Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to point out how little competitors matter for companies' long‐term success, how little support executives receive with intelligence that does matter, and to offer a different solution. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses numerous examples of...

Surprise is rarely a good thing in business. Unexpected developments range in their effects from inconvenient to disastrous. To avoid being blindsided, companies must develop a Competitive Early Warning system, or CEW, which combines strategic planning, competitive intelligence, and management...