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Competitive Intelligence Magazine, April 2009
by Erik Glitman

The internet was supposed to make it easier to communicate, change the way we do business, and create equality across the globe. It has been largely successful in some respects, has failed in others, and is still creating more promises than it can keep. Overall, the internet has been a positive influence on the competitive intelligence (CI) professional. Some of the bigger gains from internet technology stemmed from the areas of what is commonly called Web 2.0 and the customization it makes possible.

Starting A New Role, Keeping the Old
by Erik Glitman, Fletcher/CSI

This column will address a slightly different topic than my normal assessment of how international competitive intelligence (CI) differs from domestic CI. The reason is simple: In November I was elected by the membership to serve on the SCIP board of directors. So I take this opportunity to thank you for your support and to present some ideas on what being a part of the board means and how I intend to help the organization meet its goals.

Global CI in Practice - Continuing Education, by Erik Glitman
Sept - Oct 2008

Success in the competitive intelligence (CI) field does not require any particular educational background – many talented and respected CI practitioners’ educations do not include the traditional management sciences or even technical sciences. However, most managers want to see their team members receive more education and many view continuing education as a way to keep them fresh and open to new ideas, thoughts, and techniques.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine - July - Aug. 2008

by Erik Glitman

Companies typically look at their local market when assessing the competitive environment and this makes perfect sense when the main competition is local. Many advantages accrue to keeping a close eye on your local competitors, not the least of which
is that monitoring them is easier.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- March - April 2008

 by Erik Glitman

Working in a global environment brings with it a combination of standard and unique tools that the competitive intelligence (CI) analyst must use to be successful. These tools fall into two categories:
• the basic, which are needed even for a domestic focused analyst, and
• the international, which add to the abilities

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Nov. - Dec. 2007

by Erik Glitman

Competitive intelligence (CI) is a flexible tool set with applications in
many different business operations. As a tactical application, CI for the sales force presents several options, from the quick turnaround tactical effort to in-depth strategic changes. This article discusses the different CI sales force applications and the benefits each can provide to the sales process.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Sept. - Oct. 2007

by Erik Glitman

International competitors continue to evolve and stretch their reach, requiring competitive intelligence (CI) practitioners to expand their collection and evaluation efforts beyond what would be used for the standard domestic competitor set and geographies. This larger global focus requires a different set of tools and a distinct mindset.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- March - April 2007

by Erik Glitman

Traditionally, parts of the competitive intelligence process have always been outsourced. In general, all practitioners are familiar with the limits of what they can obtain using internal sources. Employees are generally not allowed to call direct competitors for many reasons, including legal, ethical, and practical ones.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Jan. - Feb. 2007

by Erik Glitman and Noé Elizondo-Buenfil

Participating in a trade show is a part of most professional careers at some point or another. Typically, a trade show has three different types of individuals who attend the event:
• Exhibitors––staff a booth and generate marketing and business leads
• Presenters––deliver programming and information to other participants
• Attendees––participate in the sessions and network

You can also add a fourth participant to this list, that is, the competitive intelligence practitioners who attend the event to collect information on their competitors. Most of these practitioners use trade shows as an open forum to gather information on the activities of competitors and other industry participants. Preparing for both domestic and international trade shows involves different competitive intelligence–related activities for each of the four participant types.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- May - June 2006

by Erik Glitman and 

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Mar - Apr 2006

by NOÉ ELIZONDO and ERIK GLITMAN

A new exporter asked for our support to go international. The company produces a beer which has been a success as a niche product in its home country and was seeking to take the alcoholic beverage to new markets. The company didn’t have export experience or know the steps required to go to the international marketplace.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Jan. - Feb. 2006

By NOÉ ELIZONDO and ERIC GLITMAN

International managers of competitive intelligence (CI) operations are often faced with a set of difficult choices when looking outside their home country for data collection and analysis. The basic choice relates to who is best suited to complete the data collection and analysis. Essentially, this is a choice between using a person from your own culture and country or someone from the culture and country where the CI research is located. As frequent readers of this column will note, we generally believe that the data collection is best done by a local resource who is familiar with the local environment and is part of the local business network.

Competitve Intelligence Magazine -- Jan. - Feb 2004

by NOÉ ELIZONDO and ERIK GLITMAN

Multinational organizations face unique challenges in structuring their CI effort to meet the needs of local market sales. Some companies adopt a one size fits all approach to markets, and others custom tailor all products to each market. The advertising industry attempted to use single advertisements for all markets, only to be forced to adjust to local market conditions. CI also needs to adjust output and collection efforts to meet the local market.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Nov. - Dec. 2003

by Rick Reynolds

Winning a major new account is complex and it often involves an extensive amount of time and resources. This can take months, require significant budgets, and involve several layers of management from both the bidding and prospect companies. Yet one thing always holds true – only one company wins.

While the truth may hurt, leading companies often ask: Why didn’t we get that deal? We thought we answered all key questions, understood all of the requirements, and had the inside track?

