‘Instead of focusing the traditional planning cycles where companies benchmark their businesses against existing competition, teams need to be developed to foster internal change and disruption. Self-disruption is akin to undergoing major surgery, but you are the one holding the scalpel. - Jay Samit  Benchmarking is the process of studying industry or competitive practices, functions and products and finding ways to meet or improve upon them. Companies from all different industries use benchmarking to gauge their successes and pinpoint their shortcomings. The general process of benchmarking involves identifying problem areas, selecting top competitors who excel where a company falls short and making the necessary changes. There are several key advantages to using benchmarking in an organization. Benchmarking is a way of discovering what is the best performance being achieved whether in a particular company, by a competitor or by an entirely different industry. This information can then be used to identify gaps in an organization’s processes in order to achieve a competitive advantage. Benchmarking is a process for obtaining a measure – a benchmark. Simply stated, benchmarks are the “what,” and benchmarking is the “how.”   This exciting and innovative Gulf Rowad Interactive Workshop on Benchmarking will focus on the practical and theoretical aspects of benchmarking and performance improvement.