Introduction (Toni Wilson)

There are several themes running through this week’s blog articles from the CI Division experts.  One is that competitive intelligence is inherently forward-looking.  Another is that marketplace insights can be developed by observing and understanding patterns in the information we collect.  Related to the latter is a very important theme – that informational professionals are uniquely qualified to do this, ultimately creating value for the end users, clients and organizations we serve.  In today’s blog, Anna Shallenberger offers practical perspective regarding filtering the facts we gather to provide insights and need-to-know results.

Intelligence – be it regarding competitors, markets or any other area – is inherently forward-looking. And yes – research and content is necessary to feed the intel engine that empowers future-readiness.  Many Info Pros possess untapped skills key to delivering great intel (CI, MI, etc.) services, abilities they may not realize organizations need. The challenges are to apply them effectively and visibly.  YOU have to believe, because in a world where “Perception is reality” – people won’t buy what you’re “selling” without that confidence.

So what are these secret super-hero powers? Is it all about statistical number crunching and PowerPoint presentations? Certainly not, although a certain base proficiency in these areas is preferable. And, of course, our data collection and synthesis skills have value, not to mention our expertise in validating sources. It is the talent to both battle the swollen inflow of inputs AND partner in delivering those targeted Aha’s and So What’s.

It takes an effective balancing act – levering the wealth of information content and methodology our “researcheritis” yields with the right filter – while smartly triangulating the significance of that which has made it through.

Is it the same idea as actionable intelligence? Not precisely. Think of it like a souped-up version of the kid’s “Lite Brite” toy where content is the pegs and you have a big bucket of them in front of you.  The more pegs, the higher the resolution of the image, and the better the insights, right? Again, not exactly.

You don’t need to use every peg. Some should shine brighter (weigh more heavily) than others.  You can arrange them in a variety of designs that make sense in the moment. But the future ready Info Pro sees patterns based on triangulating, drawing on the wealth of otherwise useless trivia rattling around in our mental hard drive.

Yes, our content gathering skills have great value. But let’s consider our content filtering abilities, and how access to all the data we’ve seen in life empowers us! LIS professionals offer a unique ability to TRIANGULATE between all the information and ASSESS meaning.  Internal and external sources – gathered by ourselves or others. Teaming up on the analysis and impact of the intel. Because it’s that piece that makes organization most future ready.

Anna F. Shallenberger is an experienced researcher, educator, author, strategist & consultant, Anna Shallenberger, aka the ClosetLibrarian, was recently recognized in Best of the Business Web.  At SLA 2011 , she is a panelist  for “Integrating with Sales & Marketing to Capture & Deliver Intelligence.”  At the Intelligence Café, Anna will lead a discussion regarding Unique Information Sources & the Deep Web.   She was also a spotlight panelist @ SLA 2010 and served as conference planner for the CI Division.

by Toni Wilson, Cincinnati Chapter, Competitive Intelligence Division

What is, and what is not, competitive intelligence? Practiced correctly, CI accommodates the ability for organizations to be ready for the future, by anticipating changes in the marketplace and avoiding surprises that might blindside our end users and clients, often as they are focused on making decisions and plans based on what the marketplace looks like today.

When we think about our respective marketplaces, we can’t be focused only on how “the game” is played at present. In the future, new competitors will enter the game. They seek to disrupt the way our organizations play the game, so they will move out of turn or invent new moves. Or, the rules of the game itself may change, affecting all of the players. Because of all of this likely change, CI is not really about the competitors themselves, but about keeping our organizations competitive into the future.

Information professionals are uniquely qualified to provide insights regarding the future of our competitive environments because we are chiefly responsible for gathering the facts that indicate change. Fact-gathering is the first step and foundation of every successful CI process, so our role in the process is invaluable. While gathering facts, we see all of the puzzle pieces before anyone else–-sometimes we’re the only ones who see all of the pieces – and can easily put them together to create a picture of the potential future.

A relatable way to explain what CI is, and its value, is by referring to a quote from The Great One, Wayne Gretsky. He often said: “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” We can achieve greatness by helping our end users and clients know where the puck might be going-–what the future competitive environment might look like–-so our organizations can play there, remain competitive, and win the game.
Toni Wilson is the principal consultant at MarketSmart Research Services. She is an experienced competitive intelligence practitioner, having performed hundreds of projects over the past 20+ years, in a variety of industries and throughout the world. Prior to establishing MarketSmart Research in 2000, Toni was a corporate intelligence professional at LexisNexis for more than a dozen years. She is an expert in sources, tools and techniques for intelligence collection, and frequently speaks to groups and coaches individuals regarding the CI process. Toni is a volunteer leader, prolific author, enthusiastic mentor and professional award winner. She is the current chair of SLA’s Competitive Intelligence Division.

by Vicki Valleroy, Pacific Northwest Chapter, Competitive Intelligence Division

Recently Best Practices for Corporate Libraries was published, in which 57% of the authors were SLA members!  As one of the authors of the chapter titled “Application of Technology & Change Management in Staff Development”, I would like to share some excerpts that touch on some essential future skills.  Enjoy!

