Four hundred pages of sophisticated statistical data would seem to be a mark of intelligence in market research, but not so according to competitive intelligence guru David Harkleroad, Vice President of Marketing, Brand & Competitive Strategy at IBM. Returning to Fletcher after his first visit last October, Harkleroad spoke to students on Thursday, February 3, 2005 as part of the International Business Program’s Global Speaker Series, once again captivating his audience and challenging them to reexamine their preconceptions – about market research, about career advancement, and about life.

“Intelligence has no intrinsic value. 100% of the value is created when the data or insight is used to make a better decision.” Harkleroad, who is responsible for key decisions on IBM’s brand and competitive strategy, challenged students to rethink the goals of market research. Constructing an elaborate research design may require intelligence, but research, even sophisticated research, is useless unless it helps executives make better decisions. The ability to identify, organize, assess and clearly present the relevant data points that help solve a particular problem and drive change in organizations is the true mark of brilliance in market research.

To illustrate, Harkleroad discussed the case of IBM. The leader in mainframe computers for decades, IBM has always been ahead of the curve with data on trends. “Nobody has more data than IBM…[and] there was no trend that IBM did not foresee.” The problem for IBM was not the need for more data; the problem was the need for less but more targeted data that could be used to drive organizational change. Simply knowing of a trend is not enough; what counts is how that knowledge can be used in action. “You will never have enough accurate, sourced, unambiguous data, [so] get over it!” Do something about what you know, Harkleroad says.

But how? Having the relevant insights from research is not enough; the final and most important step is to communicate them to senior executives. “First, you need to be smart enough to figure out the answers, but then you need the interpersonal skills to get in the door, and even then, you need to be able to defend yourself because the executive is going to challenge you.” Rhetoric, the ability to present yourself and your ideas persuasively, becomes the key to success. Drawing an analogy to Senator Kerry’s loss in the last presidential election, Harkleroad drives the point home: “If you can’t sell yourself, you’ll be like Kerry. You may be right, but you’re going to be ineffective.”

Specifically, Harkleroad introduced the advanced competitive intelligence (CI) skills necessary to have a dialogue with senior executives – and to be one in the future: client relationship, strong business and financial acumen, oral communication, leadership, critical thinking and writing, and thought leadership and intellectual capital creation. Fortunately, these are the very skills that Fletcher students in the international business program have in abundance.

But frankly, so do many of your future colleagues, challenged Harkleroad in a final session on personal brand management. What does it take to differentiate yourself from the many other capable talents in today’s competitive marketplace? Harkleroad’s answer: Know yourself, know your market, and adapt your brand to meet the market. Take that as sound advice from a former Peace Corps volunteer who has explored his way from journalistic aspirations to consultancy to becoming a thought leader with a distinctive personal brand in whichever arena he may be. Now that’s what I want to be when I grow up.

Article by Jane Wang, MALD '05