Directors should have access to crucial competitive intelligence

says Leonard M. Fuld, founder of Fuld & Company, in a brief and very to-the-point article from October 2006 worth reading. A PDF is available for download here: http://www.academyci.com/ResourceCenter/Intellectual_Capital_Directorship_10-06.pdf

Fuld makes 5 very good points, which he further explains with concrete examples in his article:

1. Knowledge comes in many forms. Directors require the right kind of data, not over-worked, overproduced data.

2. People have blind spots. Board members, just like their executive counterparts, need to constantly challenge their company’s assumptions.

3. War games can outsmart the competition. Directors need to use intelligence strategically, forcing themselves to examine the options a company realistically has arrayed before it.

4. On the Internet, things may not be what they seem. Board members cannot walk into meetings after conducting amateur Internet searches a to explain a situation or a product.

5. Intelligence must be planned for. Boards need their own monitoring services. They require simple mechanisms whereby they can ask questions.