“Future skills include not only specialized skills but pivotal skills, such as project management and leadership.  The requirements for Library Specialist and Librarian positions were reviewed to determine what education or specialized skills were to be extended to include more in-depth technical knowledge, content management and information management skills, in addition to expanded skills/knowledge about copyright, intellectual property, metrics, and process based management skills.  Specialized skills are defined as tactical areas that are not unique across the company.  Acquiring these skills are the responsibilities of the staff as they develop and share their career goals and aspirations with their managers.

As important as the skills themselves is the staff’s willingness to change.  We researched change management principles and practices and chose those elements that we felt we could influence and/or control.  We created programs or activities to address these issues.  We attempted to augment our readiness to change by giving the staff adequate information, social support, participation in decision making, personal impact, and efficacy (an individual’s confidence in their ability to perform adequately in the new environment).

Due to the time needed to plan the approach and the implementation time needed, the staff development team took several years to address the issue of future skills and staff training.  During the first year, we established the future skills needed for our new library delivery model.  In the second year, the team addressed library specific competencies needed for new research and communication tools.  The team restructured the training and self-development goals by targeting specific competencies to support the company’s skills initiative.  A more focused approach to develop technical skills was needed to deliver services.  Building on the Special Libraries Association’s innovative “23 Things” self-directed training program, the team developed the Core Competencies goal, which specifically targets staff applying and demonstrating skills in selected areas.”

As professionals, we need to encourage and support each other  to take control of our own learning, to use available technology to optimize both interpersonal and professional competencies, and to put into use our ever changing lifelong learning skills.

Vicki began her professional career in health information management, developing future skills by supervising over 30 staff members on two campuses; coordinating the upgrade of computer software and hardware for medical records and coding; and participating in staff/management labor union negotiations.

After receiving her master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington, she joined Boeing Library Services.  Currently she is co-leading the merging of the ViRT (Virtual Reference Team) and Research teams, and is particularly interested in using employee involvement best practices in developing high performance teams.   Recently Vicki completed the Change Management certificate program offered through Pepperdine University.  In 2009 she was honored with The Boeing Company’s (SSG) Shared Services Group Service Ambassador Award. She is actively involved in professional associations, locally and nationally, currently serving on the SLA 2012 Conference Planning Advisory Council.   Vicki is a co-author of “The Application of Technology and Change Management in Staff Development” in the newly published book Best Practices in Corporate Libraries.

by Lark Birdsong, Rocky Mountain Chapter, Business & Finance, Competitive Intelligence, Information Technology Divisions

Musing about: What it takes to be ready for what comes at you in life; whether professional, personal or other…to be ready and not afraid of what will be asked or needed of you.

Thoughts: Having an untethered desire to learn what needs to be learned for the space and time a person is occupying. No limits on learning subject matters, technological innovations, client engagement concepts, new ideas, collaboration efforts or the tantalizing, bewildering at times, unknown; being ready for the future means embracing efforts to acquire and know the future.

Lark Birdsong Moniker
Making ideas and “things” happen with an entrepreneurial spirit. High ratio of productivity to resources executive with the unique capacity to drive business goals in alignment with the owner’s needs, develop new initiatives, and maximize the bottom line…a key leader in an organization with expertise and capabilities in three indispensable areas, information, financial, and entrepreneurial … Formal education with three master’s degrees; informal education of countless and priceless hours of on the job and off the “for credit books” education. Contact her at lark@larkbirdsong.com

WE WANT YOU! Participate in the SLA Strategic Vision Project

SLA President Cindy Romaine has tasked members of the Board of Directors with developing a strategic roadmap for the association. The “Strategic Vision Project” has as its goal to provide direction and a strategic vision for SLA through 2014. The Board has been divided into three topic-related sub-groups:

• Skills & Membership Sub-Group: What skills do association current and future members need, and how best can we assist them in acquiring these? How can we build and retain association membership?
• Collaboration & Community Sub-Group: Are there other associations, groups, and projects with which SLA can collaborate to achieve a new goal, which we could not create individually?
• Alignment & Services Sub-Group: How can we incorporate the SLA Alignment Project research and strategies into association and member performance? What services can the association provide to facilitate this?

