Frost & Sullivan Competitive Benchmarking and Growth Strategies in the Telecommunications Industry Conference

I always enjoy vertical market conferences, seeing the rivalries gently, and not so gently, displayed reminds me of how competition can be as exhilirating as it is confrontational. Like peacocks vying for a mate, they brandish their feathers and strut about, proud and unflinching, while having cocktails with their arch enemies. The challenges and opportunities of Competitive Intelligence (CI) was apparent at the Frost & Sullivan Competitive Benchmarking and Growth Strategies for the Telecommunications Industry Conference, held June 16 & 17, 1998 in Santa Clara, California.

I presented a short piece on "Winners and Losers at CI", based upon a recent ex post facto essay of mine -- MCI and WorldCom: How BT Fell Short at CI -- and how the difference between success and failure in the marketplace can be as sublime as the difference between a Gold and Silver medal in the Olympic Games -- measured in tenths of seconds or centimeters or whatever the metric might be. This conference didn't so much illustrate the subtle differences in measures of success, so much as it showed how real organizations are deploying real solutions to outpace their opponents on the business battlefield. How, even when the rest of an organization does everything right, a CI program left lacking can destroy a global business strategy.

It's interesting to note, that many firms consider a fourth or fifth place marketshare to be quite satisfactory... considering themselves "immune" from competitive pressures and essentially "without competition", or viewing their competitors more as "allies" than the "enemy". Unfortunately, complacency reigns still today for more companies than I care to count -- so, let's take a lesson from the telecom industry. Yup, you heard me, the telecom industry is today one of the most competitive and dynamic sectors of the world economy! From complacency to competitiveness, the transformation that has taken place in telecom lately is not one of choice, but necessity. All too often, the recent consolidation of telecom competitors are reactions to this enhanced competitive environment; but, remember those who are proactively taking action -- like WorldCom. This conference changed a few attitudes for many of the attendees, I think, as they reevaluated the benchmarking of their efforts against those of their rivals. If you're listening to the sages and analysts that consider telecom undercompetitive and/or incestuous, seeking to rest on their laurels, read on...

With such a diverse marketplace, we saw great diversity of competitors -- manufacturers of equipment and software, services providers from Internet to voice to IP-voice, consultants galore! Two of the best face-offs happened between presenters themselves: Joe Goldberg from Motorola and Bobby Chang from Ericsson talking about integration of CI into the strategic planning process; and Barbara Toivonen from SBC and Dick Dodd from BellSouth discussing building competitive assessment strategies for tactical sales and infrastructure planning units. I guess they weren't so much "face-offs" as they were friendly rivalries -- most apparent between Goldberg and Chang, always referring to one another as their "distinguished colleague" or some other equally innocuous patronage. Few in attendance mistook the banter -- both firms are serious competitors with seriously competitive staff, determined to win at the expense of the other. Never forget: "Business is War".

Other highlights were really the attendees themselves -- all highly-skilled, well-travelled professional managers for the most part. Some "newbies" to the CI and strategic planning field -- even a few with "knowledge management" on their lips. The F&S people milled about as well -- Silicon Valley is never devoid of consultants -- offering experience and wisdom. Many other affiliated folks showed up too.

In what I found to be telling of the reactionary spirit of surprise, we even got to hear news of acquisitions during the show -- talk about exciting -- seeing the strategic planners from the world's premier telecommunications industry players trying to figure out how to react to the news that Nortel was acquiring Bay Networks! Unbelievable -- naturally, many claimed to have predicted this event -- yet, those supposedly "in the know" seemed pretty taken aback... the consultants all found it very entertaining.