or the nature and content of commercial intelligence work and why it works the way it does
Note:
How to use this cheat sheet? Read the note. If you're not hooked, then
maybe it's just not your thing. Drop the case. It's not worth wasting your time
and energy.
If you are interested, but not before! If you want to understand and
implement the system in your business or company, I recommend downloading the
guide at the link. It's pretty comprehensive. Anyway, I tried to create a guide
that allows you to deploy the system from scratch. If you have any questions, I'm open to discussion.
|
You can
download a “practical guide” to commercial intelligence absolutely free of
charge here: or ask any
question you may have here: Discord (https://discord.gg/6eAsU8nBHF) |
There is a famous
saying by Albert Einstein:
“If you can't explain something to a 6-year-old, you don't understand it
yourself.”
I will take the liberty of outlining the essence and practical content
of intelligence activities in commercial intelligence.
So, as you already know from the previous post: the practical task of intelligence in business is to manifest and clarify information uncertainty, in order to improve the management efficiency of a commercial company. (you can read about it here)
How can this task be solved? By informing, or rather, by informing as
thoroughly and accurately as possible! Nothing more practical has yet been
invented by mankind.
Who defines intelligence objectives, what to study and who to inform?
Company management! There is a misconception that intelligence is looking for
its own objects of study. This is not quite true! The key objects of study of
the commercial intelligence system are assigned by its general customer - the
company's management. The exception to this rule is operational risks (readabout them in our guide). Their detection and identification lies to a
greater extent on the commercial intelligence system itself.
Who defines intelligence objectives, what to study and who to inform?
Company management! There is a misconception that intelligence is looking for
its own objects of study. This is not quite true! The key objects of study of
the commercial intelligence system are assigned by its general customer - the
company's management. The exception to this rule is operational risks (read
about them in our guide). Their detection and identification lies to a greater
extent on the commercial intelligence system itself.
How commercial intelligence goals and objectives are defined and
assigned will be discussed in more detail in future materials. There are a few
important nuances to keep in mind, which are discussed at special “Strategy
Sessions” held in the interest of practical organization of commercial
intelligence of the company.
Having received research tasks from the “customer”, the commercial
intelligence system begins its “work cycle”. It needs to be practically
realized:
1)
Tracking (monitoring) of identified risks;
2)
Determining the likelihood of the risk being realized
(actually materializing) in real time;
3)
Informing about what happened and the development of
the situation, in case the risk is realized;
4)
Accompanying (observing) the risk to understand the
scenario of the real development of events and informing about it;
5)
Accompaniment (monitoring) of risk until the risk
loses its significance or conditions for its realization disappear;
6)
Informing about the loss of relevance of the risk.
Let's dwell a little more on this list of works. Otherwise, you may miss
some important nuances.
So!
·
Tracking (monitoring) of identified risks;
Intelligence looks for and monitors risks that have not yet occurred at
this point in time! If it were otherwise, it would mean that the company is
already operating under the conditions of a realized risk. The task of
intelligence is to be proactive, proactive, until the moment when the risk is
realized in real time. Can this be done and how?
Yes! This is a very real task. We do not monitor the risks themselves,
since they do not yet exist in reality, but the so-called “intelligence
indicators” (traces) of probable risks. By the way, identification and
development of real “intelligence indicators” is also an intelligence task not
mentioned here. (you can read about it here)
·
Determining the likelihood of the risk being realized
(actually materializing) in real time;
Since we are talking about information uncertainty, the future risk may
arise and be realized, or may not arise at all. We do not know the entire sum
of factors, conditions and circumstances that are guaranteed to lead to the
practical realization of the risk.
In real time, by monitoring traces (“intelligence indicators”) and as
they accumulate, we can draw conclusions about the increasing probability of
the risk realization (which has not yet occurred). When some probability
threshold is passed, the actual realization of the risk becomes very high.
·
Informing about what happened and the development of
the situation, in case the risk is realized;
It is at this stage that the company's management should be informed.
That is, the risk has not yet occurred or materialized, there is only a high
probability of realization, but the intelligence gives the company a chance to
react proactively.
·
Accompanying (observing) the risk to understand the
scenario of the real development of events and informing about it;
As practice shows, the risk identified and predicted in advance, quite
rarely develops according to the scenario that was considered in its
forecasting. Information uncertainty is: unaccounted for accidents, new events
and phenomena, which, among other things, could not be foreseen and predicted
in advance at the stage of risk identification.