So, we would like to pick your collective and individual brains. What advice and/or suggestions do you have on these themes? Kindly post here—or contact any or all Board members. The Board will continue discussing this at its June meetings in Philadelphia.

Thanks!

Ann Sweeney, Ulla de Stricker, & Sara Tompson

Over the past 18 years, Ann Sweeney has served the European Union Delegation as Librarian, Webmaster, and now Senior Information & Communication Officer: Electronic Publications. Ann’s 40+ years’ career as a librarian spans positions at the Columbia University Graduate Business Library, the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the Port Authority of NY & NJ, the National Academy of Sciences, and public libraries.
Ann is active in SLA: having held multiple leadership positions over the years including Social Science Division past Chair, and current International Relations Section Chair. She received the 2006 Member Achievement Award, the DSOC 2009 Gale Group Murray Wortzel Award, and has organized the Annual Conference’s International Reception for more than a decade. Outside of SLA, she provided guidance on EU materials for the American Society of International Law’s Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL) Editorial Review Group, and is a frequent speaker at TRB, the World Bank/IMF Joint Library, Georgetown University Law Library, and similar venues.

Ulla de Stricker is an Information and Knowledge Management Consultant helping clients address challenges and opportunities of discovering and capturing information objects and protecting and leveraging organizational memory. She is a well known speaker at professional events and frequent contributor to the professional literature. Her website www.destricker.com provides additional information and access to her KM blog.

Sara Tompson is serving as a Director on the SLA Board from 2011-2013.  She is a member of the SLA Finance Committee, and the Board liaison to all the California chapters, the Rio Grande, NM chapter, the SciTech Division, the Research & Development Committee and the Professional Development Council.  Currently finishing up a three year administrative appointment as a Library Associate Dean at the University of Southern California, Tompson will become the USC Libraries Head of Instruction and Orientation on July 1, 2011.  In her spare time she is an instrument rated private pilot, and enjoys flying her husband and friends around beautiful California.

by Cynthia Hetherington

“Future-ready” in my business means work in the pipeline. As a business owner and private investigator, I spend a lot of time nurturing my clients and waiting for their calls. As much of our work is reactive, we have to be ever-ready. To prepare for this, my team and I are always updating and re-sharpening our skills. Like first responders, when you don’t see us working on active caseloads, we are strengthening our skills by practicing on our search tactics and reviewing new vendors. This is not unlike the librarian, who is in a constant state of learning. However, applying these librarian principals to the private investigative industry is a new and unique approach.

There’s the rub! Being unique in your area of expertise is truly future-ready. That uniqueness will always allow for you to stand apart from the competition and, thereby, make you a more attractive resource. For example, when I’m in librarian circles I tend to emphasize my security and investigations work. Conversely, when I’m with law enforcement or investigative groups I remind them of my library background. Simple as that. I’m always remembered by those with whom I come into contact.

Once you’ve pinpointed your unique feature, it must be marketed as such. Get out from behind your computer and meet, in person, with clients at conferences, luncheons, and other networking events. Meeting in person once is worth a thousand tweets!

Future-ready has to be made to happen, so start building your brand and marketing your unique self.

Cynthia Hetherington, MLS, MSM, has been coaching, training, and working alongside private investigators, security specialists, and law enforcement professionals for nearly twenty years. She  has found a niche in the investigative industry, assisting in online and Internet research. A widely-published author, she has written Business Background Investigations and The Manual to Online Public Records. Cynthia founded Hetherington Group, a firm dedicated to private, corporate, and government investigation and security, utilizing the industry’s most highly-regarded and nationally known investigative experts.  It also publishes the Data2know.com: Internet & Online Intelligence Newsletter for investigators and security professionals, and provides one of the industry’s most trusted private investigative services, geared toward the private business sector.

by Betty Story

Developing research/technology curricula for International Baccalaureate and Middle Years school library programs the last few years has given me reasonable expectations of research and technology capability for middle and high school students who have continual practice with technology.

Fortunate young people have moved way beyond simply using Power Point for presentations. In elementary years they are mastering Glogster, Prezi, Story Bird, Garage Band, and pod casts. Innovative teachers use Moodle and Webquests for Internet enhanced lessons. Some middle and high schools use Noodleworks to craft research papers and citation software to create bibliographies. Electronic grammar and spell checks are taken for granted.

Although these students may be “future ready” with navigating software, how much they comprehend and adequately assess what they Googled or found on databases is a concern. Some students have learned writing by completing “report writing” and grammar worksheets; crafting sentences and paragraphs is an undeveloped skill. Plagiarism detection software as such as Turnitin are now part of high school and university teachers’ tool kits.

Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog, by William Badke, talks of “remedial information literacy”, that is needed to provide methods for students to sort and synthesize the overwhelm of information. From the my perspective, with capable librarians and teachers, motivated students (especially those in private schools or public school college prep programs) will rise to expectations of independent and critical thinking required for online research. Unfortunately, while these students learn to ably sort out information and go beyond paraphrasing, under served public high school students can lack information literacy.

Since public school library positions are being cutback, the digital divide may widen. A recent statement from the American Association of School Libraries ( AASL) and case studies backing up the report, School Libraries Work!, examines the impact of public school libraries that are under staffed. ( The impact of public library cutbacks and loss of computer access to many is a whole other post.)

Regardless, to end on a positive note, this digitally able generation is constantly evolving but does need guidance. Students can and will learn to understand a research problem, find relevant content, and transform the information. Finding the solutions to developing these skills for all young people is a piece of the future ready puzzle.

Betty Story has been a school librarian, school library consultant and trainer for 25 years. She has worked with several private international schools and colleges, but knows that our public school librarians are unsung heroes.
Also an independent information professional, she is also a member of AIIP  on their board as Membership Development Chair.

by Christine Hamilton-Pennell, Rocky Mountain Chapter, Competitive Intelligence and Taxonomy Divisions

Associating with entrepreneurs is energizing! I have spent much of the last eight years working with entrepreneurs of all stripes. My definition of an entrepreneur is “someone who perceives an opportunity and creates and grows an organization to pursue it”—whether a for-profit business or a social enterprise. Some of these folks have been wildly successful, while others have struggled and some have experienced dramatic failures.

Based upon the encounters I’ve had with successful entrepreneurs, I have identified several characteristics and habits of mind they exhibit that I believe we as information professionals can incorporate into our own thinking:

1. They are optimistic—sometimes to a fault. They are confident that they can change the world and create a successful venture.
2. They are persistent. If one avenue, approach or method doesn’t work, or if they run into roadblocks, they look for alternatives. They don’t take “no” for an answer.
3. They constantly look for ways to innovate in the products and services they offer, their distribution channels, and their avenues for marketing. They look for niches and gaps in the market—customer needs that no one else is filling.
4. They take calculated risks, weighing the insights derived from both their intuition and analytical reasoning before making business decisions. This is what Roger Martin calls “abductive reasoning” in his book, Design of Business (Harvard University Press, 2009).
5. They recognize the importance of building a good leadership team, one that possesses the complementary suite of skills required to successfully run their business or enterprise.
6. They recognize that they cannot succeed alone. They are not threatened by collaboration, and actively seek out strategic partnerships. They see the value of teaming up with “competitors” and others in their industry space—creating a “team of rivals”—in order to construct a stronger value proposition in the marketplace and create a win-win scenario for all involved.
7. They spend time both working in the business (doing the essential work of the enterprise) and working on the business—exploring new opportunities and developing the processes and strategies required for future growth.
8. If their initiatives fail—even miserably—they pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and say, “Well, I learned that next time I will try this instead…”

Thinking like an entrepreneur is about having “internal locus of control,” a psychological construct that refers to the practice of looking at what you have control over, and how to change it, rather than focusing on external factors and playing the victim.

An example in the library world of an entrepreneurial thinker is Sara Jones, director of the Carson City (Nevada) Library. She and her deputy director, Tammy Westergard, have created partnerships with business and economic development entities across the city and have made significant contributions to the city’s economic revitalization. Through their initiatives, the city created a Business Research Innovation Center that houses city business offices, business service providers, the local arts agency, and a business research center run by the library. I have written about her efforts on my blog, http://bit.ly/kWaBtw, and also included the case study in my e-book, Creating an Entrepreneur-Friendly Public Library, http://bit.ly/jIFQxp.

Special librarians and independent information professionals already understand that they need to demonstrate their value to their parent organization and clients. And there is no question that we are experiencing challenging times in our profession. But an additional shot of entrepreneurial thinking can help us develop a level of confidence and creativity that allows us to see these challenges as opportunities. We can identify niches that no one else is filling. We can team up with unlikely partners to expand our reach and impact. We can innovate by offering new products and services. Like a successful entrepreneur, we can learn to say, “What if…?” and “Why not…?” and know that we really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Christine Hamilton-Pennell, Growing Local Economies, Inc., is a librarian and information professional who currently spends her time consulting and training in communities and libraries across the country to support local economic and entrepreneurship development efforts. She can be reached at christine@growinglocaleconomies.com.

by Justin Yuen, Oregon Chapter, Knowledge Management Division

We live in the information age. A multitude of data streams to us in emails, text messages, instant messages, voicemails, blogs, status updates, and tweets. Still more data exists in endless shared drive folders, magazines, newspapers, books, TV, videos, iPods and smart phones.

