Rom Gayoso, PhD.
Educator
Grand Canyon University, Wilkes University
KaSandra Husar
Strategic Intelligence
Intel Corporation
In the corporate world everything exists for a reason and every single person employed executes a set of predetermined instructions in a choreographed manner, almost like a spectacle. The spectacle will be considered “good” if it, taken as a whole, will enable the organization to deliver on its corporate objectives. Those “instructions” are coded messages issued by an overarching entity called Strategic Planning, and planning does not happen in a vacuum. Rather, in order for it to be successful, it is further segmented into key functional areas, among them Strategy, Marketing, and Finance.
Intelligence is the instrument of choice
to influence Strategy, Marketing, and Finance because it provides an analytical
framework and it produces a meaningful result. That is, CI delivers value-add
to all three functions. CI is also the preferred instrument to enable a form of
stakeholder management created to drive action that impacts the bottom line.
One way to think about that is to name some of the key deliverables from each
functional area and consider how CI plays a critical role in each one of them
(See Figure 1). For example, Strategic Planning cannot operate without
alternative demand scenarios, Marketing needs to deliver a thorough picture of
competition and Finance needs to identify and mitigate emerging risks to the
corporate financial goals. In all three examples, and in many more, the common
denominator across the board is a very engaged CI team. In essence, the CI
function not only permeates the organization and helps key areas of the firm
deliver on their goals, but CI also adds core value to all of those areas. How
exactly can we do that?
Figure 1: Intelligence Functions. Source:
Husar & Gayoso, SCIP 29
The answer is simple and comes through a method called KIMS, which stands for Knowledge Intelligence Management System. KIMS is a framework for enterprise-level intelligence capability and a systematic process of collecting and analyzing data to develop insights for an action plan. For example, say a Finance objective to identify, quantify, and mitigate any risks to revenue greatly benefits from a systematic approach. Consider the current Ukrainian crisis; since Russia is one of the world’s largest producers of Tungsten, then any further sanctions against that country would disrupt the Tungsten supply chain. So what? Well the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” is 15% Tungsten! The Russians have a supply agreement with Boeing and this metal is of strategic importance. Identifying such vulnerabilities in the supply chain is the work of intelligence professionals, and we would find ourselves at odds with those who advocate for greater consolidation of the supply base to achieve economies of scale; we would argue sole-sourcing of strategic materials is too big a risk for the corporation.
The best way to visualize KIMS is to
imagine a house, what we call the “House of KIMS” (See Figure 2). This is what we presented during SCIP 29 in
Orlando. The goal is to ensure delivery of essential elements of information to
key stakeholders, and if CI can do just that, then our actions yield optimal
decisions. In the process not only are
we advocating for change in the corporation, or at least challenging the status
quo, but also meeting leadership expectations. CI earns its keep through the
value we add. In order to deliver value, we have three main pillars: people, information,
and tools.
Figure 2: The House of KIMS. Source:
Husar/Gayoso, SCIP 29
CI enables people to do a good job because we deliver strategic acumen across
the organization, we create virtual networks of collaboration and we help
people connect the dots between the stimuli in the environment and the
functional area or department in the strategic business unit. CI uniquely adds
value the way we process information,
synthesize trends and deepen understanding of the competitive position in the
marketplace. Finally, CI provides the tools
necessary to enable people and information to come together in the form of a
one-stop shop for infrastructure, data repository, and site management. At the
base or the foundation of the House of KIMS is CI’s raison d’etre. That is, we exist as the glue that binds several
critical functions together through the Strategy and Intelligence network.
Luckily we are not alone in this fight, as
the many great exhibitors at SCIP29 showed. For example, we discovered Aurora’s
First Light platform, which is a great tool to enable smooth integration of people,
information, and tools by aggregating information from thousands of sources so
it can be collected, vetted, and disseminated quickly and effectively. Now,
more than ever we need to invest the necessary resources into that which makes
CI more productive and technology is our greatest ally, for it acts as a force
multiplier for any CI team. For example,
we could sync First Light with EDGAR and pull financial information and
macro-economic data from aggregators for strategy discussions and generate
product comparison cards at the push of a button. In other words, technology in
the form of these next gen intelligence tools will enable the Strategy and
Intelligence Network – the base of KIMS – to become even more effective.
In this article, we described how CI is
not only the glue that joins key function areas of the firm together, but
rather we are an essential component of the value-add for Strategy, Marketing,
and Finance.
About
the Authors
Rom Gayoso is a professional economist
with 12+ years of experience in the Semiconductor industry and he teaches
graduate Economics, Statistics and Management courses at local universities in
Phoenix, AZ. His expertise is in Econometric Modeling, Competitive Intelligence
and Scenario Planning; he is responsible for developing several forecasting
models for a Fortune 500 firm. His materials have been presented both in the
United States and abroad, at SCIP, World Future Society, Institute of Business
Forecasting, Intelligence for Business Strategy, Frost & Sullivan Executive
MindXchange, Market Research Summit, and Future Trends Conferences.
KaSandra Husar is a global strategic
program manager specializing in organizational intelligence capability design
and analysis. She holds a dual MBA from the University of Vienna and the University
of South Carolina in Supply Chain Management and International Studies. She has
been at Intel for over 13 years as a key driver of the design and development
of TMG supply Market Intelligence solutions and currently leads intelligence
design for Intel’s HR division. Kass is active in the external industry and her
materials have been published and featured at SCIP 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2014,
the Predictive Intelligence Summit, the Electronics Supply Chain Association,
the Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies, and the Corporate Executive Board.
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