Prior to selling the company in 2004, Estelle was the president and founder of Competia (in 1988), the leading training organization for executives and analysts in Strategic Intelligence. Competia.com became the world’s largest community, portal and magazine for strategy professionals. She speaks French, English, German, Dutch, Italian and Arabic. She is also a mother, a commercial pilot and flight instructor. Here are excerpts from an interview with Estelle Metayer, a former consultant at the international Strategic Consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Abhijit: Isn’t Competitive Intelligence (C I ) really a smart term for peeking into companies’ secrets ?

Estelle: In the past, it is true that many people confused Competitive Intelligence (C.I.)for illegal gathering of data about competitors. In reality, today, all the people I work with are analysts or managers who are focusing on analyzing the information that is publicly available. In fact, I would argue that the work has shifted from “competitor” analysis to “strategic”  analysis as people realize there is more value in scrutinizing the industry, the future trends, than focusing on the competitor.

Abhijit: What are the different kinds of Intelligence organizations should be gathering regularly and how should they go about doing it?

Estelle: Can I quote from an article I wrote for the Ivey Management Review : “CI functions can take different forms and shapes. In some organizations, the team will be responsible for screening market changes and announcements and profiling competitors. In others, the team will act as a task force working on specific, time-limited issues (e.g. doing due diligence for an acquisition). There is no good or bad model; it all depends on what the company needs (…)

Here are the four “families” of Competitive Intelligence I can describe (quoted from the same article):

“TACTICAL-URGENT: The objective is to provide rapid hits to the operating people and to rapidly generate additional revenue. A small company in Canada subcontracting work to the aerospace industry uses the list of contacts provided by the CI cell to build a list of international prospects.

TACTICAL-ONGOING: The goal is to provide different departments in the organization with the information they need on a regular basis. This could include updating a competitor’s profile and gathering annual reports or screening contracts that will win a meaningful market share. To raise employee awareness, a company will then communicate the profiles throughout the organization.

STRATEGIC-URGENT: Calling for bold moves, management will mostly need support in terms of business development. Analysts will focus most particularly on due diligence for acquisitions, or the identification and screening of potential partners. In a large electronics company, the CI team works solely for the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, helping them value potential acquisitions.

STRATEGIC-ONGOING: The objective is to support strategic initiatives, but those that are less urgent. For example, analysts in this mode would be looking at long-term market development ideas or extending product lines. Most biotechnology firms in Canada would work under this framework.”

Abhijit: What do you see as the changes in the role of the Leader in the next 2-3 years?

Estelle: It will be about getting back to basics around Corporate Management, Inspiring Teams and Innovating. It is about stepping back to look beyond the next quarter to pick up longer-term trends. Competitive Intelligence is not just the role of the CEO. It is the what each leader must do. The leader has to look beyond his or her own industry to create new business models, pick up on trends that have not yet been identified – not even by the consumer.

It will also be critical for managers to be able to question their assumptions, especially around the way they define their industry. Take for example the example of the passenger rail transportation industry. Business opportunities are everywhere. Why define the industry as “transporting people” ? Why not assume the key asset is the ability to have passengers “locked-up” in a space for a few hours … imagine the possibilities . You could offer them executive training (partnering with universities) while they commute. The railroad should pay the people to travel while the Exec Education companies pay the railroad to have access to this captive audience !

Abhijit: How does one pick up trends?

Estelle: Getting intelligence is the easy bit. The bigger skill is to focus on how and what to analyze, on the filters and antennae you set up as information floods to your desk. It is about both spotting patterns, but also at the same time the weak signals that fall out of the pattern. In companies, the first challenge is to not be biased when you look at information you do not understand, but instead to trigger the process to look at the unexpected. In case of organizations, the second challenge is to put this information through processes and assign roles to people to work with this information to apply it to a real world problem.

Abhijit: Can we teach people to be better trend spotters?

Estelle: We can teach people very easily where to look for these tools. The challenge is for people to find time to reflect. Mintzberg mentions in his last book, “Managing”, research showing that “ middle managers been able to work for at least a half hour without interruption only once every two days” .. yes … only thirty minutes every two days to reflect.

