SCIP Past President Named Fulbright Scholar
June 17, 2009 by tnowlin · Stored at: Dr. Paul Dishman, long-time member and Past President of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and research at the University of Donja Gorica (UDG) in Montenegro during the 2010 academic year, according to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Dishman will lecture on Competitive Intelligence to graduate and undergraduates at UDG and will provide market intelligence applications to businesses in order to increase Montenegro’s global competitiveness during the country’s transitional economy stage. Dishman holds a bachelor of Fine Arts, a masters in Marketing, and a doctorate in Marketing Research. Before returning to academia he served on the marketing staffs of both Apple Computer and IBM. He has taught competitive intelligence for more than 15 years, has conducted industry and market intelligence projects for over two decades, and has lectured in China as part of a United Nations invitation
Ken Garrison, CEO of SCIP, says that Dishman’s prestigious achievement is important to the field. “SCIP congratulates Dr. Dishman on his award. With the backing of the State Department, he will show that competitive intelligence is vital to building businesses and strengthening economies on a global scale,” Garrison said. SCIP President Martha Gleason added, “Through his Fulbright Scholarship, Paul will be able to advance not only a developing country’s economy, but make important strides for competitive intelligence professionals.”
“I am honored to be named a Fulbright Scholar. It is exciting to be able to contribute in some small way to the economic development of the newest country in the world, Montenegro. I am looking forward to meeting and working with the students and professionals that are dedicated to diversifying the Montenegrin economy,” Dishman said
“The Fulbright Scholar program provides a unique exchange that allows people all over the world to learn about Americans on a very personal level,” stated Senator Orrin G. Hatch. “Professor Dishman will be a wonderful scholar-ambassador for America; and will be a tremendous asset to Montenegro, a country that is dedicated to developing its private enterprise sector.”
Dishman is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. The Fulbright Program, America’s flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the United States Department of State. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
Merger Update
June 2, 2009 by Ken Garrison · Stored at: June 2, 2009
Dear SCIP Members and the CI Community:
On behalf of the SCIP Board of Directors, I would like to keep you abreast of the next stages of our merger process. As noted in our update of May 18, we began an internal process of all of the SCIP processes, functions, and services to prepare for discussion with our merger partners.
Beginning June 3, 2009, we are holding departmental meetings with our partners on financial strategy, research, CI content, event integration, website, outreach to related communities, sales/sponsorship, and global expansion. In each area we will seek opportunities to improve or develop new opportunities for efficiencies or expansion. When options are developed they will be vetted to ensure that they meet SCIP’s member’s needs on all levels of our membership stakeholders whether they are practitioners, vendors, academics, or students.
On June 5, 2009, the SCIP Executive Committee comprised of Martha Gleason, Eduardo Flores Bermudez, Scott Leeb and Joe Goldberg will meet via teleconference with David Frigstad to begin devising the overall integration process.
As noted earlier this strategy will evolve over months not weeks. The challenge for all of the individuals involved is to maintain a focus on the current schedule of classes, webinars, and events, such as the Euro Summit in Amsterdam, as well as publishing the CI magazine and providing member services, while looking to change the structure of the organization.
The Board of Directors had previously reached out asking members to communicate with them directly if they had questions or areas of interest that needed further discussion. On Monday a very thoughtful letter addressed to the entire board and SCIP staff was received from August Jackson:
I am writing to you in response to board member Eric Glitman’s invitation to reach out to the SCIP board following the recent membership vote to support the SCIP - Frost & Sullivan Institute merger. While I do not claim to speak for any others, I do know that in sentiment if not in detail I am of the same opinion of many other members of the society. I welcome a frank and open discussion with the staff, board and membership at this time of challenge and opportunity.
Through the past five years I have been an active volunteer for SCIP, including as chapter chair, author, presenter, program committee member and conference vice-chair. I hope that these activities have sufficiently established my “pro-SCIP” bona fides. I have also spoken publicly in support of the SCIP - FSI merger in multiple venues public and private, voted in favor of the merger and am genuinely glad that the membership voted to support the merger.
Today I want to articulate the specific steps, strategies and options that I hope the board and staff will take at this time of opportunity.
I will be brief in this letter, and I am happy to discuss these ideas in detail with any member of the board or staff. I welcome your response.
1. In-depth analysis for all SCIP stakeholders and a clear articulation of the relevant value SCIP intends to deliver to each of these groups. Practitioners, vendors and academics receive different value from membership and participation in the society, and SCIP’s strategic plan must recognize these distinct communities.