It is necessary to track (monitor) the realized risk in order to clarify
the scenario of its development and make adjustments in the processes of
adequate response to the risk.
·
Accompaniment (monitoring) of risk until the risk
loses its significance or conditions for its realization disappear;
Until when does a risk remain relevant? There are several situations in
which we can talk about the loss of relevance of the risk. For example, the
risk has ceased to have a significant impact on the company's business, either
on its own or as a result of measures taken to minimize it; conditions and
circumstances for its further development and growth have disappeared, etc.
All of this is subject to real-time tracking (monitoring).
·
Informing about the loss of relevance of the risk.
When a risk becomes irrelevant, management should be notified.
There is another situation that occurs quite often. According to the
totality of accumulated intelligence indicators, the probability of risk realization
has long exceeded 100%, but the risk does not occur! Why? So, informational
uncertainty! Multivariance of events and you do not know why! In this case, the
relevance of the risk remains, which does not prevent the company from taking
proactive measures to minimize the risk and its consequences.
Now you have a better understanding of the nature and content of
intelligence work in business. To oversimplify: you need to track the risk and
inform management. This should preferably be done BEFORE the risk is realized,
giving the company a chance to react proactively.
Yes! And did you notice that I wrote almost nothing about the response
itself and the preventive measures taken to minimize the impact of the risk?
The point is that this is not an intelligence task!
Responding to a risk is the
task of the units whose activity may be specifically affected by the risk!
During the Cold War, yes,
yes last century, Reagan/Gorbachev, I was a young officer in a special
intelligence unit. We stood on the border between East and West Germany. If the
Cold War began to escalate into a Hot War, my unit's mission was to reconnoiter
nuclear artillery positions and operational nuclear Lance (MGM-52) and Pershing
(MGM-31A) missiles.
My unit was NOT tasked with
destroying the detected firepower. However, we would not have been physically
able to do so. Four-man reconnaissance team. Only detecting and establishing
the coordinates of the detected targets as accurately as possible. It was up to
the forces and means of the “senior chief” to destroy the targets themselves
(read - risks).
Technological direction
A special mention should be made of the technological direction of
commercial intelligence work. We are talking about the need to study objects
within the framework of benchmarking. Transfer of best practices, modernization
and improvement of production and/or business processes already existing in the
company.
It should be clarified that “best practices, processes and solutions”
should be considered in the context of being better than what exists in one's
own company. It is very likely that you should not chase the “champions” in the
industry at all. You may be able to find what you need from other, less
visible, market players. Do not ignore such opportunities.
I will not describe the process itself in detail. Benchmarking is
described in sufficient detail on the Internet. In addition, some peculiarities
of practical benchmarking can be found HERE.
I will limit myself to a general enumeration of “practical works” in
this field:
1.
Study the process existing in own company;
Teach your team the process
that requires modernization in your own company, through the full cycle of
operation and from complete zero to completion of the production/commercial
cycle.
2.
Search for
organizations using similar processes;
Organize a search for
companies/organizations that use similar or similar processes.
3.
Observation and
measurement of parameters and comparison;
Track, measure and compare
the process parameters of your company and the found organization.
4.
Understanding
the suitability for your own business;
Determine the suitability of
the process under study in your company's process chain.
5.
Identify
opportunities for full or partial adaptation;
Identify opportunities to
adapt the process under study in your company.
6.
Transfer and
implementation.
Transferring, modernizing
and implementing the process in your company can be done at a much lower cost
than it might seem.
A detailed description of
the benchmarking process from a business intelligence perspective can be found HERE.
Operational direction
Finally, the operational
direction of commercial intelligence. This is set out quite comprehensively in
the “practical guide”. The key difference with the content of the core business
intelligence work is that in tactical and strategic intelligence, we are
working on future risks that have not yet occurred. Here we have the ability to
be proactive, proactive, before the risk itself has occurred.
Operational intelligence
forces us to react to events that have already happened and have been left out
of our attention. It is also a very important part of the job. Moreover, it
very often requires a complete shift and focus of all intelligence efforts to
operational targets. This is the only way that commercial intelligence can
provide a company with the ability to respond, albeit reactively but more
effectively.
It's still more effective
compared to those who don't do it.
It is this volume and
content of intelligence activity that keeps a company's business competitive.
NOT goodbye, continuation to
follow...
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