Are you giving away your information?

It is interesting to know that Russia have not stopped spying on the West. It is unlikely they will ever stop; after all we haven’t.

One of the skills of a Competitive Intelligence professional is to look for things that are not there and perhaps should be.

I note there has been no tit for tat expulsions of US embassy staff in Moscow and the Russian Government are hardly up in arms about the situation. A second Cuban missile crisis is hardly on the cards.

If you have ever read the Soviet Air Doctrine, (very interesting I know) you will know that they had/have units known as “Monkey Assets”. These assets tended to be older aircraft with less well trained pilots. Their task was to degrade the West’s Aircraft, saving their best Aircraft for the real fight. The ground forces had a similar strategy.

The former Soviets are creatures of habit and I am sure M15 and the FBI are currently searching  for the spies who are buried deeper in more important positions than been a guest at party attended by Prince William.

This situation has got me thinking about something more closer to you. Do you have sleepers and leaks in your business?

One of the best ways of ethically (I repeat ethically) collecting valuable information on your competitors is through primary conversations. Now having spies in your rivals business is not only unethical, it tends to be illegal especially if they give you secrets you can use.

All of the actions I am talking about are done innocently and usually part of a daily businesses life (unless you live in a bubble).

Questions to ask to ensure you are protecting yourself from your rivals advances are: 

• When your team are networking, do they say too much to make themselves look good?
• On a Friday night after work do they go to the same pub to wind down?
• If so, does the conversation move to office politics?
• Does your receptionist gossip to the sales person on the phone?
• Is the security guard at 3 in the morning moaning to drivers about the amount of work he has to do?
• Can you trust the recruiter to not say too much?
• At the tradeshow the people you tell how good you are and how exciting your new product is are buyers aren’t they?
• Who else does your PR firm work for?
• You latest article in the press, what does it not say? 

I am sure most people will not give away secrets deliberately and it may only be one piece of gossip. The more specialist the firm, the more aware people are of the risks. It may sound far fetched but just be aware of your surroundings.

A good Competitive Intelligence operator does not need the whole picture as he or she pieces together this information, verifies and then analyses it.

I hope this article has got you thinking and of course happy to help and advice.

Graeme Dixon, Director of www.Cast:csi.co.uk  and www.aimstrategic.com one of the UK’s premier Competitive Intelligence practitioners.  

Based in Nottingham, he also runs a niche Recruitment company specialising in MBA level placements, sport, employability/training and Business Analysis professionals.

Midlands Chairman of the Association of MBAs, Graeme has nearly 10 years Military Intelligence and 14 years Professional Recruitment and Headhunting experience.