2. Active engagement of the Competitive Intelligence and related communities through new media, including outreach to members via LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning and other social media. All organizations that intend to engage communities today need to go to where those communities are. The vast majority of the community WILL be understanding, forgive you if you make mistakes and admire thoughtful attempts to evolve.
3. A coherent information technology (IT) infrastructure and governance strategy. The potential from shared services and IT insight from FSI was the main reason I voted for this merger, and my expectations are very high here. For starters SCIP’s board should develop an IT strategy in collaboration with the staff and qualified volunteer members (I humbly volunteer). Some of my suggestions for consideration include preference for hosted solutions that avoid up-front capital investment, open data formats, open source and low-cost software, application programming interfaces (APIs) and solutions that offer clear migration frameworks and technology roadmaps. The purpose of an IT strategy is to ensure the ability to deliver cost-effective flexibility for innovative revenue-generating offerings to members.
4. Diversification of SCIP’s revenue model. I am excited to hear about the possibility of a conference in Asia-Pacific. This is a great first step to move the society away from reliance on the annual conference. I strongly encourage SCIP’s board and members to lay out a diverse set of options to deliver member value and generate revenue for the society. One option that leaps immediately to mind is certification, which is something I believe our profession sorely needs.
5. Transparent governance, including publishing of minutes from Board of Directors meetings, open meetings that coincide with national conferences and regular participation by board members and senior SCIP staff in a variety of social networks and the SCIP blog.
I welcome any comments or questions in response to these suggestions.
Any member of the board or staff should feel free to e-mail or call me.
Sincerely,
August Jackson
In his letter, August asked some very relevant questions with regard to SCIP stakeholders and a value proposition for each of those stakeholders. To provide a broader view of this topic, I would ask each of you to review the SCIP Strategic Plan that was developed from an extensive member survey in 2007and 2008. It was finalized by the board of directors in August 2008 for implementation for the period of 2009-2013. The entire board noted when the opportunity of the merger arose, that the options presented by the merger gave SCIP the very best opportunity to implement this strategic plan and expand on the possibilities defined in the plan.
Additionally, August asks for active engagement through social media and an improved IT infrastructure. Again, this is one of the strong suits our member partner brings to the table and I believe we will see the results of this change of structure in the near future. August makes one other very diplomatic and humble point in volunteering to add his specific expertise in this area. Not only is this commentary appreciated, but we will find a way to integrate August and his expertise in the process.
The fourth point asks for SCIP to diversify its revenue model. Again I would point to the strategic plan that defined that very point. While we all recognize the need, the opportunity to act on the diversification will be significantly aided by the merger. As noted, we have already begun discussion of an Asian conference, are in the process of expanding the Euro Summit, and the certification committee, in conjunction with the education committee, has its second meeting scheduled for June 17, 2009, to deliver stage one of the process.
The letter is closed in asking for a transparent governance process and for staff and board participation in the social networks and the SCIP blog. The board is very conscious of this process. The intention is to publish open letters such as August’s in SCIP’s communication vehicles and a response such offered in this letter. Additionally, SCIP will use the same communication vehicles to keep all members updated on the merger process and developments.
The board and the staff are in unison in asking for the feedback and the commentary. The Society is built to serve the membership, and the involvement of our members through our committee structure or as individuals is critical to the success of the Society. Your participation is very much appreciated.
Regards:
Ken Garrison
CEO SCIP
Merger Update
Dear SCIP Members and CI Community:
We would like to take this opportunity to update you on the status of the SCIP merger with the Frost & Sullivan Institute. Stage one of the merger has been completed with the membership vote that approved the merger option. The voting closed on May 15 with 94 percent of the voting members approving of the proposed merger.
The next stage is a process which began on Monday May 18 with a review an internal review of SCIP process, functions and services to seek potential synergies when merging with FSI. The process is to seek efficiencies in operations to expand our marketing base, grow our membership and conference attendance, and examine the opportunity for new and expanded services.
A discussion will begin shortly with the merger team from FSI and the SCIP team to define those synergies and determine an implementation plan. The review, evolution, and implementation of this opportunity will occur in a slow and measured process over a period of months–not weeks. The entire Board of Directors is focused on reviewing each stage and process to find the formula that provides the maximum value proposition to the entire membership. The Board will keep you informed via the SCIP website, the SCIP Voice, and SCIP Online as details become available.