The best trendspotters are people who have this insatiable curiosity. It is not about age, background or education.  You could have older people who possess a sharp curious mind and younger people who don’t. Prof Henry Mintzberg (at McGill University), Klaus Schwab (at the World Economic Forum) and Paulo Coelho in my mind are great examples and inspiration of people who continue to be curious and have an innate ability to tap into trends. Paulo Coelho for example, is one of the first to have used twitter to interact with his readers (over 300,000 followers @paulocoelho), or to identify and promote pirate sites that offer his books illegally electronically on the Internet (http://paulocoelhoblog.com/pirate-coelho/ ) a great example about how you can have the courage and the vision to question your own industry…

Some professions understand trends faster than others – journalists, artists, architects and, of course, restaurants chefs. Ten years back, before the 10-mile diet” or Starbucks , chefs were able to pick up the trend of people wanting to go back to nature, and knowing where their food came from. They looked for farmers who grow organic foods. They put the name of the farmer on the menus…

Abhijit: You work with Prof Henry Mintzberg. What does he do to stay tuned to trends?

Estelle: He reads – pretty much everything. He spends time EVERY morning just reading and reflecting. He is not arrogant and willing to learn from any one. He has spent days observing a shop floor worker and learnt enough to write a book about what he observed and learned.

Abhijit: How do you spend your free time?

Estelle: I am a member of three different book clubs. I am currently reading about Zimbabwe. I am a pilot. So I love reading books about great pilots and airplanes. I am a fun supported of local libraries and spend hours flipping through books I would never come across otherwise- I pick a new section each time. I read magazines on travel, technology and of course teen magazines. They are usually quick to spot a trend. I also love to paint – or even more accurately, the process of creating so I have joined an art class. I spend time with friends. I study Arabic. And I love to fly.

Abhijit: How do you manage your time – between teaching, traveling, reading, painting, flying, learning languages, being a mother and much more?

It is a constant struggle. Lifestyle balance is probably the biggest challenge of our time – especially for a women. I am very organized and set up specific “private” and “professional “ times which I respect. I have the immense privilege to be working for my own company, so where I send my time is completely under my control. I have set-up certain months where work is a priority, and others where I take time to step back and reflect.

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You can follow Estelle on twitter.com/competia

This research can give pointers to what organizations need to do to manage their most talented individuals effectively. I spoke to Lesley Uren, co-founder and Chief Exec of Jackson Samuel (www.jacksonsamuel.co.uk) about her research into talent management and how organizations can leverage these ideas to manage their gifted and talented employees.

[Abhijit Bhaduri]: How does talent spotting take place? Is it by one person or by a group of people? What are points of assessment?

[Lesley Uren]: Spotting talent early, and making the space for it pays dividends over time.  The mindset of enterprise organisations – those that work exclusively with people who have ‘it’ – such as Manchester City Football Academy and Storm Model Management for example, are always on the lookout for talent, regardless of current needs, and will go anywhere, at any time to unearth it and accommodate it. The well built talent and resourcing processes of mainstream organizations are often fixed on a linear path – initiated when a need occurs, followed by creating a specification of the person required, and finally looking for the best person.  Talent spotting needs to be flexible enough to find space for unique talent identified at times when there is no immediate need – finding the person first, and then thinking about the need they can fill.

Additionally, developing long-lasting and deep relationships with the sources of talent allows organisations to identify emerging talent early – The Royal College of Music for example has daily contact with the top music teachers in the UK, with a view to ensuring talent is identified early. Organisations need to set trends rather than follow them, and think long term about the future of their sector, spotting talent that can meet those future needs. Finally, the judgment of those who spot talent – and frequently these will include a range of full and part time scouts, often from a variety of backgrounds – should be highly respected and valued. Talent spotting is in itself a talent, talent scouts are uniquely gifted in their own right and should be given the time and space for this crucial work.

[Abhijit Bhaduri]: Besides skills (for example soccer skills, or musical talent), what else do they look for to tell them that they have a potential candidate for the “Golden Few”, the rarest of the rare top talent.

[Lesley Uren]: By and large there are no hard and fast rules around what makes a talented individual.  Those seeking out the Golden Few aren’t looking for perfection, but rather ‘diamonds in the rough’, and are happy to spot natural ability and nurture it. So although we may lack a formal and consistent definition of talent, there are some common characteristics that make the Golden Few stand out. Firstly, they have an innate ‘God given’ gift that is highly visible and cannot be learned by others or through training. However, being born with a gift isn’t enough on its own.  I would suggest that there are two additional key attributes.  These are ‘persistence’ – a pure determination to succeed and put success ahead of other ambitions, competitiveness, resilience and the habit of never giving up.  And ‘charisma’ – real charm, character, personality and magnetism.  The Golden Few have a dynamic approach to self-promotion and have an impact on their world. These characteristics are almost like an equation and – you need the full package to be a true ‘star’.

