Bottom Line Competitive Intelligence : Praeger : 9781567205053 : 1567205054 : 30 Sep 2002 : Almost two decades after it emerged as an essential business tool, competitive intelligence is still finding its way. Despite its recognized importance, companies struggle to acquire the kind of intelligence they need and measure its effectiveness and value. This book provides essential tools for selecting the right kind of CI and assessing its contributions to a company's financial performance. The authors identify three fundamental, intertwined mistakes a company can make, showing how to evaluate them and repair the damage they may have done. McGonagle and Vella dissect the current state of CI, survey its evolution into five distinct yet overlapping types, develop a framework for determining which types fit special needs, and evaluate means of communicating CI up and down the line. They discuss the most common raw data source categories?the bases of support for all CI analyses?and the worki