However, while this conflict may be inevitable, that is not the same as saying that it must be a problem, or even destructive. Recall that each of these CI units must have the same skills and that each uses, or at least can select from, the same set of analytical tools. They each face similar issues when it comes to ascertaining the needs of their respective end users, developing data sources, and communicating findings and conclusions. These commonalities can be exploited and developed through affirmative networking within and among these separate groups.

In fact, to achieve CI's true potential, all these types of CI should be coordinated, whether that is formally or informally. Moreover, as the AP&QC CI Best Practice studies show us that coordination must be at the staff level. Coordination at the level of the manager, or even the end user is not sufficient to assure that the commonalities will overcome the natural competition, and even conflicts.

The goal of staff-level coordination is to see that each of these CI units is in a circular relationship with all the others. That is, they each feed, challenge, and reinforce all the others. The experience of the CI Best Practice firms indicates that one pivotal key to this is to advocate and support the ongoing communication of the firm's overall intelligence needs among the analysts and researchers to help them coordinate and integrate the firm's intelligence production. This can be accomplished through regular meetings among the various CI units' staff, supplemented by ongoing networking at all levels. There are a wide variety of topics on which theses efforts can focus, all of which will benefit, not only the CI units' staff, but also the quality of the work received by all of their end users.

Consider the following areas as useful subjects of coordination and cooperation:

• intelligence needs

• data collection

• intelligence end products

In terms of cooperating on intelligence needs, an enterprise with several units, whether or not they are officially coordinated through one central manager, CI professionals can, and should, do the following:

Data collection efforts in CI units with different orientations will tend to be different, but there are areas where coordination can be very profitable and powerful:

• Have the CI units create a way to track all outside, "off the shelf" reports that are purchased or subscribed to. Then, before buying such a document for the unit or an end user, a simple check will show whether a copy already exists in house. Using such a system even a few times can generate significant, easily documented savings to the firm. In addition, it may allow a team to use a resource that it might not be in a position to buy.

• Establish regular networking sessions, perhaps over lunch, to discuss outside contractors. The use of outside firms to conduct CI research and analysis or to provide onetime reports will vary widely from unit to unit and over time. If the CI units know that they can check on how well an outside firm performed, they can quickly eliminate firms with an unsatisfactory track record and put into consideration firms with which they are not familiar but that have performed well for others.

• In the case of overlapping assignments, CI units can divide up some of the data gathering, playing to each unit's strengths. Thus, one might focus on primary research, with telephone interviews of key individuals, while another might take the responsibility for an in-depth literature, or secondary, review. Each unit would do its own analysis and, probably, supplement the work each other has done, but this would still save time and resources in the long run.