An innate gift such as intellect, doesn’t automatically qualify an individual for status among the Golden Few.  Without the pure determination to succeed, or a sustained commitment to self promotion, you have a smart person who may well fade into the background. Great talent spotters know talent when they see it, relying on their intuition and judgement.

[Abhijit Bhaduri]: How do they coach “stars”?

[Lesley Uren]: In many mainstream organisations a misplaced sense of ‘fairness’ and ‘equality’ often gets in the way of truly nurturing elite talent. In contrast, enterprise organisations treat their Golden Few differently from the rest of the population because they recognise – even when it feels politically incorrect – that those at the pinnacle of their chosen profession need special attention and focus, just as much as those who are less able. They don’t shy away from the notion that it’s okay to be exceptional and that special talent requires special attention.  They accept this and nurture their talented individuals accordingly. The ‘stars’ are rare individuals and the organization needs to truly nurture them in a highly individualized, creative and hands-on way in order for them to have the space to be the transformational leaders they have the potential to become.

In nurturing a ‘star’ communication is key, providing regular and honest feedback will form a major part of their development. Organisations need to ensure that they focus on the experience people need to get in order to progress, and reiterate that success is never guaranteed. Taking a genuine interest in the person, not the person in the job, is critical when you seek to engage and nurture your most talented individuals, recognising the value of pastoral care and creating a safe place for the individual to be the best they can be – an understanding many mainstream organisations have lost.  Recognising that the provision of support should come from someone other than the individual responsible for plotting progress or responsible for their destiny is important.  At Manchester City Football Academy for example, such support is provided by the kit manager – not the coach.

You need to create an environment for your talent where the organization is ‘home’.  Enterprise organizations know and understand their people at a far deeper level than the vast majority of mainstream organizations – they are more ‘person-centric’ than systems or process-centric and as such have honest, open and intimate relationships with their talented people.

[Abhijit Bhaduri]: How do the stars take to coaching and feedback? Does your research show that the “stars” continuously improve their game based on feedback?

[Lesley Uren]: There is an innate recognition in enterprise organizations that it is the talent that truly generates the revenue and therefore needs to be developed and progressed. Enterprise organizations spend significant amounts of time and provide a lot of support to help people identify their unique selling point, assisting them to build their individual business plans to capitalise on this and pursue a number of career paths that build on them, providing career support even after individuals leave.

Individuals in enterprise organisations are also encouraged to consider careers in terms of a range of scenarios, including the possibility of failure.  There is an honest recognition that all elite programs carry with them a high risk of failure, so the possibility that one might not succeed is discussed as openly as the likelihood of success.  Therefore attention is paid to visualising where the individual might be in two years’ time for example, and considering failure openly and honestly.

In enterprise organizations development is about constant feedback.  They really do model the idea of giving feedback as part of the day to day, rather than as an annual event.  There are regular and honest conversations with and about the talent in real time, and action is taken to gently steer their career progress in the most rewarding direction.

[Abhijit Bhaduri]: What behaviours/habits do the ‘Golden Few’ have which separates them from the next rung?

[Lesley Uren]: The Golden Few are those who are gifted with more than just ‘talent’ – they have something that makes them special, and something else that drives them to the top.  As I’ve mentioned previously, it is persistence and charisma that characterise The Golden Few, but more specifically with behaviours it is also a willingness to learn and take heed of feedback which also make the Golden Few stand out.

Even within elite and high-potential programmes, it is important to recognise that there are grades of ‘elite’ with not everyone being gifted with the same amount of natural ability or innate charisma.

The right behaviour, a great track record of sustained performance and drive, ambition and stretch are the minimum characteristics for individuals to be considered as candidates for differentiated development within a high-potential programme. The addition of a unique gift will highlight some from that pool as ‘exceptional’.  Add in charisma and this will mark a very small number of individuals out as the Golden Few.

[Abhijit Bhaduri]: Lessons for the Corporates?

