Competitive Intelligence

Competitive Intelligence: Tactical or Strategic?

Competitive Intelligence | Win/Loss

Those familiar with competitive intelligence often debate whether there is a difference between strategic or tactical CI. The discussion got me thinking about how CI by itself is not wholly strategic, nor tactical. In fact, it is a…

January 8, 2019 Read more

Prisoners of Geography and Prisoners of Change

Competitive Intelligence | Strategy | Uncategorized

Notes from the UK and European Operations of Fletcher/CSI. With reference to the best seller, Prisoners of Geography, written by Tim Marshall, Businesses of all sizes in the United Kingdom (UK) & Europe are now forced to…

December 19, 2018 Read more

Thirty Year Perspective: Looking Forward

Competitive Intelligence | General | Strategy

As we draw to the end of 2018 and move into the 31st year for Fletcher/CSI, it’s time to look to the future. If the past 30 years have provided any insights, it is that change will be a constant in the following 30 years, and likely…

December 19, 2018 Read more

Competitive Intelligence in Times of Uncertainty

Competitive Intelligence | Strategy | Uncategorized

At its core, CI helps reduce uncertainty for company leadership. In periods of little change or market disruption, this is a relatively direct task that mostly follows known competitors in known markets. During periods of turbulence…

November 30, 2018 Read more

Going Beyond the Basics: How Leveraging a CI Vendor Can Support CI Unit Growth

Competitive Intelligence | Strategy | Uncategorized

Competitive intelligence, strategy, and market intelligence leaders across all industries feel the same pressures: The pressure to demonstrate the value of their CI function and grow it The pressure to regularly return actionable…

November 30, 2018 Read more

The Competitive Intelligence Market Cycle

Competitive Intelligence | Strategy

As Fletcher/CSI continues to celebrate its 30th year in operation, we pause to reflect on how the past thirty years have changed the practice of CI. This month my thoughts are about the larger CI cycles and where in the cycle we are…

October 29, 2018 Read more

What Does it Take to be a CI Professional?

Competitive Intelligence

Looking back over our thirty-year history, I am reminded of a key question that crops up whenever I talk to companies starting a CI unit. The question most frequently asked is about how to staff the unit and more specifically, what…

August 28, 2018 Read more

Is Your CI Unit Effective? Insights from the 5th Annual Effective CI Survey

Competitive Intelligence | Strategy

Our 30-year anniversary coincided with the administration and analysis of our 5th Annual Effective CI Survey. We originally launched the survey five years ago to identify CI best practices and understand how they directly link to more…

June 28, 2018 Read more

Lessons from Cybersecurity for the CI professional

Competitive Intelligence | Technology

As we continue our 30-year celebration, I am reminded of how much cross-pollination there is between Competitive Intelligence skill sets and other analytical tools. Recently, that cross-pollination was highlighted in an application…

May 31, 2018 Read more

Past and Present: The Fortune 500 in 1988 vs. 2018

Competitive Intelligence | Strategy

As Fletcher/CSI reflects on the past 30 years of advising the world's leading companies, it is interesting to analyze how the Fortune 500 list has changed since our founding in 1988. Today, we focus on providing competitive…

March 14, 2018 Read more

1 2 … 4 Next