If you have questions or suggestions please contact either Martha Gleason, SCIP Chair, or Ken Garrison, SCIP CEO.
Martha Gleason and Ken Garrison
SCIP09 Photo Gallery Now Available!
Did you miss SCIP09? Fear not. We have a photo album for you to peruse from the best CI function of 2009. Click here!
SCIP Issues Press Release on Merger
Check out SCIP’s public statement about our merger with the Frost & Sullivan Institute on the SCIP website.
Opportunity
I’d like to share with you thoughts from a member as SCIP moves forward to a new chapter.
Ken
I have been told that I have led an interesting and exciting life. What I have done is make use of the opportunities that have been offered to me. Opportunities are always exciting. So now SCIP, along with membership approval, can make use of an opportunity it now has. This is very exciting for SCIP. Where does it take it? What does it do?
SCIP, although a professional association, has more than just a mission statement. It has a life of its own. It must live CI. In the life of a professional association, this means promotion of the discipline around the world, instituting pride in the practitioners of the discipline, teaching established methods of practice in the discipline for those just beginning and newer methods that enable the discipline to progress to another level. In addition, there is the social side. Members of any discipline have a need to interact. They must get together with others who share their own interests and “speak CI.“
SCIP has performed all the above for many years admirably and, with their new opportunity, will continue to do so in the future. I hope to see many of you at SCIP events in the future where we can all help SCIP make the most of their new exciting opportunity.
- Carolyn M. Vella, Meritorious Award Winner, Helicon Group
SCIP/ Frost & Sullivan Institute merger
May 8, 2009 by Bonnie Hohhof · Stored at: A discussion on the Competitive Intelligence ning site, started by Kieran Michael Brown, has covered several aspects of the upcoming SCIP/ Frost & Sullivan Institute merger . Copied below are several comments from SCIP members which you may find of value.
Bonnie
From Melanie Wing:
I think this is a great opportunity to further SCIP’s goals and to extend the reach of competitive intelligence. Since I was president of the board in 2003 - 2004, I have watched the financial vulnerability of SCIP limit the ways that SCIP can add value to practitioners and the broader business universe. I am, personally, really excited about the opportunities that this merger creates.
I have to believe that the SCIP Board of Directors reviewed many different options to ensure the future of SCIP. These are smart people that have the best interests of the SCIP members and the CI profession at heart. Moving forward in any endeavor requires the acceptance of change and this is one that is a long time in coming and has the potential to make a real difference if SCIP and its membership embrace it and wait to see how it evolves. There is probably a great opportunity for SCIP members to become involved in shaping the future of the organization and increasing the value of SCIP membership and CI to a broader audience.
From August Jackson:
I’m digging out of a pile of work (this is a running-to-stand-still kind of day) but did want to quickly share my thoughts and why I voted yes for the merger. I have three main reasons for having done so:
1. Infusion of cash. SCIP entered the year with a deficit, and Chicago was not the financial success we wanted it to be. It was what it was in this economic environment, but it just didn’t generate enough cash to build a bridge over the chasm for SCIP. Like a lot of associations SCIP operates somewhat from paycheck to paycheck, and the take-home pay from this one wasn’t what it needed to be. I get a lot of value from SCIP, and I don’t want it to go away.
2. Access to technology. I have been on SCIP about this one that their approach to web technologies is behind the times and makes it a challenge for them to deliver value to members. Frost & Sullivan have a technical infrastructure and expertise that will provide a platform and knowledge transfer to enable SCIP to improve the delivery of on-line services. I intend to be a very strong advocate for taking advantage of these new tools and expertise to drive member value and higher profitability (for starters SCIP will likely have a much more attractive cost base for their webinars).
3. Marketing. Frost has a big customer list, CRM platform and marketing savvy that SCIP cannot replicate. This will help us drive membership, drive attendance and drive participation.
Frost & Sullivan bring more to the table than just a cash investment. They bring real assets, expertise and scale that can drive real member value. I know the Frost guys are savvy enough to realize the importance of a vibrant ecosystem of CI vendors and practitioners. Rather than simply dominate or try to monopolize the space they are smart enough to understand that they have an important part to play in raising the tide that will lift all boats (to paraphrase the recently departed Jack Kemp).
(Disclaimer: My employer is a Frost client and I spoke at their Competitive Intelligence MindXChange this past January and received free registration to the event in exchange for that presentation.)
