SLA Competitive Intelligence Division Blog

How are you "future ready"? How is CI "future ready"?

As you likely know, SLA President Cindy Romaine has kicked off an ambitious new project, called Future Ready 365. The FR365 blog is an effort to illustrate and provide a forum for the many voices inside the information profession, and to draw in insight and perspective from across industries. It's an exercise in collaboration, sharing experience, and helping each other be more resiliant and forward-looking in a changing profession and a changing world.

The entries so far have been very good. I would encourage you, if you're reading this, to consider contributing your voice to the blog - especially as a CI professional. How do you see the world changing? How are you adapting to it? How have you transformed yourself and your skills to create new opportunities for yourself? How do you see CI playing into this?

If you'd like to participate, see the information for submitting a post here. I think many of you have great insight into this topic. I know I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say!

Scott Brown

SLA CI Division (Past) Past-Chair

Harry Markopolos to Speak at SCIP Boston Meeting on February 9

Bernie Madoff was the mastermind behind what is widely described as the largest Ponzi scheme in history. How was he uncovered? Did you know that CI techniques played a role? Join the SCIP Massachusetts/Boston Chapter for this unique event, as Harry Markopolos, “the Madoff Whistleblower,” details for the first time how he uncovered Madoff’s scheme using CI techniques and how CI techniques continue to help him in his current cases. Don’t miss your chance to hear first-hand about this tale of rare, high-profile CI intrigue!

SLA CI Division members will remember Harry Markopolos from the 2008 SLA Annual Conference in Seattle, WA, where he and Kevin Desouza spoke on the topic "Can You Keep a Secret? How to Keep Your Competitors from Learning What You Know."

SCIP Massachusetts/Boston Chapter Presents:
Harry Markopolos, “The Madoff Whistleblower”
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 5:00PM – 8:30PM
Hult International Business School

Speaker
Harry Markopolos, CFA, CFE, is an independent financial fraud investigator who brings fraud cases to the US Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service and various State Attorney Generals under existing whistleblower programs. He has been featured in the leading business media, including Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Bloomberg, and he has provided testimony before the United States Congress.

The Madoff investigation was his first financial fraud case, which he started in early 2000. He’s been hooked ever since. Mr. Markopolos is co-author of the best selling book “No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller” published by Wiley & Sons, Inc.; March 2010. The film documentary about his Madoff investigative team, “The Foxhounds: The Pursuit of Bernie Madoff” premiered in November 2010 at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.

Program
In 2000, Harry Markopolos recruited and led a four-man team of industry experts to track Bernie Madoff's $65 billion feeder fund network across two continents. This team's eight-and-one-half year long investigation identified dozens of Madoff feeder funds which were delivering a steady stream of new victims to Madoff's doorstep on a daily basis. Most of their intelligence was gathered in person at industry events, conferences, and during meetings. (In fact, very little of their investigation took place on the internet and there was a reason for that – Madoff was so secretive that he made sure that none of these feeder funds was mentioning him by name in their marketing efforts.) Mr. Markopolos will speak about the case from an intelligence gathering standpoint and take your questions.

Mr. Markopolos will also sign your copy of his book, "No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller," detailing his investigation. There will be no books for purchase.

Location
Hult International Business School
EF Education First Boston Headquarters
1 Education St.
Cambridge, MA 02141

Registration
Includes dinner and soft drinks. Cash bar available. SCIP Member $35.00 Non-Member $45.00.

For details and registration, go to www.scip.org. Please note: This will be a popular event – register early!

The Intel thanks Parmelee Eastman at Knowledge is Power for alerting us to this exciting event!

Design thinking for strategic competitive advantage

I had the pleasure to listen to CI Division member Arik Johnson speak to the Denver Association of Strategic Planning recently about design thinking. Some other Denver-based CI Division members were there as well, including Ellen Naylor, who blogged about the session.

 

What struck me was the identification of different models - and personalities - needed for innovation: both the "exploratory" folks, and the people who can take those ideas and execute. Which kind of personality are you?

Scott Brown

Past-Chair, CI Division

Upcoming onsite courses for SLA's CI Certificates program

Take your CI practice to the next level and take advantage of this SLA member benefit – and value you won’t find anywhere. SLA presents two courses to help propel your professional development. Introduction to Financial Analysis and Scenarios Analysis & Futures Techniques will be held at SLA Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, on 4 and 5 November 2010. Participants may take either or both of these courses as a part of their overall professional development or earn credit towards SLA’s Competitive Intelligence Certificate.

