Chicago AMA | For Marketing Professionals

Competitive Intelligence:
The Power to Make or Break Your Company

"INTELLIGENCE IS information you need to effectively operate your business," says Tom Hampson of Search International. This does not mean, he emphasizes, going out and getting information illegally.

According to Hampson, who has 30-plus years in the intelligence field and is now president of an international competitive intelligence company, the sole purpose of intelligence is to discover the truth "about your own organization, about your opposition and about your territory." The process of discovering the truth, he explains, involves sight -- identifying the relevant information insight - recognizing a pattern in the information understanding - recognizing the significance of the pattern "Truth is understanding all aspects in context," Hampson says. The intelligence cycle begins with collection, he notes. "You don't have to know everything. All you need to know is where or how to find the information."

Information can be gleaned from libraries, the Internet and online databases, cd-roms and even telephone directories, says Hampson. "But people are the most important source. Just stop and think about the information you have among the people you know." He adds that the average person has about 1000 contacts. Analysis, the second phase in the intelligence cycle, used can include standard quantitative methods, benchmarking, SWOT (evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), and reasoning -- both deductive and inductive. He suggests, "Ask 'What is this? What does it mean?' Practice logic."

Reporting and communication channels must be created throughout the organization to relay the intelligence gathered. Says Hampson, " Remember: Insight has value only if it's conveyed to the right people at the right time."

To find the truth, he says, all investigations must proceed conceptually -- from the general to the specific. "Look at all plausible theories and possibilities. Investigate to narrow the field and arrive at solid conclusions.

"The goal is to squeeze the most insight from the least amount of information. You want to focus on things you don't understand. That gives you a target to investigate. You should be spending 70 to 80 percent of your time thinking about what's in front of you."

According to Chicago FBI Special Agent S. Leon Getting, there has been a significant shift in threats to national security. " In the past, we knew who the enemy was. It was communism, nuclear and military proliferation, etc.

"Now it's a different ballgame. Now we're worried about economic security," he explains, including threats which target the information infrastructure and the US government as well as economic espionage and foreign intelligence activities.

Getting, who works with Chicago area companies to safeguard their information and trade secrets, says that The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 protects against thefts of trade secrets -- both tangible and intangible and foreign or domestic. Penalties for such theft can include prison sentences as well as monetary fines. A trade secret, he notes, is defined as information which is proprietary is financial, marketing, business, scientific, technical or engineering has a value derived from its exclusivity

And organizations "must take reasonable measures to keep such information secret," he says, but notes that what is "reasonable" is as yet undefined by the government.

What do you -- and your organization -- need to be concerned about? Getting says trade secrets and proprietary information are often collected through the following methods: classic agent recruitment (by a competitor of someone inside your organization); U.S. volunteers; surveillance and surreptitious entry; specialized technical operations; debriefing visitors to the U.S.; commercial databases; trade and scientific journals; computer bulletin boards; corporate publications; unsolicited requests (contacts made by corporate spies who ask for product specs); corporate mergers and acquisitions (the"We can't steal it from you, so we'll buy your company" approach); corporate technology agreements; sponsorship of research activities in the U.S. and hiring information brokers and consultants.

How can you help protect your organization from unwelcome intruders? Getting advises being aware of what's going on around you. "And if you think something seems funny, contact your company's security people immediately."

Hampson and Getting shared these insights on competitive intelligence issues during a special Chicago AMA program sponsored by the Chapter's Business Marketing Division with the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals.

Back to the Chicago AMA Homepage