You end up trying to make Wine with a Coca-Cola approach. Say that the customer, if they knew and could explain, would really like a full-bodied, French Pinot Noir with currant notes; the Coca-cola like intel process ends up delivering a 12-pack of Black Cherry White Claw.

This is almost certainly unavoidable at the breadth & scale of the IC, save for a narrow exception, like the PDB. But I think this is something that govies making the transition to the private sector MUST KEEP IN MIND. Your old SOPs from the IC/DoD might do more harm than good.

If you are setting up a new private sector intel program. The wine-making approach to intel is, I'd argue the BEST approach, but it's expensive. You have to spend A LOT OF TIME over a LONG PERIOD with A FEW customers, iterating on the products to get where you need to be.

In any case, rather than reflexively carrying over the intelligence practices of a large bureaucracy that might not apply in your current situation, instead think about what your program is like -- High end hotel, Microchip producer, or Vineyard with a Sommelier. Then, strategy:

And, to summarize, PIRs are overrated and the advice to people setting up private sector intel programs that the first and most important thing is setting up PIRs that cover the entire scope of what your program might cover is counterproductive to producing tangible results.

Don't focus on gathering company-wide PIRs. They likely aren't explaining them well. You aren't understanding them well. And you can't answer most of them at first anyway. Instead, focus on 2-3 customers; be a sommelier to them. Soon, they'll tell others about your great wine.