“It’s a dangerous world out there and we’re not talking about war and terrorism. CEOs may not even be prepared from basic business developments such as competitors that appear from nowhere… That’s the conclusion Fuld & Co. has reached on the basis of a year-long survey of 140 corporate strategies from Global 2000 companies…” – Chief Executive Magazine, June 2003

Early warning is more than just looking for competitive tsunamis – nearly everyone can see major industry shifts coming. That is not the problem. Most companies fail to act expediently. That is where both the problem and the challenge lie for management. Fuld & Company can both help your company anticipate and act on future events before you miss the opportunity or become victim to the threat.

Our approach is unique and effective. We want to make you and your company intelligence independent. Our clients develop an external focus on the market and the competition.

Companies that employ an early warning process have a powerful tool that allows them to:

• Identify competitive threats or opportunities, as they emerge – not after the fact
• Create strategic transparency throughout management ranks
• Develop management feedback loop to keep management informed of signals that have become hot
• Know your strategic options before a threat or an opportunity arises

We encourage clients to follow these four steps in constructing an ongoing, effective early warning process:

1. Build an early warning roadmap through scenarios: Scenarios alone are not enough. When harnessed to a tracking program, you begin to see how your strategy aligns with industry shifts. By tracking the scenarios you can prepare strategies in advance to take advantage of an impending opportunity or threat.
2. Track signals: Fuld helps clients identify key signals that if triggered will indicate which – if any – of the predetermined scenarios will emerge. We also help clients identify the right sources to track, allowing you to waste little time and energy in the process.
3. Use sentries to apply swarm intelligence: Your entire organization absorbs information each and every day. Why not focus what they watch, letting them become your “sentries.” Fuld can introduce an intuitive technology to assist in this process.
4. Act expediently: Whether it is a war game, a strategic analysis exercise or some other decision-producing mechanism, we will help clients face and act upon these critical junctures.