"It's better to learn from your challengers than to try to ignore them" - Futurist Jim Carroll
Let's get back to innovation, with a quick little observation: don't hide from your competition, but learn from them.
I was busy putting together a presentation idea for a client, and realized that one of the things they needed to be thinking about was the idea of 'competitive intelligence.' What's that? It's a topic I covered extensively in a post a few years back, where I noted that "A good leader knows how their strategy is performing. A great leader knows how everyone else is doing!"
What is it? Investopedia describes it this way:
Competitive intelligence, sometimes referred to as corporate intelligence, refers to the ability to gather, analyze, and use information collected on competitors, customers, and other market factors that contribute to a business's competitive advantage.
The idea of "CI", as it's known, is particularly important in a fast-moving economy. Why's that? Because in a world in which change occurs at blinding speed, having a good idea of what's going on with your key competencies can be one of the most important sources of innovative ideas that you can have. You aren't necessarily copying them - you are making a key decision to at least keep up with them - and perhaps, outinnvate them.
I know that lots of folks don't like to acknowledge what their competition is doing, because it can often expose their very own weaknesses and outline where they're falling behind. But how are you supposed to ever move ahead if you can't acknowledge those realities?
Here's why CI is important - it will help you to:
- Identify opportunities: Done right, CI can help you uncover gaps in the market and unmet customer needs, because you are looking at your competitors' strengths and weaknesses. This might allow you to find new product and service ideas that offer unique value.
- Reduce risk and guide your strategy: By understanding market trends and the successes or failures of others, CI helps you to anticipate future shifts and avoid common pitfalls. If you see what your competition is doing wrong, you certainly won't do the same thing!
- Generate ideas for product development: Insights into competing products, including their features, pricing, and technology, allow you to differentiate your offerings and perhaps create solutions that stand out in a crowded marketplace
- Accelerate your innovation culture: A strong CI program encourages your team to be more forward-thinking - you learn to move faster!. It helps you set realistic performance benchmarks and pushes your people to continuously improve, adapt, and solve problems creatively - because they are challenged by someone else.
You can't hide from your competition - that's the surest pathway to failure. Instead, study them, learn from them, and get inspired by them!
Futurist Jim Carroll actually offered competitive intelligence services to his clients in the early 90s, using sophisticated online research services to provide them a detailed overview of what their competition was up to. Twenty years later, he was invited to open the annual conference of what became the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals!