Best Competitive Intelligence Books Part 3: Three Kinds of Patterns that Save the Day

Deducing patterns in the world around us is the key to learning from the past, understanding the present, and preparing for the future. The books listed here show how to build on the successes of those who came before you, avoid their mistakes, and receive guidance from the wisdom of crowds:

Lords of Strategy: (W Kiechel and R Dean). A handful of corporate visionaries developed the analytical frameworks for business strategy that have been inherited by the modern competitive intelligence industry. Their work, which is chronicled in this book, created patterns of insight that resonate across disciplines as far removed from each other as marketing analysis, management consulting, and investigative journalism. Want to know where the Growth/Share Matrix came from? It’s in this book.
Stall Points: (MS Olson and D van Bever). This extremely data-rich (and also chilling) narrative illustrates how stalls in revenue growth can commonly lead to the downfall of even the most successful Fortune 100 companies. More importantly, it examines root causes to show how those stalls can be detected in advance and prevented, saving your company from falling into the abyss.
Oracles: How Prediction Markets Turn Employees into Visionaries: (DN Thompson). Prediction markets such as InTrade have shown some success at predicting the future. This book applies that idea of the wisdom of crowds to business decision making. A series of case studies reveals how quantifying the opinions of those inside or outside the company can guide planning toward success for products and corporate initiatives.

Best Competitive Intelligence Books Part 1
Best Competitive Intelligence Books Part 2

By Sean Campbell
By Scott Swigart