Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary educational goal for the
Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence (ACI)?
ACI's ultimate goal is to improve the ability of companies and
individual managers to manage risks, overcome competitive threats,
and anticipate market opportunities, through the use of competitive
intelligence tools. If your job involves customers, competitors,
alliance partners, suppliers, government agencies, fast changing
technology, merger strategies, and so on, you need the insight and
foresight that competitive intelligence offers. ACI trains the CI
professionals, their managers, their managers' managers, and an
incredibly diverse group of users and providers of competitive insights
from all sectors of the global economy and from all over the globe.
How long has ACI offered training in competitive
intelligence?
The faculty leaders, Ben Gilad, Jan Herring, and Leonard Fuld,
have offered their courses for the past 20 years and have trained
nearly 7,000 CI professionals and their managers. The new Fuld-Gilad-Herring
Academy of Competitive Intelligence is a merger of two long-established
CI training organizations: Gilad-Herring ACI and Fuld & Company
training arm. Since 1999, they have joined to bring the only complete
and accredited CI education program, but formalized their joint
venture in 2001. Their courses are considered the underpinnings
of most CI training programs worldwide, including the core courses
offered by The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals
(SCIP). All three of ACI's founders have received the Meritorious
award from SCIP. The Academy of Competitive Intelligence's faculty
has trained most of the competitive intelligence professionals in
the world today.
Who is the faculty and what is their expertise?
Our founding faculty has been the creator of the CI field, and appropriately, our newer members of faculty have been selected based on their unquestionable leading position in the field, their outstanding training and teaching abilities, and their proven practical experience.
Leonard Fuld – founder of Fuld & Co. the first and the leading global CI research firm. Over 27 years experience. Founder Faculty.
Ben Gilad – founder of The Academy of Competitive Intelligence, the leading theory developer in the field of CI, and the leading authority on war gaming. Over 24 years experience. Founder faculty.
Jan Herring – head of the first formal CI unit (at Motorola), the leading practitioner and consultant in the field of CI. Over 30 years experience. Founder faculty.
Michael Sandman – SVP at Fuld & Co., a leading research consultant in CI for over 20 years. Founder faculty.
Jay Paap – the leading technology intelligence consultant in the field. Over 20 years experience.
Karl Rose – former creator of Shell intelligence unit, the leading European practitioner in strategic intelligence
Ashish Nanda, a Harvard Business School professor, a leading authority on ethics.
Helen Rothberg, Associate Professor of Strategic Management, Marist College. The leading consultant in KM/CI integration.
Dan Mulligan: former Carnegie trainer, assistant professor of intelligence at Mercyhurst College, a leading authority on intelligence communication.
For detailed biographies, see Faculty Biographies.
How would you compare ACI's courses to other
competitive intelligence programs?
The Academy of Competitive Intelligence's courses are the most
rigorous, comprehensive and thought provoking courses in the field.
The Academy was the first training institute of its kind, and its
faculty is recognized as the creators of the field of competitive
intelligence. We very carefully have constructed the curriculum
to build on itself. In the short space of 10 course days, we take
the student from the fundamentals to highly advanced, senior-level
intelligence offerings. No other single program, conference, or
academic institution can address both the scope and the practical
applications of our courses. Because we constantly survey our students,
we apply their feedback to updating the courses, or adding topics
that become relevant to the profession. Because our faculty is engaged
in creating CI programs all over the world, we are always the state-of-the-art
in the profession. Because our faculty's writing is at the forefront
of the research in this field, our material is unparalleled. Because
we are the only ones accredited by the IACET, our standards of teaching
are the highest in the world today. We don't settle for good. We
go for excellence.
What is the value of the CEUs?
Only IACET (International Association of Continuing Education Training)
can authorize an institution to grant CEUs
(Continuing Education Units). Recognized by nearly any global
corporation that encourages their employees to seek continuing education
for career development, CEUs are the gold standard in corporate
continuing education, acknowledging that an employee has successfully
completed a particular level of training. The Fuld-Gilad-Herring
Academy of Competitive Intelligence is the only institution of its
kind authorized to grant such credits.
Why should I complete all the courses to receive
CIP™ certification?
The CIP certification program provides managers and professionals
in CI-related positions, whether new to the field or with on-the-job
experience but no formal training, a one-stop shop to receive a
structured, comprehensive and rigorous training in ALL aspects of
the CI profession from leading thinkers and educators in the field.
This certification program will provide the tools necessary to enhance
your ability to perform your tasks to the satisfaction of your organization.
Since many organizations are new to the activity, this training
will also enable you to define for your organization the scope,
tools and a full modus operandi of an ethical and effective CI program.
It can assure your management that their CI managers are indeed
professionals, with all the security that professionalism yields.
If I am just beginning in competitive intelligence,
which two or three courses would you recommend I take to begin my
training?
We recommend that you take the first three courses in the program
because they are the building blocks and the foundation. The first
course "Intelligence Sources
& Collection Techniques" defines intelligence, identifies
critical sources, as well as demonstrates human source collection
techniques using a mock trade show setting as the backdrop. The
second course, "Competitive Benchmarking & Tactical Analysis" introduces the student
to practical analysis techniques, such as determining the cost of
operations of a privately held company, or assessing management's
thinking at a rival company. The third course, "Competitive
Blindspots", outlines a framework for predicting competitors'
moves and identifying their managements' blindspots as well as your
own managements' blindspots. With these three courses, you will
have the foundation for more advanced analysis and intelligence
management courses offered later in the series.
Can I receive any tuition discounts for signing
on the entire ACI program in advance? If so, how long do I have
to take the entire series of courses toward receiving certification?
You can receive a 10% discount if you register in advance for the
nine-course CIP program to be completed within a 12-month period.
See the Registration Form
on this Web site for more details.
How do I determine which courses are best for
my particular needs? Is there a place on the academyci.com web site
that will help guide me?
Aside from detailed course descriptions in the Public
Seminars section, we also offer you two other ways of determining
the course that is right for you. The Seminar
Selector lists the key questions that each seminar addresses.
If you can answer "yes" to three or more of the 10 questions
posed for each course, this course will meet your needs. The second
tool is called Problem Sets. Our ACI faculty has supplied you with
two or three typical problem sets, or mini-exercises, for each course.
Each problem set represents the critical challenges - and solutions
- students receive in any given program. Try them.
How do ACI courses differ from those I can
receive by attending a conference?
A conference lecture or workshop is aimed at whetting your appetite,
not training you. Often, the quality of the presenters is uneven.
At The Academy of Competitive Intelligence's courses, you actually
learn to do the CI work, lock, stock and barrel. You do not sit
idly and listen (and you don't fall asleep, we can assure you!).
Moreover, the Academy's program has its own rhythm and flow, which
has been carefully balanced. You end up intrigued, invigorated,
with an "Ah ha!" experience. You say to yourself, like
our student, Bruce Greenwood of HP said: "One of the best courses
I've ever attended during my 16-plus year career!" No conference
can match this."
|
