Strategic Intelligence: Outsmarting the Competition
Channel: DrSheenLevine
Date: 2017-08-02

Why are some entrepreneurs better than others? How can a company beat tough competition? Many will say to succeed, you need a resource, such as a valuable patent or a famous brand name. Others will recommend curbing the competition to become a monopolist. This may be true, but it can’t be the whole story: Some companies started without obvious resources, competed with fierce rivals, but somehow emerged on top. Think about companies such as Under Armour, Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, McDonald’s, or Coca-Cola. How did they succeed? Strategic intelligence — says Professor Levine of the University of Texas at Dallas. He and his colleagues devised laboratory experiments to measure people’s analytic skills, or the ability to solve abstract problems, and strategic intelligence, or the ability to imagine how others behave. After assessing hundreds of participants, the researchers invited them to vie for cash in an intensely competitive market. All started equal, but some ended with much more cash than others. Who were the best performers? Those who possessed analytic skills and strategic intelligence. For high performance, being smart is as important as predicting how others behave. Thinking about the competition could be the overlooked ingredient in success. Read the study in the Strategic Management Journal.

Levine, Sheen S., Mark Bernard, and Rosemarie Nagel. 2017. "Strategic Intelligence: The Cognitive Capability to Anticipate Competitor Behavior." Strategic Management Journal.

Levine, Sheen S., Mark Bernard, and Rosemarie Nagel. 2015. "Know Thyself, Know Thy Rival: Experimental Evidence on How Strategic IQ Benefits Performance." Academy of Management Proceedings:11121.