CI

It was way back in the days of MBA (1988-90)college that i read Micheal Porter talk about competition, competition analysis and its relevance to businesses. Now more appropriately termed as Competition Intelligence or simply CI. It was one of the things that interested me and i have been fortunate to be able to imbibe myself in it.
When i was in sales it was tactical CI; then in pre-sales consulting it was strategic CI and so i have been alternating between the two.
Among the current set of professionals who are practicing CI and evangelising them is Arik Johnson. I met about 2 years back when i attended a program on CI by him and there is no looking back. Thanks Arik.
A good resource for those interested in CI is scip.org.