Almost two decades after it emerged as an essential business tool, competitive intelligence is still finding its way. Despite its recognized importance, companies struggle to acquire the kind of intelligence they need and measure its effectiveness and value. This book provides essential tools for selecting the right kind of CI and assessing its contributions to a company's financial performance.

The authors identify three fundamental, intertwined mistakes a company can make, showing how to evaluate them and repair the damage they may have done. McGonagle and Vella dissect the current state of CI, survey its evolution into five distinct yet overlapping types, develop a framework for determining which types fit special needs, and evaluate means of communicating CI up and down the line. They discuss the most common raw data source categories-the bases of support for all CI analyses-and the workings of metrics in general. CI professionals and related end users are provided with a process they can employ immediately, right out of the box, which will not only help them select the right metric but will prove invaluable as they seek to evaluate the future metrics that are sure to come.

JOHN J. MCGONAGLE is an attorney, economist, author of numerous books and articles, and an international speaker and seminar leader. Recipient of the Fellows Award from the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, he is author or coauthor of 12 books.

CAROLYN M. VELLA is founder of the Helicon Group of Blandon, Pennsylvania. Author of many articles, she is also an international speaker and seminar leader. With John McGonagle she is coauthor of nine books.