Brilliant Manoeuvre
Intelligence is everyone’s business.
Discussion
Often, the best intelligence comes from ‘troops in contact’ with the enemy. They can see what’s happening and can provide ‘ground truth’ to corroborate or validate the opinions and assessments made through the intelligence estimation process. The same applies in business. All companies, even small ones, have sales people, customer service agents, and field service reps out in the marketplace. They can see things and hear things that might be highly significant from a competitive standpoint. They need to know and understand the company’s basic strategy, vision, mission and goals, as well as those of their own unit or division. Managers and supervisors must also brief them and debrief them on a regular basis to ensure that they are aware of the latest developments and goals, and so they can bring back critical competitive intelligence.
Tip
Managers and employees have to be on the lookout for opportunities and threats. They are the eyes and ears of the entire company, not just their own little part of it.
© 2013 Richard Martin. Reproduction and quotes are permitted with proper attribution.