"A leader can't lead until he knows where he's going."

~ John Locke, Lost

Join us in Chicago for SCIP 2009 on April 22 for a complimentary seminar on competitive intelligence software and systems.

From 2:00 to 5:00 PM, Aurora is hosting the Intelligence 2.0 Clinic featuring live demos by three of the top vendors in the business today - Traction, Digimind and Comintell. It's invitation-only, so if you'd like to attend, please review the invitation online [PDF] and then RSVP to me to reserve a seat

Elsewhere at SCIP09, Derek Johnson, Aurora's Director of Research, is the program chairman and he's also been responsible for putting together the company exhibit (visit us in booth #512), this year dedicated exclusively to Aurora's global primary research services.

During this period of great uncertainty in business everywhere, we've been hearing from clients new and old that we can help them most by offering fresh perspective and new ideas for creating research value with their decision makers. We're showing them how to optimize their intelligence portfolio to invest in those intelligence products that create asymmetric advantage for their organization in the market and have immediate, positive cash flow impact on their bottom line. This year, CI needs to get fit, trim down and focus on delivering immediate value to survive the days ahead; Aurora's role is to help our clients get the job done.

Next, alongside my good friend, Dr. Craig Fleisher, I'm facilitating a discussion on what CI will look like in the decade ahead. Join us for CI2020 and help forecast how this managerial discipline we value so highly will need to adapt as the world changes in the years to come.

Finally, a few weeks ago, I put together a short list (inspired by Facebook's "25 Random Things About Me") and "tagged" it to my friends on the Ning CI community. I call it "10 Random Things About SCIP09" and the idea is, if you're planning to attend, please take some time to scan the program online and reply with the 10 things you're most looking forward to at the annual conference. By the way, earlier this week, the Ning community passed the 700 member mark and many of us will be "covering" the SCIP meeting online. Though there's never a substitute for being there in person, we'll have a section of the community homepage where you can watch the action as-it-happens, so join today.

Until next time, we'll hope you can plan to join us at SCIP 2009 for the most important meeting in CI this year. Learn more and register at:

See you in Chicago,

Arik Johnson
Founder & Chairman
Aurora WDC