From Ken Sawka:
Basically, from what I understand, it boils down to this: no merger, no SCIP. I’m sure the Board has explored all other alternatives, and we as members need to trust their judgment (we did elect them, after all, and if you don’t vote in board elections then your bad) that they are operating in the best interests of the membership. When I was on the board in 1999-2001, there was not a board meeting at which the words “is this in the best interests of the members” were not spoken. SCIP has operated on the financial ropes for many years, and in this economy there really is no way out. I think the F&S Institute is a great partner — certainly better than others that could have been under consideration — and that the members will benefit from this decision.
SCIP is unique in that it has a relatively narrow focus, unlike SLA which includes librarians and information professionals of many stripes. SCIP reminds me of the old Planning Forum, which went under about 10 years ago and has really yet to re-emerge to its past glory under its successor organization the Association for Strategic Planning. Better that the Board avoided the complete demise of the organization and sought out a merger with what I understand to be a very effective and stable organization.
From Ellen Naylor:
I’ll be voting YES although I’m sad it comes to this cash infusion by F&S, but yet I am grateful and hopeful that F&S will bring about new opportunities for the profession. We have seen the writing on the wall for a number of years now as CI is such a narrow niche. I am reminded about some of the responses in Bill Fiora’s post, “Are we in a rut?” Perhaps F&S, with its good marketing, will broader our reach for CI, something we have strived for, for years.
From Craig Fleisher:
Dylan said the times they are a’changing… and this is a change that can potentially blow a breath of fresh air and hope into the CI community and SCIP as an association. I’m supportive of this recommended change, particularly in light of the unpalatable alternative (-s) and a realization that SCIP’s business model, as it was and has been constituted, was ill-prepared to deal with the adverse economic context the association finds itself (and many of its peer associations) in.
F&S have a long-standing relationship with the CI community and at least a few of their key people have moved from that base on to bigger and (apparently) more lucrative things. I have participated in a fair number of successful F&S CI-themed events in various places around the globe through the years to know that they have a depth of management and marketing expertise that can potentially assist SCIP’s achievement of its core objectives.
As I have long been on the record saying, I remain far more interested in driving the automobile by peering out the front windshield than doing it by looking at the journey through the rear-view mirror. Even those individuals in the Ning community who aren’t members of SCIP can recognize the “tipping point” nature of this confluence of events. If the new F&S/SCIP combination is going to work for CI and the entire community who has a stake in the discipline, it will be up to everyone who has a stake in this to step up, be counted, and do what they can.
SCIP members should show their elected Board and the dedicated staff members their confidence by supporting the proposal. As in all things, time will be the best judge of the correctness of that position, but we ought to give it a chance and try to help it succeed. I’m hoping for better times ahead for SCIP and for the larger CI community of which the association has been the critical institutional force… let’s give SCIP/F&S a chance.
From Colleen Meeker:
I also voted yes to the merger. My Board term ended December 2008, and believe me, the Board and SCIP leadership have had the best interests of the membership in mind in their actions during my full term, and especially during the last year as the realities of the recession affected SCIP’s budget and revenue stream.
I see great benefits in the F&S arrangement, to help maintain the value that SCIP is already providing to members and the CI profession, as well as to help it make some of the new investments and changes it would like to pursue, especially for the global membership.
SCIP has struggled with finding a realistic way to move off its dependence on in-person learning delivery and to build up a body of knowledge from which to better serve the global membership. Noble intent only gets a lean association so far, and investment capital to all SCIP to build an offering in advance of revenues has not been in the picture. This discussion is great because it has touched on so many of the challenges SCIP has faced and the possible future that the merger offers.
I’m happy that SCIP’s not going anywhere, and neither am I. I have received huge benefit from my membership over the years, and I’ve tried to volunteer and give back. I’ll continue to do that under the new structure.
From Bill Fiora:
I am also in favor of the agreement with F&S. Every major change brings opportunities to those who have the mindset to take advantage of them. As with the current recession, there are companies that are hunkering down, and there are companies that are aggressively turning negatives into positives and positioning themselves for the recovery. I suggest that we adopt the latter mindset.
Having served on the Board for almost 5 years, and as Treasurer for 3 of those years, I know all too well the financial constraints under which SCIP has operated. For close to ten years, the Society has been working to rebuild itself after the last downturn (and financial mistakes made at that time.) From my perspective, the business model for many individual associations (including SCIP) has not been viable for years. Rather than seeing this current situation where SCIP is in trouble as a deviation from the norm, I think the years when SCIP was profitable were deviations from the norm. At that time, a number of fortunate events allowed the Society to accumulate enough cash to postpone the inevitable. As a financial model, it simply doesn’t work – at least not for an organization of our size and membership structure.
