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The pharmaceutical business is a key component of the health care business. It is the source of some of the most dramatic medical advances in history such as antibiotics, vaccines, as well as medications for heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol, cancer, ulcers, asthma, and many other serious medical conditions. The research-intensive component of the industry is driven by companies who must continuously innovate, which is dictated by the daily changes in the knowledge base about the human body and the vast array of alternative medical means of intervention to treat or prevent disease.

Because I have taught and/or practiced in business, competitive and market intelligence (BCMI) space for over three decades, written numerous intelligence articles and handbooks, and been President of an international professional association in the field, undergraduate students in my courses often ask me about how to get their first or entry job in CMI. Because there are no/so few well-established/known post-secondary educational routes, widely accepted certifications, apprenticeship or licensure requirements to practice intelligence in commercial, private-sector contexts – unlike the individuals who want to practice intelligence in the public sector and are preparing to work for one of the many public sector intelligence agencies – answering this question has never been as easy or obvious as many of my (U.S.-based) students would think.

Have any of you worked for hours, days or weeks on an analytical project only to have your requesting client or demanding boss react with one of these comments upon receiving the deliverable:

One of my Colorado competitive intelligence colleagues scolded me as I neglected to include how Win/Loss results can be fed into company deliverables in my Win/Loss Analysis book. In the book, I explain in 12 steps how to create a sustainable Win/Loss program, and how to be a more effective conversationalist to get people to share.

Step 12 is the most important: “Act on the changes from Win/Loss Analysis”. However, you can also repurpose these findings to improve deliverables that your company already produces.