(You really do have stamina if you have stuck with me this long. This is part 10 of a 16 part series on starting a competitive intelligence function in an organization. It is being written from the perspective of providing help to someone that has the interest in and responsibility of starting CI.  Furthermore, I am concentrating on the human dimension throughout the series. After all, it is the people that make the difference. It’s The People, Stupid).

You are really rolling now. The organization is likely beginning to notice your efforts to start competitive intelligence. They are beginning to discern the shape and quality of what you are doing. Enough people are likely to be intrigued but some skepticism remains. Meanwhile, at least one senior strategy manager is familiar and supportive of your work. Great job!

Now it is time to ask for money.

It is a truism that business measures with money. Investments areas are allocated budgets. Potential returns are “dollarized.” Products are evaluated based on revenue. Headcount is translated to loaded costs. Everything comes back to the money that is spent or the money that is earned for the business.

The competitive intelligence function cannot (and should not) avoid being involved in these discussions since they characterize so much about what the organization values. Similarly, the use of money (“follow the money”) is a great way to understand another company’s priorities and strategies. Leonard Fuld says that the cardinal intelligence rule is “where money is exchanged, so is information.” Money often is a proxy for what is important internally and externally.

It should be no surprise that the CI function needs money (investments).

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.

A couple of days ago a friend of mine called to borrow a specific tool. He was going to start a repair to his riding lawnmower and needed a torque wrench. He has a large number of tools already – screwdrivers, saws, sockets, pliers, drills, etc. – that he has previously used to make or repair things around his house. However, on this day and for this lawnmower repair project, he needed something that he did not already have. So what did he do? Well, he started with the first and most powerful tool that he had to find the tool that he was missing. He called someone that he knew. Now it turns out that I was no help that day since I didn’t have a torque wrench. However, if he secretly didn’t want to buy the tool, I could have easily connected my friend with someone else that had a torque wrench to lend.

There are three lessons that are significant.

1. It is possible to anticipate the need for certain tools. When that is the case, it is best to get them as soon as possible. For example, every homeowner (or mechanic) needs a hammer. Everyone needs an assortment of screwdrivers. Everyone needs a saw of some sort. A person should master these common tools because they are useful in solving many problems.

In competitive intelligence, it is also true that there are common tools that should be identified and acquired early. Although you don’t have to have all of these tools on day one, it is useful to know that you will need them. Here is a partial list by category of some tools that you will likely need.

• Read the rest of this entry

[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?