Internal Networking

There are several proven benefits to internal networking, that is developing and maintaining a set of contacts on an ongoing basis. ^[2] They include:

• developing internal data sources

• expanding the universe of individuals who are familiar with CI

• establishing a foundation for running a defensive CI program

• aiding in the long-term development and integration of the CI program

This work should be done by every member of the CI unit because the composition of the unit will change over time. You do not want to have your internal networking run by one person who then leaves the unit for a career change. In addition, different people have different contacts within the firm so they will have different starting sets of contacts.

How do you set up such a network? Calling individuals, explaining what the new (to you) unit is doing is a good start. Also, you may want to offer to help them, even if it is done unofficially. That way, people may feel that they "owe" you a favor. Gratitude is a stronger bond than mere association. One hint is to look, in your ongoing CI research, for small items that might be of interest to someone else in the firm. Then you can e-mail or copy the item and forward it with a note to the effect that you hope that the item will be of interest. Do not flood people. A relevant item every few months is more than enough. Then, after a few items have been forwarded, a quick call asking if the items were of any interest is a good step. Follow that with the question, is there anyone else they know who is interested in CI? Finally, keep in touch with a contact as he or she shifts from unit to unit or is promoted.

In some situations, you may find that networking is not enough to create a cooperative relationship. In that case, offer incentives to induce critical potential data providers to cooperate with you. For example, your sales force should be make aware of the importance of current, accurate data about both customers and competitors. The sales force should be able to provide important data about loyal, long-standing customers, customers that have recently switched to competitors, new customers, and potential customers. They already have available some or all of the following, which they collect or gather on a regular basis: ^[3]

• win-loss reports

• customer satisfaction data

• rumors

• competitor materials.

In addition, the sales force should be able to provide at least partial data about potential new product introductions by competitors, which can be gained by listening to customers. ^[4]

Once you have made the sales force aware of this, you should try to give the salespeople a reason to cooperate. That reason may be recognition at headquarters and by their supervisors, it may come in the form of receiving CI they can use, or it may be financial rewards. Without an appropriate incentive, many salespeople may feel that data gathering is just taking up time they could use to make sales, so they will not cooperate.

Expand the Universe of Individuals Who Are Familiar with CI. As we indicated during the discussion on training, to be successful, a CI unit must make sure that it is known, that the purpose of CI is understood, and that individuals within the firm know who is involved with CI. While training must be a critical part of this process, it is rarely enough. That is why effective CI units also use their internal networks as a way of spreading the word about CI. Just as a few carefully chosen clips disclosing important data may help develop future potential sources of data, the CI unit should carefully use short articles or reports about CI to spread the word about its work. This type of piece is best used following a short telephone call to a potential contact. Select articles that show CI in a positive light and, if possible, find ones that mention what specific companies have done. Then you can use them as a vehicle, both to market CI and to educate individuals about your unit.

Establish a Foundation for Running a Defensive CI Program. Few CI units are involved in setting up and advancing a defensive CI program during their early years. However, it is just those first years when it is often easiest to build up an internal network of contacts to aid in this process at a later date. By the time you are ready to propose a defensive program or are called upon to establish it, you will have a number of individuals who are already sensitive to the process of CI. It is then but a small step to educate them that the kinds of competitively sensitive data they have located for you should be denied to your competitors. They thus become the first groups of individuals to help carry on such a program. ^[5]

Aid in the Long-Term Development and Integration of the CI Program. Over time, the CI needs of a firm will change. ^[6] Moreover, as Chapter 14 shows, to be successful, a CI unit must plan for the long-term. In particular, it must plan to change as the firm does. An internal network may be the most effective way to find out about forthcoming changes that can impact future CI needs (and thus, future CI careers). That is, the more the CI staff knows about its own internal environment, the better it can position itself to deliver CI that is of use to its end users.

There may even come a time when management, perhaps the very management that helped create a CI unit, may consider cutting back that effort, or even eliminating it. Frankly, that does not make a lot of sense, but we have seen it happen with respect to particular lines of business that senior management is considering selling or spinning off. The rationale there is that management seeks to cut, for a short time at least, any and all functions that do not directly contribute to the bottom line within a very short period (such as one fiscal quarter or less).

But merely because one SBU no longer wants to conduct CI, for whatever reason, that does not mean that another SBU does not want to start doing it or to expand it. By being realistic, having and utilizing an internal network means that you can, and should, be looking for a place to take a CI program if it loses its "home." In addition, the contacts made through internal networking allow CI professionals to help spread CI throughout an enterprise. Thus units that currently see no need for CI may, after regular contact with a CI unit elsewhere, begin to appreciate its potential value to their operations.

External Networking

Improve the CI Performance of the CI Unit's Members. Networking with other CI professionals can be a fast and relatively inexpensive way to learn new techniques or even to develop better skills. Here we are talking about CI professionals who are not working for competitors. While CI professionals are uniquely sensitive to the problems of defending against the competitive intelligence efforts of others, they are human, nonetheless. That means that they may fall into too close a relationship with the CI professional at a competitor firm because they "both face the same problems," forgetting that even the questions they ask or complaints they make may, inadvertently, give a competitor a glimpse of competitively sensitive issues.