OCTOBER 2015 / NO. 2
TAGS: MANAGERS, BIG DATA, INSIGHTS, GM, NOKIA, BLACKBERRY, HP, PANASONIC, SHARP, SONY, GETRONICS, AIR FRANCE-KLM, ALSTOM, BANKS, EUROPE, INTELLIGENCE CONTINUUM, INERTIA, IGNORANCE

Companies do not exist for ever

“Why don’t companies last forever? Why do so many companies face serious problems after years of success? Why does management not react if the success rate of organizations comes to an end?”
This is because your company’s internal business intelligence dashboards, your big-data analytics, and the managers with titles like market insights, customer insights, marketing intelligence and market intelligence do not deliver the right intelligence!
We are right, aren’t we? Think of companies like GM, Nokia, Blackberry, HP, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, Getronics, Air France-KLM, Alstom, banks in Europe and elsewhere? Or the following companies in the Netherlands: Hans Textiel, Piet Kerkhof, Henk ten Hoor, Schoenenreus, Scapino, Free Record Shop, Marlies Dekkers, OAD, Halfords, Koops Automotive, Mexx, V&D, Imtech, MacIntosh, Vion Food Group, Van Gansewinkel and Ballast Nedam. All these companies have been in deep trouble and only a few have survived. Why is this?

We know why this happens, but we don’t act.

The key reason why these companies and so many others run into deep trouble is because they do not adapt in time to discontinuous change. And although we all know that discontinuous changes come from outside our companies, we continue to make the mistake of looking mainly inside. Strategic intelligence can help foresee in good time (at least 12-18 months ahead) whether the company is facing a strategic crisis. The mother of all strategic crises is the loss of competitive advantage. The challenge faced by strategic intelligence professionals is to deliver strategic intelligence which cannot be ignored, taking into account the high rate of future change, and overcoming ignorance and inertia.

What should companies do?

Companies have to take a step ahead by moving from level 1-2 towards level 3-4 on what we call the Intelligence Continuum. Levels 1-2 are about data and information and Levels 3-4 are about intelligence.
Level 1:         Competitive data collection: focus on market, customer and channel information – tactical
Level 2:         Industry and competitive analysis: focus on current markets and competitors – tactical
Level 3:         Competitive intelligence: focus on understanding the industry, technology, customers, competitors and legislation – tactical/strategic
Level 4:         Strategic intelligence: this covers a broad range of topics of strategic significance, strategic crisis, Grey Swans, and future competitive landscape
What we can see is that most organizations find it difficult to leave Levels 1-2 behind, because they are stuck in day-to-day operations within their business units or divisions. In addition, managers in these organizations struggle to get out of their comfort zones and continue managing their businesses as usual. This is why so many companies do not foresee discontinuous changes in the external business environment in a timely manner. In the next section, we consider how to do this.
“Strategic intelligence is unequalled intelligence presented to top management that cannot be ignored”
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