COVID-19 and Competitive Intelligence

The post-COVID-19 future will be more competitive.

COVID-19… What times in which we live. :/

Before I continue with this blog post, I want to say that I hope you are and your family is safe, happy, and healthy. We should be all thankful if you’re reading this that hopefully do you have remained intact during these distraught times. We should always think about those who are less fortunate and perhaps have been directly affected by this terrible virus. It’s times like these that we find ourselves more intensely focused on our sense of humanity and community. And if you read nothing else from this blog, please remember the concept of humanity is the most important thing we should all be mindful of and respectful of in times like these. 

Now that being said 🙂

If COVID were a wild fire.

It has been my observation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that companies are retrenching and are focused on survival vs. expansion. That makes sense. When the forest is on fire, the animals run for their lives. This time represents a state of emergency for many businesses. You have my support that if you need assistance in these troubled times and we can do anything to help you, please don’t hesitate to reach out, and don’t worry about any fees. We will deal with that after the fire is done. 

However, like all fires, this one will eventually end.

What will the future look like – more competitive? Or less?

Have we seen fires before?

As I prepared for this blog, I wanted to avoid speculation. I tried to find something fact-based, perhaps my own experiences, from which I could draw. I think I found it. The experience I want to talk about today is when I started at Cisco Systems in the early 2000s. 

I had left the military and joined Cisco Systems as an excited, young engineer on April 1st of 2000. I am not kidding; it was truly April 1st. The stock was at an all-time high, and Cisco had become the most valuable company in the world. Then came the tech bubble. 

The price of Cisco stock dropped from roughly $78 to $10 over approximately 18 months. Many tech companies were unable to sustain operations for long in this very challenging market. They failed to escape the fire. It consumed them. 

It was in these times that I joined the Cisco Competitive Leadership Team. We learned from hard-knocks and many failures of what it was like to grow a competitive intelligence program inside a large company. It certainly was not easy. However, it did appear to be necessary to survive. 

John Chambers, the celebrity CEO of Cisco at the time, famously used to say at the best time to invest is in a down market.  

Think about that.

Being competitive today for a more successful future.

When most companies were running for survival, John Chambers stated, in so many words, that he wanted to ‘run to a better pasture.’ In other words: He wanted to be king of the forest after the fire. He planned for a better future and was willing to do what it took to ensure his customers, employees, stockholders, and other stakeholders had just that.  

During this tumultuous time, Cisco invested in a competitive (CI) program that grew larger than any program of which I am aware. We developed the team from a small number of people to an international division with over 15 members and several support organizations. It was from here that much of the CompeteIQ Methodology was born. 

When I look back, it is incredible that in those challenging times characterized by the tech bubble of 2001, and then the real estate crash of 2007, 2008, and 2009, Competitive Intelligence continued to grow in importance and investment in the firm’s in which I was first a team member. (I do not mean to shine the light on myself. I only reference the firms I work for because it is the data that I have.)

Invest now for a better competitive future.

Companies that focus on the basics like battle cards, redesigning, or restructuring their Competitive Intelligence program processes will likely be the ones that enjoy the most gain when this is all over.

Cisco, Juniper, Polycom, and Symbol technologies faced even more competition after the market challenges than before.  Wall Street is saying the same thing with their wallets. 

In nature, after a fire, competition may be even more intense.

Will the post-COVID-19 future be more competitive or less competitive?

Based on my experience. More. 

Global events such as COVID-19 tend to increase the speed of Trends already in place. We see this with practices such as work from home, video conferencing, and online technology. If this anecdotal evidence points to a truism, I asked you this: Was your trend towards more competition or less competition? It will likely remain on that trajectory and perhaps increase in speed. 

 Although it is challenging, in times of raw emotion, to see beyond the immediate fire that is burning at your feet. I assure you there will be a future, it will be more competitive, but the fruits of success will still be available. They are growing as we speak. 

Perhaps we could all take a lesson from John Chambers and learn to focus on the things that will make that future brighter for ourselves are companies, our communities, and our stakeholders.  

If you need any assistance or would like to discuss this topic further, please do let me know. 

Ed.