A few benefits of the F&S deal appeal to me. First, F&S can help us to build a larger “tent” for SCIP. I see a future SCIP as a combination of a small number of full-time CI professionals, and a huge number of business professionals who are not members, but who can benefit from the CI skill set. To date, the Society has been unable to attract that huge number, and the reach of F&S can allow us to do that. Second is the benefit of shared services. If the F&S Institute functions as I understand it will, SCIP will share the costs of maintaining membership systems, web sites, office space, etc. These are not insignificant costs, in terms of both time and money.
Fundamentally, F&S will benefit from a larger and stronger SCIP. Their purpose here is not altruistic, but I imagine their goal is to be seen as a center of forward-thinking research and analysis. Working with SCIP builds that image. While the cynic in me worries that F&S will simply co-op the SCIP brand and destroy the Society, it would be far easier and more profitable for them to help SCIP grow, and thereby profit from their association with us.
Each of us needs to decide if we want to work within this new structure or not. I encourage you to think creatively about the positive aspects of this arrangement before you decide. If you vote no, and then work to establish a better alternative, I wish you the best of luck. We all owe our jobs to competition, and we can all benefit from new ideas and new thinking. Voting no to “punish” the Society for what you believe it didn’t see or didn’t understand, however, accomplishes nothing. I encourage all of you to vote yes and to bring your good ideas forward.
From Fred Wergeles:
I, too, will vote YES for this proposed merger. I echo the the comments of Colleen Meeker, Bill Fiora, Melanie Wing and Craig Fleisher - all colleagues of mine on the SCIP Board during my tenure. I can’t remember one Board meeting in which some very good program idea or new concept was raised, only to be frustratingly postponed or deferred due to a lack of human or financial resources.
I sympathise with Mark Johnson’s (and other’s) comments concerning his frustration in trying to offer changes to the organization. Having been the Board member responsible for Chapters (and the current Connecticut Chapter Chair), I know too well that it is a painstakingly slow process to try to move a big ship that is under-powered - that was the predicament SCIP was faced with due to the lack of funds.
The merger with F&S hopefully will provide not only much-needed financial resources to undertake new initiatives to increase member value, it will also offer increased exposure to a broader audience for the Competitive Intelligence discipline, the profession and those that ply this unique and important talent.
I look forward to supporting the new organization.
Competitive Technical Intelligence is at the printer!
Yet another of the Competitive Intelligence Foundation’s books is complete. Competitive Technical Intelligence, the fourth book in the Topic in CI series is at the printer and copies will be shipped shortly.
Brad Ashton has done a fantastic job in gathering together over 20 chapter authors and provinding a wide-ranging overview of current activities in competitive technical intelligence. In addition, he has worked with the authors to include in the book an unprecidented number of case studies from many industries. The book’s almost 300 pages cover all aspects of CTI, from supporting product development and early warning to technology mapping.
The CI Foundation is currently offering a pre-publication price of $49.95.
Private company information
Last week August Jackson spoke in a SCIP webinar on the tools and techniques of finding information about private companies. (If you missed the live webinar, you will be able to purchase a copy at the webinar archive. )
From the webinar’s cohesiveness and smooth organization, it was obvious that August spent significant time in developing its content and that he also had a comprehensive command of the topic. He discussed the need to develop a three point plan (set project goal/deliverable, plan research strategy, develop research targets) and use it as the framework to guide your activities. August then reviewed the most productive sources for private company information.
But the highlight of the webinar came when he took his previous discussion points and showcased them by walking through the steps of an actual project where the goal was to evaluate the capabilities of a private company. This exercise alone was worth the admission price.
Kudos to August for a job well done.
SCIP job postings
I noticed a significant uptick in the number of job posting on the SCIP job site last week — six of them in five days. It’s not a flood, but it is an indication that at least some companies are maintaining if not expanding their support of their competitive intelligence functions.
BTW, if you’ve not subscribed to the automatic alerting service that SCIP’s job service provides, you should, even if you’re not actively looking for a new position. I find it helpful to keep an eye on what responsibilities and experiences companies are requiring for their new CI people, to spot new requirements as they develop.