Seena Sharp 
Principal | Sharp Market Intelligence
Los Angeles, CA, UNITED STATES
Custom in-depth intelligence to reduce risk, find opportunities, confirm assumptions, make better decisions based on today’s reality
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Publications:
Biography
Seena Sharp founded the first competitive intelligence firm in the US following a successful corporate career in New York City. She has a master’s degree in mathematics from New York University, speaks globally, and was commissioned to write the book on this topic by John Wiley publishers.
Sharp Market Intelligence delivers strategic intelligence and analysis for market entry, line expansion, new product launch, M&A, and business development.
Our intelligence deliverables include market drivers, opportunities, threats, unknown customers, substitute and emerging competitors, trends, alternative uses, unfamiliar distribution channels, as well as deep competitor profiles and industry analysis.
Clients (B2B, B2C, nonprofit, academic) range from Fortune 500 to lesser known, mostly in the US, and in Europe, Asia, and Africa, with investigations have covered more than 200 industries.
Competitive Intelligence Advantage: How to Minimize Risk, Avoid Surprises, and Grow Your Business in a Changing World has received more than 60 5-star reviews on Amazon, is required reading in MBA courses (US, UK, Australia) and within corporations, and it's cited as being easy to read, pragmatic, and filled with real-world examples.
Industry Expertise (10)
Manufacturing
Medical Equipment / Supplies / Distribution
Research
Travel and Tourism
Automotive
Insurance
Consumer Goods
Health Care - Providers
Financial Services
Food and Beverages
Areas of Expertise (5)
Strategy
Decision Making
Marketing
Today's Business Reality
Competitive Intelligence
Accomplishments (2)
Hall of Fame, Association for Strategic Planning (professional)
Fellows Award, Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (professional)
Education (2)
New York University: MA, Mathematics
New York University: MS, Mathematics
Affiliations (3)
- Association for Strategic Planning
- American Marketing Association
- Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals
Links (2)
Testimonials (9)
Deborah Ross, VP Programming | American Marketing Association
You were insightful and thought-provoking. The seminar was outstanding, as you probably already know from the evaluations. Your enthusiasm and high energy is contagious.
Guy Kolb, Executive Director | Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals
It is my great pleasure to inform you that you received the highest overall rating out of 87 speakers. Congratulations and thank you.
Shirley Gottschalk, Director of Research | California Researchers Association
I heard nothing but praise for your talk. Thank you for the effort you put into the wonderful presentation, and the high accolades you received.
John Haskell, Fast Trac Instructor and Advisor | Los Angeles Minority Business Enterprise Center
You were sensational. The "stories" were perfect. You spoke at their level and got to them; they loved it. You got applause 2 times....that is very rare. The team is most appreciateive of your time and your very careful preparation.
Linda Gorchels, Director, Executive Marketing Education | University of Wisconsin Executive Education
Outstanding! Definitely the most dynamic speaker of the course. Refreshing approach. I would have like to hear more on this topic. She is great at keeping the attention of the classroom. Enthusiastic and energetic. (Comments from evaluations.)
Caite Corripio, Executive Director | Florida Self-Storage Association
Thank you for speaking at our Executive Retreat. Your in-depth knowledge of competitive intelligence coupled with your ability to draw in the audience made you the perfect presenter to start off our program. Your engaging conversation and wittiness set the stage for a fantastic day.
Geral Coley, President | Strategic Leadership Forum
Your talk was precise, innovative and highly enlightening to our members and attendees. We received many positive comments.
Gordon Donkin, Managing Partner | European Management Group
Thank you for the excellent talk you gave during your recent European speaking tour. Many of our corporate clients have communicated with us to let us know how much they valued your perspective and the pragmatic techniques you shared at the London School of Economics. Your presentation is not only insightful and intellectually stimulating, but also great fun.
Paul Kinsinger, Professor | Thunderbird, Graduate School of International Management
Your presentation was quite valuable. Many students felt you were the best of the outstanding speakers I brought to class this semester. My students particularly appreciated your comments on the scope of competitive intelligence, your approach to soft information, and the specific examples of how you used business intelligence to support your clients.
Event Appearances (16)
Competitive Intelligence Advantage
The Conference Board Council on Competitiveness San Francisco, CA
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Inc. Magazine Conference San Francisco
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The New York Times Small Business Summit New York City
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Association of Global Strategic Information Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial Conference Orange County, CA
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Defense Industry Initiative Los Angeles, CA
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American Chamber of Commerce Japan Tokyo
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Open Source Conference Washington, DC
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Governors Small Business Forum Waco
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Inernational Association of Financial Planners San Antonio
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Assocation for Strategic Planning Dallas
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Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals New York City
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Special Libraries Annual Conference Philadelphia
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Physician Insurers Association of America Palm Springs, CA
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European Business Information Conference Dublin, Ireland
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American Marketing Association Rancho Bernardo, CA
Sample Talks (5)
Leadership, Decisions and the Missing Link: Market Intelligence
Good leaders make more smart decisions – the first time.
Decisions based on a solid foundation of what's current today and the external competitive forces that will impact them are more likely to get desired results. Financial and legal professionals recognize and utilize the value of due diligence; other businesses rarely do.
Strategic decisions demand and deserve current intelligence about the market, customers, competitors, distribution channels, and changing needs.
The Fresh Prince of Success: How Will Smith Used Competitive Intelligence to Take Over the World (And You Can Too!)
Will Smith's strategy and underlying intelligence directly correlates to all marketing and strategic decisions. If he based his decisions on what his beliefs and preferences, he would have been successful, but not nearly as successful as when he probed for today's reality and paid attention to what customers wanted and would buy.
Learn how to apply this logical approach and get the desired results immediately.
Rethink…Reboot…Raving Results…Even Today
Customers WILL buy when you offer what they want. The iPad and iPhone are not the only examples of customers buying - even when a product is expensive and not necessary.
This is how you grow a company - by keeping current and recognizing what today's customers want. The key is not relying on what the company thinks, but responding to clues and signals from customers, which are usually ignored, underestimated, or not understood.
Companies need to respect their customers (B2B, B2C, nonprofit) and include them in their marketing and strategic decisions. When customers don't buy, the company claims the customer is disloyal; the reality is that the company is disloyal.
Market Intelligence: Insight, Foresight, Results
When a competitor is successful (new product, feature, marketing approach, distribution channel, packaging, other) with an offering that your company hadn't even considered, the cause is often due to not knowing today's reality and what's changed.
Most companies think they know today's reality when what they know was true last year or several years ago. My presentation hammers them with examples of what they think is true - that isn't or never was. Business executives are self-confident but out of touch, which they find out when the competition outsmarts them. This is unfortunate and unnecessary.
Change Your Filter, Change Your Future
Most decisions are based on experience, data, intuition, or assumptions - ALL of which reflect the past and may no longer be true. More importantly, they don't reveal what's changing which is the best source of opportunities and threats.
Clearly & quickly delivers message that business decisions are more successful when based on solid due diligence - that details today's reality and what's emerging. Bottom line: market intelligence is due diligence for business that saves money or makes money. Many examples to support talk.
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