The war gaming discipline has driven the CEO to seek better intelligence from his staff and from his field organization. Mr. von Kantzow is either attending trade shows or on the telephone asking the field organization for key pieces of intelligence. At times, he feels that he needs to go beyond his immediate network of contacts and learn directly from the marketplace. The CEO has very deliberately located the CI manager's office only a few doors away from his. In addition to any weekly meetings, this proximity to the executive suite has allowed for an easy and quick transfer of critical intelligence, avoiding any bureaucracy found in many larger organizations.
Intelligence is high on nearly every agenda.
Most company meetings include an intelligence report or session. These reports include assessment of a rival's pricing strategy, expected trade show activity and expected competitive moves. CI is not just an item on the agenda, it's also worked into the discussion later. The CEO maintains board-level interest in intelligence. Lars von Kantzow regularly provides competitive intelligence updates at board of directors meetings.