Yesterday, I was given the directive to conduct a comparative analysis between my company’s services and our major competitors.The telecom industry, specifically its business development theatre has become something that is both congested and incestuous in the sense that it has turned into an intimately and improperly connected network.People almost always know each other and it’s never a surprise to come across a familiar name when you’re working on a lead.The sales process in the telecom industry is a very vicious, dog eat dog cycle and there are times when marketing people like me need to roll their sleeves up and get dirty.

In making an effective analysis I felt like I needed to gather sensitive and often confidential information and consolidate it into a report which I will send to the top brass to help them make informed decisions with regards to where they ought to steer the product towards in the future and what measures to take to maintain an edge over our competition.

It is a misconception that corporate espionage is a high-tech crime perpetrated by slick James Bond operatives (like yours truly) or uber genius computer hackers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just about all corporate penetration is accomplished with decidedly simple, and preventable, methods.So don your sneaking suits, prep your night vision goggles, lock and load and join me behind enemy lines for a day of corporate espionage…