There are TWO types of people in this world.

(Don’t you love it when someone reduces all of the complexities of life to simple categories? And yet, clearly some things fundamentally divide people into camps.)

Standards, or more precisely stated, the expectations that we have for ourselves are one of these dividing lines. Here is the illustration that I like to use. What do you see below?

There is a bar suspended between two posts, of course. Now, if I told you that you had to move between the two posts but not disturb the horizontal bar, you have two choices. You can go under it or you can go over it. Choosing not only where the bar is set but also how you pass through says something about you. And that is what separates all of us into one of two camps.

First of all, think of the bar as representing the set of expectations that we have for ourselves and our work.

Everyone has expectations which soon become evident to those that we spend time with regularly. The expectations (and our ability to deliver on them) largely defines our personal and professional brand. Where you set the bar for competitive intelligence is exceedingly important. Why? Because you will find that you are touching on important subjects involving important people that might drive important changes in the organization. By definition, this requires high expectations of you.

There are 3 areas where you need to decide on high expectations.

1. Integrity – Decide right away that you will have the highest integrity in all of your dealings. Easy to say that this your goal but know that your integrity will be challenged. Directly and indirectly you will be tested to see if you are fair, honest, trustworthy and so on. Fail one of these tests because you are not prepared and there will be little forgiveness. Here is an example of giving The Right Answer to the Trap Question (which happens to be an integrity test).

2. Value – Some people love to do analysis. They are enamored with the techniques, tools and the intellectual stimulus of grinding through data. Others love the presentation of information. Nothing pleases them more than assembling 50 beautiful slides full of animations and transitions. Talking to people and exchanging views is another seductive activity that some CI practitioners enjoy. While all of these things are worthwhile and important, they are all not meaningful when they do not deliver value.

My definition of “value” for competitive intelligence is credible answers to important questions that when answered well may lead to changes in business strategy.

To create an enduring competitive intelligence function, you must deliver value. Satisfaction with anything less means that you will be looking for another job soon.

3. Work Quality – No one (that I know) sets out to do poor work. Nevertheless, poor or mediocre work often is performed by people throughout the corporate world. Sometimes this is enabled by lack of review of the work or by skillful self-insulation of the effects of the work. The evidence of poor work for a CI person may be in shoddy research, haphazard analysis, ineffective presentations or neglected personal relationships. You do not have the option of performing poorly and it is best to understand that from the beginning. The quality of all that you do must be top-notch because it is expected when moving in strategy circles. Your standard must be that of senior leaders that are held accountable by stockholders, senior management and employees.

Setting the bar is step one.

Step two is deciding whether you go over it (meet or exceed expectations) or whether you go under (do the least possible to get by). This is the difference between the high jump and the limbo.

You must sign up to set the bar high and then choose to go over it. This is the only standard that will work over time. It is the only way to effectively influence meaningful change in the business strategy of your company. (Save the limbo for the pool party to celebrate your success.)

Setting some standards is about you and what you choose to aspire to as you develop the competitive intelligence function. The three critical areas are integrity, value and work quality. Once you have done this, you are ready to begin introducing yourself and what you hope to accomplish to the rest of the organization. This will be your competitive intelligence brand.

Next topic is “Introduce 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