Problem Areas in the CI Cycle

• needs, 20 percent

• collection, 30 percent

• analysis, 40 percent

• dissemination, 10 percent ^[6]

Nonetheless, we continue to see a great deal of effort, in fact a disproportionate effort, spent on collection instead of analysis. We continually also see that the message of CI does not always get through. However the question is posed, the answer seems to be that many CI professionals are not providing management with action-oriented CI. The crux of this problem lies in at least two areas.

1. In terms of management's participation, some managers still seems reluctant to share with the CI professional exactly what they need to know and what they know (or think they know) already.

2. The CI professional then compensates for this lack of direction by tending to provide more "data," such as newsletters, and less hard analyses.

The solutions for these problems areas are as follows:

• CI professionals must work much harder on establishing the needs of their internal clients, with or without their assistance. They must continue to collect data on the widest basis possible, but must always understand that their mission is not to collect and report on data. Rather, they must spend more time and effort on analysis. That is where the real value of CI lies.

• They must learn to communicate their completed message properly. That means learning to say things in a clear and convincing style while also availing themselves of new, passive means of dissemination, such as technology like that provided by Lotus software.