Crossover attempts from military intelligence to competitive intelligence (CI) within the business world tend to be unsuccessful, partly due to a lack of understanding of the commercial environment. The learning curve is too steep to allow for a quick transition. A more reasonable use of government intelligence expertise will be for companies to hire former intelligence officers as consultants for short term assignments to streamline the organizational aspects of their CI program. A further distinction is found when it comes to the use of open sources. These are traditionally a small part of the military or government intelligence analyst's resources but are the main information source for the CI practitioner. The article considers that any public-private partnership in the area of intelligence should be limited to a one-way flow of information from companies to governments as it is needed to protect national security.