Professional Effectiveness and Personal Improvement as a CI Practitioner
Have you ever wondered what will happen next to you in your CI career? Have you ever wondered how you can make that next move? Have you ever thought about how you can prepare yourself so that when that opportunity comes, you are confident enough to say "yes, I'm ready"? Just as a business has to set out a plan for the future, work out its objectives and then craft a strategy which will enable it to achieve its objectives. We have to do exactly the same thing if we want to make things happen for us rather than have things happen to us.
CI practitioners are a distinct breed of expert, frequently working across boundaries and outside of any normal understanding of functional structures. We are typically self motivated, particularly good at keeping balls in the air and usually revelling in the erratic and sporadic nature of our daily task. This can all bring its own problems of course, in that the lack of routine sometimes means we begin to neglect our own development needs and there is a danger that we could stagnate. Trouble is, nobody else really understands us so they don't know what to suggest either? As with many other speciality roles, it is up to us to make our future happen.
For the event we are going to address some of these issues and hopefully get you thinking about your career and how to put yourself in the driving seat to manage your progress. We have four excellent panellists who will present to you their perspective on four different areas of the CI role, around which discussion is guaranteed to take place.
They are:
Martin Ainsworth will talk about "Improving your Technical Skills" and will encourage you to examine just what tools and techniques you typically use in your CI work. He will encourage us to question whether we are using those out of comfort and familiarity, or because we simply have not bothered to learn anything new in the last 10 years.
Mary Banks, will look at "Improving your Influencing Skills". As you progress in an organisation, having technical expertise is not enough; you need to demonstrate an ability to communicate and influence others. We all have a preferred 'style' which will impact how others see us, and how willing they are to be influenced by us. This session will give you some insights into your own style, how that may differ from others and how to 'flex' your approach to be more successful. Important insights for life outside of work as well as in the office!
Andrew Cosgrove, practitioner ex-Mars and ex-McKinsey, will address one of the problems facing many CI practitioners, "Living the Life of a Lone Wolf". Andrew will discuss the necessity of building trusted relationships with key stakeholders and why it is essential to agree what a CI unit will not do in order to focus slim resources.
Andrew Beurschgens, practitioner Orange, will pass on his experience as well as hints and tips for "Exploiting Dysfunctional Attributes". We are not suggesting that CI practitioners should be behaving badly within their firms, far from it. Andrew will look at how to capitalise on the freedom we have to cross boundaries and how you can make that work for you in terms of the exposure you can secure, with decision makers you would not normally gain access to.
Attendees will be able to benefit from:
- the wisdom of the audience regarding your professional development and take control of your own professional development
- a personalised action list to enhance your position
- a literature table offering a wide range of take home material.
About the Panellists
Sheila Wright (Panel Chair) is a Reader of Competitive Intelligence and Marketing Strategy at De Montfort University, Leicester. She is by far one of the most qualified authorities on the discipline's application reinforced by her past elected role on SCIP's Board, her numerous articles and workshops on CI as well as front-line practitioner experience.
Martin Ainsworth has worked in both the public and private sectors including strategic management consultancy, investment banking and specialised financial services. He has managed and delivered services across a range of disciplines including Business Information, Knowledge Management, Information Technology and Market Data. He contends that CI builds on the foundations of KIM to deliver analytical tools that are fast, factual and actionable. He also delivers training in the UK on behalf of the Institute for Competitive Intelligence in Germany.
Mary Banks has been a successful independent HR consultant for 6 years, specialising in leadership development, performance management, cultural differences and change management. Her client list includes: GE, Royal & Sun Alliance, Aljazeera, Louis Dreyfus, Astra Zeneca, and Genworth. She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Andrew Cosgrove is an alumni of the Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence. Currently an independent consultant, Andrew has 12 years experience using CI to improve senior level decision making at Mars, Incorporated and McKinsey & Company in Europe, Asia and the U.S. He has an MBA from London Business School.
Andrew Beurschgens is practitioner at Orange and one of the Committee Members of the recently formed SCIP UK Affiliate, the UK Competitive Intelligence Forum. He is a recipient of the Catalyst Award for his volunteer services to the profession.
What is available for download from this event are both the panellists' presentations as well as some of the literature that was accompanying the event.
