Getting competitive: competitive intelligence is a smart next step for information pros.

Janet wanted to make the change from corporate library and information science (LIS) to competitive intelligence (CI) and sought me out to coach her in this transition. She enjoyed her exposure to marketing, possessed some CI and management experience, and had solidly transferable skills. After I took stock of her qualifications, identified skills and knowledge gaps, and devised a plan for her transition, Janet landed a position managing CI and began to immerse herself in CI and upper-level business cultures.

Janet's new role as a CI manager required her to learn quickly about her firm's strategy, operations, finance, human resources, culture, and more. She needed to understand how it generates profits, as well as its strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities. Of course, she also needed to understand the firm's competitors, how they operate and profit and their likely decisions and moves--she had to conduct competitive intelligence.

CI has become an attractive concept for LIS pros, as information and research functions have become commoditized by end users, and financial, competitive, and performance pressures increase the need to demonstrate value. In the current competitive and cost-cutting environment, business stakes are higher. Many corporate info pros find that CI is a way to broaden their skills, raise their visibility, and …