Espionage Is Bad, Right?

Something called GhostNet made the headlines over the weekend.  Cyber-snooping by paranoid governments that disgracefully obsess about controlling individual thought and freedom is nothing new.  East West North South.  They’ve all been at it.  Yet the current wave emanating Sino-side is worryingly sinister.

It’s all about information.  Knowledge is Power and all that.  Yet as salespeople, we constantly yearn for info, and try all sorts of methods (some straightforward some, I’m sure, potentially shady) to obtain it to give ourselves an edge.

I know of one occasion when a friend of mine was in an important workshop with a buying team on a large software solution bid.  His boss had noticed a sheet on the folder of a buyer opposite that looked like their ‘secret’ evaluation criteria, with each possible vendor ranked accordingly.  When they adjourned to pop to the canteen, he apparently made an excuse to head back, and quick quick, took the page, photocopied and replaced it and all were none the wiser.  Immoral?  Sneaky?  Excusable?  Essential?

Perhaps the bottom-line is that if you’re tempted to do something that would damage you should it be discovered, then don’t do it.