Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Over a one-year period, they spent more than $10 million in online down-
loads. According to the CEO, virtually all of this information was worth-
less. That's because they didn't have the ability, or know-how, to turn this
plethora of information into intelligence. It is a capability that requires the
use of tools and techniques to be able to coordinate and correlate discrete
bits of information into intelligence.
Perhaps the biggest stumbling block to the process of creating BI is where
it is done. Because the creation of this intelligence relies on the download-
ing of information, the task is often delegated to the information technol-
ogy (IT) department. This was the case with the pharmaceutical company
mentioned. It turned out to be an expensive mistake for them.
A profile of a department most likely to succeed in this endeavor
will include the following abilities: being able to work with technol-
ogy to gather the raw information; having the writing talent to pres-
ent it in an understandable fashion to management; and possessing the
sociopolitical skills to draw conclusions from the analyses that will be
accepted by the diverse, and often conflicting, groups that make up a
modern corporation.
his is the tactic that Herbert Meyer and his partner Mike Pincus take
when advising their corporate clients on how to build an intelligence-
gathering department. They look for people with library skills, technical
skills, and familiarity with the company's business. They also look for
someone who has an “in” with the CEO, so the results don't get politicized.
Part of the problem with intelligence is that when it is done well, it
tends to offset bad judgment, which often comes from executive support
people. These executive support management people feel threatened by
intelligence, because it tends to offset their own bad opinions, according
to Pincus. Where you have bad management advice, you have to bring
someone into the unit who has the social/political/corporate capability to
be able to move around in that environment without upsetting people and
causing them to feel threatened.
The first step involved in building an intelligence unit is to develop a
profile of the company. This is really a needs analysis, which will docu-
ment the products and services a company manufactures or performs, its
goals and priorities, as well as requirements for competitive information.
Basically, this will be a comprehensive list of categories of information
that the company must monitor in order to be competitive. Examples of
categories include suppliers, markets, customers, and so on. The profile
also uncovers irrelevant information that the company is tracking. In
Search WWH ::
Custom Search