[Lesley Uren]: From talking with enterprise organizations that deal daily in the currency of gifts and understand what it means to be part of an elite group, we have learned how to find, nurture, develop and manage the rare few who have ‘it’.  Something most mainstream organizations fall miserably short of achieving.

1. The Golden Few are those that are more than just talented, they are uniquely gifted, captivatingly charismatic and downright driven and persistent when it comes to achieving success – you know them when you see them. Not everyone has the same amount of talent. Not everyone has a talent that will make a real difference to an organisation’s success. Those who are elite in this way need special attention – and that’s not a bad thing.
2. Taking a genuine interest in the person, not the person in the job is critical when you seek to engage and nurture your most talented individuals. But human resources doesn’t fill this role any more, and nor do line managers.
3. Talent spotting is a talent. If you want to get the best, you’ve got to hunt like the best. And that doesn’t mean plodding through your talent and recruitment processes as and when HR instructs you to. You’ve got to be looking 24/7.

You can download and read the detailed findings of the research on the Golden Few by clicking here

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About Lesley Uren: Lesley has 15 years of experience as a top level HR professional, working within blue-chip organisations like PepsiCo and Rothmans in senior leadership and management/organisational development roles. She spent four years as a senior consultant at Towers Perrin, London where she specialised in HR Strategy and Talent Management. She is the co-founder and Chief Exec of London based consulting company Jackson Samuel.

Read more about Lesley and her work by clicking here

Forward looking companies like PepsiCo have long defined careers to be like a web. They have recognized that it is an essential part of their strategy of retaining talent. It is not about a vertical growth always. It is about collecting a bunch of experiences in line with the way you define your career. I had drawn this cartoon strip for one of the brochures that Pepsi was planning to illustrate the choices that were possible. In Compensation & Benefits (C&B for short) there were almost 200 possible combinations of roles at various levels and business and locations. So what was driving that approach to careers. More women in the workforce, changing expectations of the male employees, changing nature of the family and of course the options like remote working that technology has thrown up. You do not need to be in the office to join a meeting. While that may throw open its own set of challenges, there is no doubt that we can offer such options to more and more people at the workplace.

Mass Career Customization relies on four factors on a 6 point scale:

1. PACE: Options relating to the rate of career progression that range from Decelerated to Accelerated

2.WORKLOAD: Choices related to quantity of work output from Reduced to Full.

3. LOCATION: Options for when and where work gets performed ranging from Restricted to Not restricted

4. ROLE: Choices in position and responsibilities from Individual contributor to Leader.

This Mass Career Customization or MCC Profile of each employee can be worked at different stages of their career and life stage. Adopting a child may create demands on the person that may mean a relook at Pace, Workload, Location and Role in order to make space for the new realities.

Like it or not the demographic changes are going to make all this happen faster than you think. Just look at the comparison of the Population Pyramids of India in 2010 and 2050. Looking at the visual representation of age and sex ratios changing over the next 40 years can help us think through what changes it will bring into the workplace. Add to it many other social factors eg Increasing number of nuclear families where both husband and wife are working could lead us to think of how it will affect choices of such couples when it comes to mobility and career. It is not going to be ladders but lattices that will define the workplace architecture.

Read the book to learn about how companies are dealing with the shifts in demographics.

Finally a lighthearted look at the notion of the Career like a spider web that I had referred to.

Married But Available

Columnist and film maker Pritish Nandy says, “Fidelity is not the issue. Has never been. What is at issue is fidelity on demand. You cannot get fidelity on demand in a marriage or any other relationship for that matter. People are faithful when they love someone enough to give up every other option, every other choice. And trust me, despite the contempt with which it is treated by many people today, fidelity is still pretty much common. It is not that impossibility which we think it is.”

Actor Rupa Ganguly’s view is that, “… due to exposure, people’s expectations have grown. They get dissatisfied, and this leads them to cheat. It’s a fast life, and everybody’s ambitious. Patience levels have dropped and that feeling called love is easily lost in this frenzy. One doesn’t stay in love for very long. However, while in a relationship, people still want to be loyal, and infidelity causes a lot of pain.”

Actor, singer, writer Suchitra Krishnamurthy says, “As some men get caught, more and more cases come to the forefront. Men can no longer afford to show off their conquests. They now have to hide their affairs. This could well mean fidelity is back as a lasting fashion statement. Infidelity is a reality. There are few relationships untouched by it. Today, women too are experimenting. There is a shift in consciousness.”