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Nov. - Dec. 2003

by NOÉ ELIZONDO and ERIK GLITMAN

Many of us are familiar with this stereotype: the individual seeks intelligence to make better decisions, is a slave to the data sources and burns the midnight oil, works feverishly to some deadline, oblivious or indifferent to analytical tools and techniques. But at he same time, he is so very focused. How accurate is this image?

Critical Eye -- Sept. - Nov. 2003

by Erik Glitman

This article discusses how product development activities in the USA and Europe integrate Competitive Intelligence (CI) at different points along the product development process. It also looks at how various types of CI are used and how the uses differ between Europe and the USA.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine, July – Aug. 2003

NOÉ ELIZONDO and ERIK GLITMAN, Fletcher/CSI

The cross border data collection process presents diverse challenges to the CI individual. Differences in culture, language, and information sources constitute elements that must be addressed in advance, preferably during the planning phase. The collection phase also needs to take into consideration these differences when gathering the required data.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- May - June 2003

by NOE ELIZONDO and ERIK GLITMAN

The international audience has different expectations of a CI presentation, based on their local business culture. This column reviews some of the more common pitfalls in delivering CI to a multinational audience.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine, Mar. – Apr. 2003

by Steven Levy

A tool is only as good as the person using it — its successful use is in direct relationship to how well they understand its nature, use, and their ability to apply it to the company’s full advantage.

SCIP Online - Mar. - Apr. 2003

by Steve Levy

In this brief article, I will be discussing the relationship between two “tools”, CI (Competitive Intelligence) and CRM/SFA (Customer Relationship Manager/Sales Force Automation). Both, when used effectively by the sales force, will lead to increased sales success and bottom-line revenue performance. But just how compatible are these two tools and to what extent can (or should) a CI practitioner take advantage of CRM/SFA Systems to push or pull CI? This article is not designed to be a
primer on CRM/SFA systems, or a guide for choosing the right CI technology solution, but rather it is set force, for what I hope will be thought provoking commentary on CI’s place in one of today’s fastest growing company initiatives … CRM/SFA.

SCIP Online
by Steven Levy

Consultants are often stereotyped as a group that make their living by overstating the simple; diagnosing the obvious, and expanding on the infinite. After everybody stops laughing, I usually tell people that, as a CI consultant who has been involved in the design, building, re-shaping, and implementation of many revenue driven sales and marketing models for the past 20 years, I have become a strong proponent of the Keep it Simple principle. I would like to explain why I’ve come to this conclusion and share with the reader some insight into the sales character/psyche and provide some tips on how to work with this “unique” and often misunderstood company enigma--the corporate sales force. 

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Jan. - Feb. 2003

by NOÉ ELIZONDO and ERIK GLITMAN

If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail and the solution is to bash it. When you begin a new project, the most common assumption is that you will use the same tools as you did for the last project. Differences in crossborder projects makes this assumption less accurate in all cases. Just as you would not take a 110V tool to a 220V country without an adapter, so you will need to modify the tools you use at home for international applications.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Nov. – Dec. 2002

by NOÈ ELIZONDO and ERIK GLITMAN 

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire Cat in a tree. “Which road do I take?” she asked. His response was a question: “Where do you want to go?” “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “It doesn’t matter.”
Lewis Carroll

Too often, CI projects begin with an approach that has a focus similar to Alice’s. Before the assignment can be accepted, the CI professional needs to insure that all parties involved know and understand the nature of the assignment, the expertise required to develop the information, and the analytical processes used to generate the competitive intelligence. Only then can the project’s scope, including budget, be defined and a professional team assembled. When working across borders,
cultures and languages, these project management challenges are accentuated.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine -- Sept. - Oct. 2002

by NOÉ ELIZONDO and ERIK GLITMAN 

We live in a world that constantly reminds us of our global linkages on business and personal levels. This new column has a specific focus on cross border CI. We expect that over time readers will contribute ideas and questions, foster a lively debate, and gain new understanding about the role of CI in the global community.

Competitive Intelligence Magazine, Jan. – Feb. 2002

by Erik Glitman

Tactical CI is a powerful tool for shortening the sales cycle and winning business.

The sales force has a different CI need than most corporate CI users. Whereas corporate demand is often for strategic CI, the sales need is tactical in nature, often related to a single customer and sale. The individual sales rep is often given incentives to put all other company and personal activity aside to close that “hot deal” and bring in needed revenue. It's no surprise, then, that the sales force is only interested in information that will help close a sale, and is uninterested in ongoing CI to support the
long-term position of the entire company.

SCIP Online -- Oct. - Dec. 2000

by Erik Glitman

The actions of some competitors are crazy -- like a fox.

In the normal course of business, we usually see our competitors as rational actors whose behavior would be close to ours if we found ourselves in the same situation. It is much easier when a competitor’s actions can be understood in the context of our own frame of reference and when those actions it a standard mold. A predictable competitor is a boring (and safe) competitor.