CIC11a: Introduction to Financial Intelligence (Analysis Elective) (Thursday, 4 November, 8am-5pm)
Financial analysis is a vital and powerful component of competitive intelligence that can provide valuable insights to an organization's condition, how organizations manage and operate, and how they make decisions. While often overlooked, avoided, or insufficiently conducted, applying good financial intelligence can help you better understand competitor's strengths, weaknesses, competitive options, and potential activities. Read more about this course.

Prerequisite: No prior financial experience is required; an understanding of competitive intelligence is recommended.
Instructor/Facilitator: Matt Evans, CPA, CMA, CFM

CIC12: Scenarios Analysis and Futures Techniques (Friday, 5 November, 8am-5pm)
Competitive intelligence practitioners understand the importance of foresight to achieving and maintaining competitiveness, and anticipating future conditions, trends, and actions is essential to sound competitive practices. In this course, we will explore and apply key futures models, techniques, and tools for developing likely scenarios. Read more about this course.

Prerequisites: Participants enrolled for the "Core" and Dual Competitive Intelligence Certificates are recommended to complete courses CIC-08 and CIC-09.
Instructor: Cynthia Cheng Correia, Principal, Knowledge inForm, Inc.


Why take these courses:
+  Build a deeper understanding of your organization’s competitors.
+  Build a deeper understanding of your own organization and its strategic partners.
+  Inform your research strategy…and produce better outcomes.
+  Gain essential analytical skills and experience.
+  Improve your business communication and interactions with colleagues.
+  Make a greater impact! Enhance your contributions – and value – to your team and organization.
+  Expand your professional opportunities!

All Competitive Intelligence Certificate program courses are developed specifically for information professionals and SLA members. Participants do not need to be in a CI role in their organizations and may take courses à la carte.

Don’t delay! Course enrollment is limited to 30 participants. Registration will close on Monday, 1 November, at 11:59 pm ET, or earlier if all spaces are filled.

Need more information about the courses or travel logistics?  Contact Click University.

Act Smart on Competitive Intelligence - Perspectives on CI

Recently, CI Division Chair Victor Camlek was interviewed by Information World Review in an article that traces the development of the CI role and shares insights into the future of the field:

"There was a time when a dedicated CI team would read thick books and visit libraries for research. Then came the specialists, who provided online tools so expensive that only a privileged few could afford it. Victor Camlek, vice president of market intelligence for Thomson Reuters' health and science business, says: "In 1993, as web went commercial, CI skills were found more commonly." According to Camlek, the online liberation of information has enabled more professionals to engage in activities previously restricted to a CI team."

"With the internet becoming most valuable for obtaining information, experts see the web as the next major phase in the evolution of CI. Camlek says: "Within the web, it will be the social media space and semantic search as the next phenomena in CI evolution."

"Some experts think of gathering and validating information as just the initial steps in CI. For them, knowledge management (KM) is equally important and very much integral to CI. "Unless professionals have the ability to accurately communicate the intelligence to the business development or management team, the information collection is futile," says Camlek."

The article provides a good overview of the skills and tools a CI professional should possess, and is a worthwhile read for information professionals who may consider transitioning to a CI role. You can read the full article here: Act smart on competitive intelligence.

CI Teachable Moments

Once in awhile, the darker side of corporate intel makes the news and this recent article in USA Today, "Tech Gadgets Help Corporate Spying Surge in Tough Times," is among the compelling ones. It raises some great (and perennial) points: That...

• Many organizations' staff know little about formal CI and ethical or legal practices. (And, if they do, they understand little about how to protect themselves.)

• Corporate espionage continues to tarnish ethical CI.

• CI and intelligence defense is constant and evolving.

• Desperate times can lead to desperate (and unethical/illegal) methods. (Although temptation and one's own misdirected cleverness can be ever-present.)

• One can't ever use enough common sense, combined with forethought and technical & physical security, to protect oneself and one's organization.

• We need to understand the technology we use not only functionally, but from a security standpoint. (And creativity can be used for defense.)

• Solid CIKM (CI knowledge management) remains vital.

What does this mean to the CI pro?

1. It's imperative that we stay on top of techniques (ethical/unethical and legal/illegal) in order to achieve and maintain solid CI and defensive intelligence practices.

2. Teachable moments and opportunities for internal training remain constant, as long as technology evolves, practices become more sophisticated and global, and organizations seek to achieve competitive advantages.

3. We can never leave our guard down, and we should encourage our colleagues to do the same.

Tales like the ones in this article are valuable lessons for us and our organizations, and it's up to us to share the cautionary tales with our colleagues and sustain the case for good intel and defense.

Cynthia Cheng Correia