Weak Signals for Strategic Intelligence: Anticipation Tool for Managers

Chapter 1

Concepts, Issues and Hypotheses

1.1. Introduction: governance and radar

Let us begin with a metaphor, namely the radar, and its likeness, that is, the detection of weak signals by the enterprise.

Generally speaking, governance denotes the art of governing, whether it is a country, a company (corporate governance) or indeed a ship [LES 08a]. In the latter, the main instrument of governance happens to be the rudder. In the following, we shall be comparing the business to a ship in order to introduce the concept of a “weak signal” in the most illustrative way possible, as that concept constitutes the core of this book. Let it be noted that, in the remainder of the text, we will use the word “enterprise” in a very general sense. It will refer to all forms of organization, including industrial, commercial or service companies; government bodies (ministries, etc.); local authorities; public bodies (for example Family Allowances Funds), etc. [LES 02b]. The examples given originate from research projects performed by our team in those different types of organizations.

1.1.1. Steering the ship

The principal objective assigned to the ship’s captain is to accomplish the mission assigned to him/her and to reach the destination safely. This has always been and still remains true. In order to fulfill that objective, the ship and its crew need a good captain. A good captain possesses human qualities and technical competences suitable to his/her role. Such human qualities include, among ...