How Procore Does Competitive Intel

“How did you get into competitive intel?”

I started my career in Sales as a Solutions Engineer. It gave me the chance to see so much of our business, get to work with our costumers, and have my fingers on the pulse of the industry. I didn’t know it at the time, but this would lay the groundwork for developing a career in competitive intelligence.

“How do you describe what you do for work?”

My team helps to inform the business on market trends, potential threats, and the future of our industry. We enable the business to compete with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Everyday I get to be an artist, a scientist, a teacher, and a student of everything construction technology. It is the most fulfilling work of my career.

“What are you working on that you're excited about?”

Less what I am working on and more who I get to work with and learn from. Competition has been ingrained in the culture of how we work as a business, and so much of our work has become more cross-collaborative.

“What's one thing you do now that you didn't do a year ago?”

Ask for more help. Its a small thing but competitive intelligence is not owned by one person or one team. It should be woven through the fabric of your organization. Everyone benefits and no one can do it alone.

“What resource has helped you the most in your career?”

Other professionals in my network have been so impactful to the growth of the competitive intelligence program and my growth as a professional in the space.

Competitive intelligence is an easy skill to learn but a difficult skill to master. There is no perfect or defined "right" way that applies to all organizations serving all industries.

That means the more intellectually curious you are about the means and methods your contemporaries deploy, the easier it is to define and refine YOUR way of driving competitive intelligence. 

“A new CI practitioner asks for a tip to getting started, what do you tell them?”

The three main characteristics that I think define exceptional Competitive Intelligence professionals is the ability to…

1. Learn

2. Unlearn

3. Relearn

If you are looking to get started, you have to show a willingness to learn a new skillset around how competitive enablement, research, and strategy can impact your organization.

You must unlearn assumptions and ways of working that may prevent you from seeing the entire chess board with an open mind.

Lastly, and most importantly, you must relearn the nature of being inquisitive and intellectually curious about your industry. The job of Competitive Intelligence is not to know everything about every competitor; it is to be the best at asking "what, how, and why" and having the tenacity to go find out!