Recon Mission

I love watching NBC’s The Office. It always seems to shine a light on the quirkiest parts of daily office life. A recent episode alternated between two topics: One was gathering information from a competitor in a new market, and the other was the office debate as to whether or not Hillary Swank is hot. I would like to discuss the former, and leave the latter for your own inter-office debates. You can watch the entire episode on Hulu.

In the episode, Michael and Dwight attempt to gather information from a family paper business in a city in which they do not currently compete. Michael’s boss asks for information, but does not give any direction as to how to gather it. It is eventually determined that Michael will pose as a customer looking to buy paper and Dwight will attempt to apply for a job. This, they determine will give them information on current customers, employee salaries, and more.

Their trip to the family paper business, while filled with ignorance, stupidity, and other generally hilarious events, is successful. They are able to secure more than they ever wanted in terms of information. Along the way, though, Michael discovers that this is a very nice family with a nice little business. Giving the information to corporate could ultimately lead to the family’s financial ruin! Although he has doubts about giving the information to corporate, he eventually relents and is praised highly for his efforts.

Was it OK for Michael to do that? Is it ethical to lie to a competitor and pose as someone else to gather information? Where is the line? Can a retail store owner walk over to Walmart pretending to shop only to gather pricing information for business purposes? Most people, I think, would say of course. Is that the same thing? Does it make it OK because Walmart is a big company, so you’re sticking it to the man rather than putting a family out of business?

With ponzi schemes abounding and CEO jets flying, it seems business ethics is a thing of the past. It would be valuable, however, for you to sit down and think about what is ethical and what is not. Like I have asked before, how comfortable are you with gray?

There is no question that you should be gathering as much information as possible on your competitors. Bold face lies to someone’s face may cross the line, but a phone call just asking how much something costs probably isn’t. If someone is crazy enough to post their customer list with contact information on their website, take it!

In our family paper business example, suppose corporate used the information to contact the family’s customers and undercut prices. If the family business is worth it’s weight, they will survive anyway. The would have built trusted relationships with many of their customers, and that will mean more that lower prices. In the end, a list of customers may not be as valuable as corporate thinks it will be. The paper company already competes with the box stores, and has lasted this long.

Don’t be afraid to compete head to head with your competition. They are just as responsible to bring amazing products, services, and experiences to their customers as you are. If they are asleep at the wheel, you better take control before someone else does.