their collective innovation that everyone notices. Maybe there is an iconic leader that is dominating due to their vision or leadership. Distinctive presence matters because it helps establish and reinforce the importance or contributions of the group. People attribute value because of the presence projected by a person or group.

The competitive intelligence function must have a “presence” to be successful.

I suppose one could argue that everyone already has a presence of sorts. Yes, that is true. But few have the kind of presence that reflects distinct, unique value that compels instant respect from others.

Remember that the premise we are following is that you are establishing a new competitive intelligence function in your organization. If you have roughly followed the first 9 steps, you have implemented or decided many important things already. We started with the idea that you would be addressing a key senior management concern. And then, little by little, we have gone through the steps to establish a solid foundation and to begin delivering value to the larger organization. Further, we have covered how to start your branding, set your standards and deal with the practical (e.g., budget) aspects of getting started.

Now it is time to project your presence more broadly.

This can take many forms but all will have the following attributes in common. Remember these 4P’s of presence for competitive intelligence.

1. Persistence. The presence you project will consistently demonstrate and reinforce your brand (i.e., the prime directive being “value delivered to strategy leaders to improve performance”). This means that you will always be identifying with the larger issues facing the organization and helping those that are making strategy decisions. Proactively, you will track and interpret the competitive environment to provide insight. It is time to assume that this is wanted and needed by your senior management.
2. Personal. It is possible for there to be a CI group but that does not obscure the fact that people trust people. As we have stated many times, CI effectiveness is largely a function of relationship effectiveness. This means that while you will employ analytical techniques, modeling and advanced information searches, you will never lose sight of what makes change possible and palatable to the organization. That is, you will embrace the standard that your effectiveness is measured by successful strategy changes that are owned and implemented by other people.
3. Perspective. Most people work with their head down (focused on a tactical assignment). Meanwhile, an effective CI person will usually work with their head up (interpreting the strategic significance of the environment). This will make you especially attractive to strategy leaders since this is their perspective as well. Hence, when changes occur (and they regularly do), you are the person that can help reorient the company and its strategies.
4. Public. Remember at the beginning of this series. My advice was to “fly under the radar” (i.e., tease the vision) for a while. The idea was to get the CI basics established. Now is the time to be public. You are ready to announce to the organization that you are actively coordinating and executing the competitive intelligence function. There are several important ways to do this.

Going public with your competitive intelligence function.

Here are some practical steps to consider when announcing your presence to the organization.

You will need to have a website within the company. If you have secured the budget, then work with your IT department (or do it yourself). The key attributes for the website are that it is widely accessible throughout the organization, it supports the collection and searching of information, it can host multiple analysis tools and that it projects an image consistent with your branding.
Just like an external business which attempts to drive traffic to their business website, you will implement things that drive traffic to your CI website. Two excellent tools are types of periodic communications. One is a competitive news summary that will contain your interpretations for each news item. A second is a periodic newsletter that will focus more on analysis and trends. Both of these tools should always point back to content on the website.

Another very useful tool is a presentation that you can give to various functional groups about competitive intelligence. For instance, it will quickly get the attention of your marketing team if you have valuable information about the strategies of competitors. They will be both a source and a consumer of competitive intelligence. Likewise, the Legal team will want to understand how you are conducting CI. The Sales team will want to know more about specific customers and how competitors are doing at those customers. In each case, you will have at least one opportunity to show to each group the scope of CI, their roles and the website that you have created. Be ready to project the values and standards that you have established.

You may not become a rock star because of competitive intelligence. However, over time, people will acknowledge and value your presence because of who you are and what you provide. You’re on your way!

Next topic is “Expand The Brand”.

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

The Human Side of Competitive Intelligence

1. Find The Pain
2. Get The Job
3. Tease The Vision
4. Frame The Foundation
5. Setting Some Standards
6. Introduce The Brand
7. Accumulate The Tools
8. Back To The Vision
9. Secure The Budget
10. Build The Presence
11. Expand the Brand
12. Go For the Value
13. Recruit A Staff
14. Go On The Offense
15. Evangelize The Mission