Why Should It Be Done?

Discussion Topics and Reading Assignments for Sept. 12 and Sept. 16. (Items in red are in the course packet. Those in blue are in the weekly reading folders. Those in olive are on reserve in the IBIC.)

Introduction to Business/Competitive Intelligence: What is business/competitive intelligence? What is it not? How it should play a role in corporate decision making? What is the appropriate scope of an intelligence effort? How is it differentiated from the traditional role of market research? How should BI/CI be organized? What is included in the "language of intelligence"? How should business intelligence relate to the formulation of corporate strategy? Who should be driving the process? What are some of the factors that differentiate intelligence in various business cultures?

Readings for both days:

 Day and Schoemaker, Peripheral Vision, pgs. 1-25

 Fuld, Leonard, The New Competitor Intelligence, 1995, Chapter One: Understanding Intelligence, pgs. 23-46

 Glassford, Jon, Intelligence Failure? Or a Failure to Understand Intelligence?, CIM, Nov-Dec 2002, pgs. 7-11

 Kinsinger, Paul, Building a Better Customer: Teaching MBA's How to Use CI, CIM, July-August, 2003, pgs. 6-11

 Johnson, Sam, Planned Decisions and Pending Actions, CIM, Nov-Dec 04, pgs 43-45

 Kinsinger, Paul, The Difference Between BI and Market Research, TLCN Thought Leadership page

 Kinsinger, Paul, Ready, Aim, Fire!, TLCN Thought Leadership page

 Kinsinger, Paul, Corporate Strategies and Knowledge Negligence, Frost & Sullivan CI Quarterly, December, 2008

 Tuller, Flynt, MetLife's Road for Actionable Intelligence, parts 1 and 2, CIM, 2005

 Bonthous, Jean-Marie, Understanding Intelligence Across Cultures, Competitive Intelligence Review, Sum-Fall 1993, 8 pgs.

 Kinsinger, Paul, The BI Challenge in the Context of Regional Risk, Thunderbird International Business Review, July-August 2007, pages 535-541

To read about a CI effort in action in a major company, see:

 Gilad, Ben, Early Warning, Amacom, 2004, pgs. 208-228, Strategic Early Warning-The Shell Example

Suggested—Peruse two of these as well, just to get a feel for BI/CI in different situations:

 Carr, Lawrence, Frontline CI: Actionable Intelligence for the Business Infantry, CIM, Mar-Apr 2001, pgs. 11-15

 Simmons,