"For knowing afar off the evils that are brewing they are easily cured. But, when for want of such knowledge, they are allowed to form until everyone can recognize them, there is no longer any remedy to be found." (Machiavelli, The Prince û 1513)
In today's business world, one has to be anticipatory. Being anticipatory is the only way to gain advantage, just as Machiavelli pointed out in his writings The Prince. How an organization develops its anticipatory aptitude in order to gain strategic advantage is what separates the men from the boys in business today. In order to be anticipatory, a business must require sophisticated intelligence gathering techniques, new decision process models and accountability measures.
For a business in today's economy, failure to anticipate trends, events, technology changes and external shifts can be destructive. One need only point to the examples of US companies like IBM in the 1980's, who insisted on continuing to work with mainframes while the computer industry around them was changing and further to General Motors in the 1960's when they failed to anticipate the impact of an energy crises and Japanese imports. The 21st Century manager must anticipate these new information technologies and applications and anticipate their enhancement of the manager's ability to perform effectively in a new business environment. "Setting one's future agenda can only be done with sophisticated intelligence techniques, new models, and practical accountabilities." (Ashley & Morrison)
With information technology applications and the internet, an anticipatory management decision process model - a sort of outside-in type intelligence flow chart û can be implemented. The focus is on emerging issues as they surface, giving organizational leaders the information to evaluate and make their decisions based on the issues themselves, the seriousness of the issue and the impact it may pose on the organization...