How do we make sense of it all? Simply, we do it by being human and getting a little help from our friends at work, and friends at home.

In this never-ending universe of information, we reach out a helping hand to people around us. We recommend articles. We tell people we “like” what they’ve shared. We carry on a dialogue about topics of the day, or post questions that trigger immediate answers.

Over the past several years, collaboration has shifted dramatically from being document or data centric to people centric. Trusted advice or a quick take on complex issues are just a friend away. Technology has not only made the world of information a smaller place; it’s strengthened and broadened our social networks to help make sense of the world.

What does this mean for you as a knowledge management professional?

The importance of people who facilitate collaboration and forge connections to relevant content is critical to our knowledge economy. When it comes down to it, an organization is more than the products or services it produces. It is about the depth of its social network, breadth of knowledge, and the speed by which it can bring its ideas to market.

You are the catalyst to helping your organization make the shift from document or data centric to people centric. The solutions you bring today need to deliver strong social networks, a nimble way for people to share content everyday, and a faster fast for making dreams come true to make the world a better place. It’s time to be powered by human energy.

Justin Yuen is President of FMYI [for my innovation], a social collaboration software company with a commitment to the triple bottom line (people, planet, and profit). Prior to starting FMYI, Justin had a seven year international career at Nike which involved aspects of knowledge management each step of the way. He has been involved with SLA since presenting on best practices in emerging web technologies at an Oregon Special Libraries Association meeting last year.  You can read more at http://www.fmyi.com/company/team_page_content/

by Webb Shaw, Wisconsin Chapter and Government Information Division

In a sense, folks at a publisher like J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.®, specializing in regulatory and compliance information, have always been Future Ready – or at least future-oriented. We’re always looking ahead for the next relevant regulation to be published in the Federal Register.

But of course, it’s not that simple. Not only do we need to know the regulatory agendas for the agencies we cover, we must understand the impact a given regulation or law will have on our customers. Then we need the right delivery methods to provide the information that will help them deal with it, and that usually involves technology. For us, Future Readiness requires the best efforts of both compliance wonks and content-technology geeks.

There’s no shortage of important regulations in the U.S. federal agency pipeline. And if you think your organization doesn’t need to worry about regs, think again.  Many requirements, including Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and wage and hour laws, cover all employees – even if only one person is on the payroll.  When new regulations are promulgated (OSHA alone issued eight final rules and 21 proposed rules last year), info pros have the opportunity to help their organizations be proactive in managing risk and potential costs. In other words, to be the hero!

For example, OSHA is expected to issue later this year a final rule that will change the U.S. Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to align with the U.N.’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The new rule will require many changes in the ways employers classify and label chemicals, and in how information is disseminated to employees regarding chemical hazards and associated protective measures. (You might be more familiar with the HCS than you realize – it’s the regulation that requires Material Safety Data Sheets and those multi-colored labels on chemical containers of all sizes.)

Even more far-reaching, the Department of Labor’s Plan/Prevent/Protect (P3) initiative is based on the notion that employers must “find and fix” violations, rather than relying on agency inspectors to catch compliance issues. OSHA’s injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) rule is considered the prototype for P3. Under I2P2, which is expected to be published in proposed form in 2012, employers would have to find and fix safety hazards unique to their workplaces, including hazards not covered by any other OSHA standard. This is expected to result in much more employee involvement in enforcing safety compliance.

Other potential changes advancing under the P3 banner include requirements for employers regarding the status of independent contractors, the status of exempt (vs. hourly) employees, Affirmative Action Plans – and recordkeeping for all three.

Understanding the precise impact these regulations may have on the businesses that rely on J. J. Keller’s information involves many factors, including our customers’ size (employees) and industry type, as well as how actively the agencies are likely to enforce the regulations.

Being prepared to deliver the information in the most effective ways requires an understanding of – and investment in – technology.  For decades, J. J. Keller has used technology to continuously improve our ability to find, acquire, manage and distribute content. Advances in the latter two capabilities have been particularly important in making the company Future Ready.

Webb Shaw is Director of Editorial Resources at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.®, a leading provider of risk and regulatory management and information solutions. To learn more, go to www.jjkeller.com/infopros.