Competitive Intelligence:

Avoiding Emotional Attachments

(Just a year-end rant)

Whether as a consultant or an employee, it is inevitable that you encounter clients or bosses who do not value your work or have regard for you. Being in their presence saps your energy (physical and psychological) and you are left feeling like you lost a quart of blood.

I remember one individual who work for a large, well-known corporation. This individual was my client for 11 years during which time I conducted several competitive intelligence studies annually. I never received a single complement for my work, even though I helped that large company find many business opportunities, as well as uncovering competitor plans before they took place. All I got was more work, for which I was most grateful.

One day the work stopped coming. My attempts to communicate with this client went unanswered.

Obviously, the business relationship had come to an end – for no apparent reason.

I felt slimed. I shook it off. I moved on.

Take Away: Be True to Oneself

The Competitive Intelligence takeaway is this: in the world of business, whether you are a consultant or an employee, you should be true to no one but yourself, and you should be passionate about nothing but your profession and the quality of your work.

A boss or client will throw you under the proverbial bus just as easily as look at you. Find a way to come up laughing. If nothing else, it will scare the one who threw you under.

Praise for one’s work and accomplishments is sweeter than honey, but being dependent on the praise of others is a fool’s errand and destructive to one’s soul.

Be strong. Be self-reliant. Be a professional.