Here is what I had mentioned in the phone interview. Sometimes an edited version does not do justice to the idea.  Tell me what you think of it.

The explosion of social media has created many more shades of relationships. Social media is also redefining conversations that is the basis of all relationships. A relationship forms when conversations begin. Media is making multiple relationships happen. As the conversations evolve, the relationship evolves. Society changes when ever evolving conversations start creating new forms of relationships that have not existed before. Urban India has given a grudging acceptance to live in relationships and divorces which were frowned upon even a few years back. Movies and television serials are getting more comfortable showing a spectrum of human relationships that even a few years ago would have been taboo. Think of films like DevD (read more here) which is a contemporary take on a love story. Or more recently the film Ishqiya. They depict relationships that exist comfortably in the shades of grey.  Fidelity as a notion has also been evolving from being black and white to shades of grey. The definition of fidelity is understood only when people choose fidelity despite choices being available.  Thoughts are free. We cannot control them. So it is certainly possible to feel attracted to a person. However to act on that thought is a choice people make. It is a bit like this popular painting which at first sight looks like one face but actually has nine different faces built in. Just take a closer look. There is more to it than meets the eye at first glance.

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Read the article Is Fidelity Outdated on the Times of India site. Click here

Review of DevD at http://abhijitbhaduri.com/2009/02/devd/

Read about the film Ishqiya at http://abhijitbhaduri.com/2010/01/ishqiya/

Source of painting: http://www.facedetection.com/facedetection/misc.htm

At the time of the dotcom boom, any industry that got labeled as a “brick and mortar” economy company was seen to be completely devoid of any fizz. Talent moved from the concrete brick and mortar buildings to the glass and hot air balloons of the dotcom companies. In no time, the hot air balloons soon crashed leaving many people sitting on tree tops. Human beings are survivors. From the graveyard of the dotcoms emerged many other sectors – some fairly new. For a brief minute it was all about being in Retail, then it was about Telecom.  Everyone has had their spot in the limelight. From Aviation to Textiles to IT, everyone got a chance to walk with a swagger – for a while.  The same started to happen with Professions. When I was growing up, you had to be a doctor or an engineer when you grew up. When some teacher had to praise a student, she would say, “You will be a great engineer when you grow up.” That was enough to make your inner being fill up with sunshine. Many of us went home and announced dreams of pursuing a career as an Engineer only to be dissuaded by a hysterically giggling sibling. Thankfully there are so many options to choose from now.  Just look around and you will see professions that did not exist even three years back. Now there are institutes offering degrees and certifications in all kinds of things that would have only the other day qualified as a crazy person’s hobby.

The Best Careers of 2010 lists many professions. In Science and Technology, the best careers list is skewed in favor of computer geeks: Software Engineer, Systems Architect, Network Architect, Biomedical Engineer, Environmental science technician, Hydrologist,  Environmental engineering technician, Civil engineer, and Meteorologist

In Business and Finance, they list being an actuary as a happening choice. The others who share the victory lap with Actuaries are Training specialist, Financial adviser, Financial analyst, Market research analyst,  Accountant, Loan officer, Public relations specialist, Cost estimator, Meeting planner, Logistician. In Education and Civic Services there is a need for Mediator,  Clergy, Urban planner, Special-ed teacher, Court reporter, Medical and public health social worker, Emergency management specialist,  Marriage and family therapist. So clearly stress also generates employment opportunities.

I believe Security will be a big employer.  I am counting everything from Army to Weaponmaking to private security under this one big trend. The world will have its stress points. Just look at the list of “helping professions” listed above – Mediator, Clergy, Therapist… get the drift. The same stress will lead some to think of blowing up people and problems. Ergo start pumping iron. Everyone needs security – the government does, the rich fellow does and so does the innocent citizen. From dogs to humans and robots Security will employ all since all will employ Security in some form or the other.

Business and opportunities will all lie at intersection points. By that I mean opportunities will be at the intersection of mutiple sectors. Intersect telecom and entertainment and you have the next big wave of opportunities and emerging careers. The ability to devise entertainment on the mobile platform will be where business lies and the best opportunities too. Intersect Healthcare and Engineering or for that matter Healthcare and Information – you have a mega opportunity. Healthcare by itself will have many players. Information will have many. Combine the two and you can be the big fish in the big pond in no time.