The Top 9 Books On Competitive Intelligence
We love studying competitive intelligence. We are geeky that way. And sometimes we go old school and read books. A lot of them. And based on our extensive reading, these are the top 10 book for people studying competitive intelligence.
"Competitive Intelligence Rescue: Getting It Right" by Carolyn M. Vella and John J. McGonagle
Competitive Intelligence Rescue offers practical tools and strategies for identifying and addressing Competitive Intelligence (CI) problems. It provides helpful checklists and aids to streamline CI operations improvement. The authors' extensive experience in CI consulting shines through in their actionable advice. It’s a great book for competitive intelligence professionals and business leaders looking for a practical and instructive guide to Competitive Intelligence from CI consultants who have written multiple books on the subject.
Key Highlights:
Provides tools to identify and address CI problems
Offers checklists for improving CI operations
Focuses on enhancing business performance through CI
Criticisms: The case study format may seem repetitive for some readers (although we enjoyed it) and focus on rescure scenarios means that it may be less relavatn for organizations with established competitive intelligence programs.
"The Complete Guide to Competitive Intelligence" by Kirk Tyson
Tyson's book establishes a comprehensive blueprint for the entire CI process. It offers detailed methodologies for gathering, analyzing, and implementing intelligence. The book is an invaluable resource for CI professionals looking to establish or improve their corporate CI processes. Kirk Tyson is a respected CI expert with extensive experience in the field and the book is a comprehensive and methodical exploration for CI practitioners and managers.
Key Highlights:
Establishes a blueprint for the entire CI process
Provides detailed methodology for gathering and analyzing intelligence
Offers instruction on implementing a corporate CI process
"Competitive Intelligence: How to Gather, Analyze, and Use Information to Move Your Business to the Top" by Larry Kahaner
Kahaner's book provides an accessible introduction to Competitive Intelligence for businesses of all sizes. It explains how to transform raw information into valuable knowledge and winning business strategies. The author's journalistic background lends a practical, real-world approach to the subject for business managers and entrepreneurs.
Key Highlights:
Explains how to turn raw information into valuable knowledge
Provides strategies for implementing CI in businesses of all sizes
Emphasizes the importance of CI in American companies
Criticisms: Some of the content is outdated and doesn’t reflect current technological changes and lacks depth for experienced practioners.
"Strategic and Competitive Analysis: Methods and Techniques for Analyzing Business Competition" by Craig S. Fleisher and Babette E. Bensoussan
Fleisher and Bensoussan provide a thorough examination of analytical techniques for strategic and competitive analysis. The book is academic and thorough, offering in-depth explanations and practical applications of various methods. The authors' academic and consulting backgrounds ensure a balance of theoretical and practical insights for competitive intelligence analysts and strategic planners.
Key Highlights:
Covers a wide range of analytical techniques
Provides in-depth explanations of strategic analysis methods
Offers practical applications for business competition analysis
"Early Warning: Using Competitive Intelligence to Anticipate Market Shifts, Control Risk, and Create Powerful Strategies" by Ben Gilad
Gilad's book focuses on using CI for risk identification and management. It emphasizes the importance of early warning systems in competitive intelligence such as Competitive Genius. The author's expertise in strategic early warning provides valuable insights for business strategists and risk managers. It’s an insightful and stratgic read for business strategists and risk managers.
Key Highlights:
Focuses on risk identification and management
Emphasizes the importance of early warning systems in CI
Includes case studies to illustrate key concepts
Criticisms: The Kindle Version graphics are poorly done with illegible writing. It’s a bit lengthy and could have been more concise and crisp in many parts. Gilad has strong opinions and wry humor which can be off-putting.
"Competitive Strategy" by Michael Porter
Michael Porter is a legend, a renowned economist and professor at Harvard Business School, known for his work on strategy and competitiveness. Porter's seminal work introduces fundamental concepts like the Five Forces model. It provides frameworks for industry and competitor analysis that have become standard in business strategy. While not exclusively focused on competitive intelligence, this book is essential reading for understanding the competitive landscape and is a mainstay for business strategists and MBA students. That said, buyer beware, his tone is very academic.
Key Highlights:
Introduces Porter's Five Forces model
Provides frameworks for industry and competitor analysis
Offers insights into competitive advantage
Criticisms: It’s very academic in its tone which makes for a hard read. It’ also the oldest book on this list with many of the case studies from the 1970s and 1980s. It also lacks practical implementation advice and focuses on theory, which sometimes oversimplifies the complexities of real-world competitive environments.
"The Secret Language of Competitive Intelligence" by Leonard Fuld
Fuld is a pioneer in competitive intelligence and a founder of a leading CI consulting firm. He explores various methods for gathering and interpreting market intelligence. The book discusses how to maintain a competitive edge using competitive intelligence techniques. As a pioneer in the CI field, Fuld offers valuable insights based on his extensive experience for CI practitioners and business leaders.
Key highlights:
Explores various methods for gathering market intelligence
Discusses how to interpret and use competitive information
Provides strategies for maintaining a competitive edge
“Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant” by Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
Blue Ocean Strategy advocates for creating uncontested market spaces (blue oceans) rather than competing in existing, saturated markets (red oceans). It emphasizes value innovation by simultaneously pursuing differentiation and low cost, making competition irrelevant. The strategy provides a systematic approach to identifying and capturing new market opportunities that competitors have overlooked.
Key Highlights:
Market reconstruction: Focus on identifying alternative industries, strategic groups, and buyer chains to uncover new market spaces that competitors may not be considering.
Value curve analysis: Utilize the Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create grid to analyze and visualize how your organization can differentiate its value proposition from competitors.
Non-customer focus: Look beyond existing customers to understand the needs of non-customers, potentially revealing untapped market segments that competitors are ignoring.
Trend analysis: Pay close attention to emerging trends across time to anticipate future market shifts before competitors do, as outlined in the Six Paths Framework.
Strategic sequence: Ensure that new market opportunities are evaluated in the correct order: buyer utility, price, cost, and adoption. This sequence helps validate the commercial viability of blue ocean ideas before full commitment.
Criticisms: The book is more focused on strategic planning and compeititive positioning rather than competitive intelligence, per se. It contains great theoretical frameworks but is light on practical step-by-step guidance on how to create blue oceans.
"Gardens of Intelligence: Designing Robust Digital Market and Competitive Intelligence Platforms" by Gabriel Anderbjörk and Jesper Martell
This book explores challenges and opportunities in CI platforms using the authors' "Garden of Intelligence" framework. It aims to help organizations become more resilient and better equipped to handle future disruptions. While the garden metaphor is intriguing, the practical application of the framework may require further exploration.
Key Highlights:
Describes how the world has changed and why Competitive Intelligence is now essential to future proof your organization
Provides a step-by-step stairway to blooming a Garden of Intelligence
Reviews people and technology like Competitor Genius that needs to be put in place
