A CEO faces a decision about whether to make an investment in a new product line that requires significant capital. Does he need any competitive intelligence?

A General Manager must decide the complete range of activities to implement to enter a new market segment. Does she need competitive intelligence?

The Marketing vice president struggles to clarify the winning proposition for the key brand of the company. Does his organization need competitive intelligence?

It is easy to answer “yes” to these scenarios. Each decision-maker faces choices that affect their organizations and, ultimately, influence their chances for success. However, the choices are rarely simple. For example, favoring one approach means that another must be deemphasized leading to disruptions in the organizational roles and responsibilities. Changes often imply new investments, processes and skills. These things cost precious money, time and energy that must be deducted from a finite “bank” within the company. Moreover, other stakeholders assert their importance along vectors independent of competition. For instance, owners, regulatory agencies, communities and others regularly inject their priorities into the mix considered by senior managers.

Since competitive intelligence is only one of the voices in the mix, how can it be effective (and not be unwisely drowned out)?

Here are three ideas to consider.

In baseball, the ultimate player (leaving out the pitchers) has outstanding skills in five areas – running, throwing, fielding, hitting for average and hitting for power. A “five tool” player possesses all five skills. Few players earn that label.  Willie Mays and Barry Bonds are examples of players in this category. They were special because of their versatility and ability to affect a game in so many ways.

What about the “ultimate player” in Competitive Intelligence?

I submit that there are three fundamental categories of skills for competitive intelligence.

A “three tool” competitive intelligence professional will be competent all of these areas. When that is true, their value to their organization or clients is great. Admittedly, each category covers a multitude of skills. Moreover, mastering even one set of skills will make you valuable to someone. However, being proficient at all three makes you and your services standout.

Here are my three skill areas, or categories.

When a medical professional examines someone in the emergency room, he or she looks for signs of physical distress. How is the patient breathing? What about their skin color? Are their eyes dilated? Where are the visible signs of trauma? All of this (and more) is necessary to know before treating the person. After all, applying the wrong treatment can be more harmful than ignoring the physical distress.

Companies experience distress.

You do not have to look far to see signs of that distress. Talk with people that have survived a series of layoffs and reorganizations. Ask them about the constant worry of losing their jobs while coping with a series of changed assignments. Question them about the difficulty of trying to do ordinary business when management has severely reduced their flexibility to spend money or take risks. Watch how people talk about the future and their hopes. When you do these things, you begin to see severe distress.

Strategy and competitive intelligence organizations are suffering.

Within companies today, the current priority for many is simple survival. There is no shame, of course, with this objective. It does force hard decisions. One decision is to focus maniacally on preserving cash. That means two things – reduce expenses to the barebones and pursue short-term sales. Consequently, other things suffer. For example, many curtail or deemphasize strategy and competitive intelligence. This produces a specific kind of distress.

Here are five signs of business strategy or competitive intelligence distress.

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Enough already! Your work life is busy enough without someone telling you that you need to do still more things. Demands from your bosses, subordinates and customers inundate you. There is barely time to check your email, never mind respond to the flood of requests, meetings and other required activities. And then there is the business environment where survival alone seems to be a high goal. “Please” you want to say. No more. Not now. Not for me.

On the other hand, the vulnerabilities in business have never been clearer to you. Many good people that you know are out of work and suffering. You have dodged the bullet so far but you know that your company needs to do better. If the company does not win, your job may be the next to go. You remember a time, not so long ago, when ambition and possibilities motivated you more than fear. You enjoyed that time. It was a time of hard competition but winning, not just surviving, dominated your thinking.

It is time to think about winning again. It is time to take the measure of the competitors left standing and to attack. It is time to put together strategies that comprehend the market realities, accentuate your company’s strengths and exploit your competitors’ weaknesses.

How will you do all of that?