Today, the world is witnessing radical transformations at all levels, which have made countries in general and institutions in particular seek to search for new methods and mechanisms to keep pace with these developments, in order to keep pace with everything new on the one hand and to maintain their position and continuity on the other hand.
Therefore, it has become imperative for officials in these institutions to prepare for these changes in the business environment, in order to seize opportunities, avoid threats, and be aware of what is happening in their environment.
New strategies
To achieve these goals, they are required to follow new strategies that enable them to achieve their goals, and reach sound and effective decision-making, by relying on what is known as strategic intelligence.
Strategic intelligence is one of the important and trending topics in today’s business environment, due to the rapid changes that have become one of the challenges faced by institutions, whose survival or demise is linked to the ability to keep pace with these developments, which imposes on them the appropriate decision-making process with the required accuracy and speed.
There are multiple definitions of the concept of strategic intelligence.
Strategic intelligence is defined as the process of creating roadmaps that guide decision makers to make the right decisions more consciously.
Tool for providing information
Or it is defined as a tool to provide comprehensive information about the environment and even internal to decision-makers in a timely and appropriate manner to support the planning process and strategic decision-making.
It is also defined as a method of governance aimed at using and protecting the strategic information of all economic agents.
It can be offensive when it collects, analyzes and disseminates useful information to various economic agents, and defensive when it protects the strategic information of the enterprise from all internal and external misuse and negligence.
Drawing the roadmap
In summary, we conclude that strategic intelligence is: the tool that aims to obtain appropriate information about the internal and external environment of the institution, then process and analyze it, which is followed by publishing, protecting and delivering it to its appropriate users, in order to draw a road map that leads decision makers towards correct decisions at the right time and with the appropriate accuracy and speed.
Effective strategic intelligence has 4 principles, namely:
- The principle of participation: Strategic intelligence organizes the processes of dialogue between different people involved in the formulation of policies, in order to achieve compatibility between the different values and interests of all participants.
- The principle of objectivity: Strategic intelligence supports the objective formation of different perceptions by providing appropriate indicators, analyzes and data processing mechanisms.
- The principle of mediation and organization: Strategic intelligence facilitates mutual learning about the perceptions of different participants and their backgrounds, which helps in providing consensus on these perceptions, facilitates discussions within the organization and helps in resolving conflicts and conflicts.
- The principle of decision support: Strategic intelligence processes facilitate decision-making and assist in their successful implementation.
The importance of strategic intelligence
The importance of strategic intelligence is highlighted in the following aspects:
Preparing leaders and helping them lead the organization by having different types of intelligence and employing them in adapting to new processes and technologies and providing them with the necessary information.
Managing the risks facing the organization.
Increase the ability of organizations to innovate in formulating innovative change strategies to elevate their current status.
Early diagnosis of opportunities and threats by monitoring their emanation indicators.
Analyze the future goals of competitors, know their current and future strategies, and achieve an advanced competitive position for the institution.
Understand emerging threats and give a capacity for (foresight) to allow the development of strategies, and manage the risks they face.