Early Warning: Using Competitive Intelligence to Anticipate Market Shifts, Control Risk, and Create Powerful Strategies Review

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Early Warning: Using Competitive Intelligence to Anticipate Market Shifts, Control Risk, and Create Powerful Strategies ReviewEdit of 21 Dec 07 to add links. This remains a core reference.
Ben Gilad, arguably one of the top five practitioner-scholars in the competitive intelligence arena (the others, in my opinion, are Jan Herring and Leonard Fuld, his partners; Babette Bensoussan in Australia, and Mats Bjore in Sweden), makes a very important contribution with this book. It is for business leaders what Kristan Wheaton's book, was and is for government leaders.
The author's earlier book, "Business Blindspots: replacing myths, beliefs and assumptions with market realities", remains one of the single best references for business intelligence professionals (but only available from Infonortics UK), together with Babette Bensoussan and Craig Fleisher's Strategic and Competitive Analysis: Methods and Techniques for Analyzing Business Competition
I regard this book as being primarily for the manager of the business enterprise rather than the business intelligence professional, primarily because it is very helpful in breaking through old mind-sets and suggesting that very specific attitudes and activities must characterize those endeavors that wish to avoid costly surprises. I would say that this book, together with Yale business author Jeffrey Garten's book, The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda For Business Leaders are "must reads" for the senior executive who desires to not just survive but to excel in the 21st Century.
The author, who has a solid understanding of the history of surprise in military or national security circles, makes the point that surprise does not occur for lack of signs that can be detected, but for lack of a culture and mind-set open to seeing and understanding those signals.
The book combines survey results from professionals attending the Academy of Competitive Intelligence (the single best offering in the world) with real-world accounts, "gray box" supplementals, and "manager's checklists" at the end of each chapter that are in essence an executive summary of the chapter.
This is a 2-3 hour read, and well-worth anyone's time, but especially well-worth the time of the executive who is willing to consider the possibility that they are grossly unaware of real-world external threats to their future bonuses, and that there might be some relatively simple low-cost solutions to dealing with the threat that require, rather than vast sums of money, a change in mind-set.
Other recommended works on my short list (with reviews):
Measuring the Effectiveness of Competitive Intelligence: Assessing & Communicating CI's Value to Your Organization
Keeping Abreast of Science and Technology: Technical Intelligence for Business
The New Competitor Intelligence: The Complete Resource for Finding, Analyzing, and Using Information about Your Competitors
The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political--Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption
THE SMART NATION ACT: Public Intelligence in the Public InterestEarly Warning: Using Competitive Intelligence to Anticipate Market Shifts, Control Risk, and Create Powerful Strategies Overview

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A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror Review

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A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror ReviewBy providing a historical context for understanding recent revelations of U.S. government-perpetrated atrocities, McCoy convincingly unmasks the lie that Abu Ghraib is a mere aberration. In doing so, he shows that those in the United States who are serious about human rights have to address the ugly essence of U.S. foreign policy and practice rather than problems misperceived as short-term and exceptional. The evidence McCoy presents is overwhelming, and his analysis insightful.A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror Overview

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Gifted Grownups: The Mixed Blessings of Extraordinary Potential Review

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Gifted Grownups: The Mixed Blessings of Extraordinary Potential ReviewThis book is an absolute must-read for all of us who grew up as "gifted children", but soon found that the real world did not welcome us with open arms. So many of Ms. Streznewski's observations were frighteningly accurate descriptions of my own life experiences, and the many interviews she conducted made me feel less alone.
I've been meandering through life for over ten years thinking that my high IQ was useful in school, but had little relevance in the professional world. Finally, I am enlightened to the fact that "giftedness" does not end at graduation. Suddenly my spotty job history (I get bored very easily and bosses find my outside-the-box thinking threatening), and difficulty in choosing a long-term career make some sense!
I agree with others who stopped at four stars, because although this book provided me with incredibly valuable information about why I am the way I am, it doesn't offer much insight as to how to better focus my potential. I believe that there is a lot of talent being wasted every day because many extraordinarily gifted, talented people are not accepted by society and the business world. How about a sequel that addresses the challenges unique to gifted adults, and strategies to overcome them?Gifted Grownups: The Mixed Blessings of Extraordinary Potential Overview

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Stalking the Black Swan: Research and Decision Making in a World of Extreme Volatility (Columbia Business School Publishing) Review

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Stalking the Black Swan: Research and Decision Making in a World of Extreme Volatility (Columbia Business School Publishing) ReviewIf you are serious about picking stocks, or making decisions generally, read this book. I am a portfolio manager that has valued the insights of Ken Posner for over a decade. I have long believed that the best and most useful analysts on Wall Street are the precious few that simply ask important questions about the companies they cover and set out to answer those questions without passion or prejudice. Peppered with what Charlie Munger calls "mental models", Ken explains how he does just that...and more. He reveals how he deals with the inevitable uncertainty in the answers he finds and, importantly, how he adjusts his conclusions for new information. Perhaps most interesting is the privilege of going along with Ken on his journey to revisit the recommendations he made on some of the most controversial financial companies during one of the most volatile times in modern financial history; essentially, a concentrated education in decision making during extreme uncertainty and volatility. Refreshingly, Ken balances academic contributions against the realities of a practitioner without jabbing at either side. The book is an essential read for all directors of research on both the "buyside" and "sellside" but also has broad appeal as a rare look into the mind of an effective decision-maker.Stalking the Black Swan: Research and Decision Making in a World of Extreme Volatility (Columbia Business School Publishing) Overview

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Internet Searches for Vetting, Investigations, and Open-Source Intelligence Review

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Internet Searches for Vetting, Investigations, and Open-Source Intelligence ReviewI have been a private investigator for more than 25 years. When I started in this business computers were scarce and the Internet had not yet been commercialized. Everything was done with a pencil and telephone. I have a lot of experience so it is hard for me to find books that are useful. I buy books hoping to learn one or two new things. Edward J. Appel, a retired FBI agent is the author. His company has done work for me so I knew the quality of his work and assumed his book would be at the same level as his investigative efforts. I wasn't disappointed.
The book is 320 pages and broken into 4 sections. Appel begins with a chapter about behavior and technology which orients the investigator/analyst on the growth and use of the Internet. He discusses the usefulness of the Internet as an investigative tool and the transformations the Internet is making through social and technological advances. Along with the benefits for investigators comes the darker side of the web, and Appel examines its criminal exploitation.
The first section provides a great introduction and is geared toward corporate investigators and security personnel tasked with monitoring IT systems, vetting employees and guarding company intellectual property. In Section 2 Appel outlines legal and policy issues related to using information from the Internet in investigations. He identifies liability and privacy issues and laws addressing these concerns such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act. He also dedicates a chapter to litigation, defamation, and invasion of privacy torts.
Appel develops a framework for preparation and planning of successful Internet research. He covers basic information about search engines, metasearch engines, social networking sites and search terms.
I found the chapters Automation of Searching and Internet Intelligence Reporting to be the most enlightening. Reducing time spent searching and analyzing information, seems like a no-brainer. But I would bet the number of investigators who have looked for automated solutions to their collection efforts is small. The Internet Intelligence Reporting section recommends the format and organization of a report as well as what to include and how to cite sources.
Internet Searches for Vetting, Investigations, and Open-Source Intelligence, like many trade publications, is on the pricey side. However it delivers with content and is an easy read. It met my criteria for a successful investigations book because I learned much more than two new things.
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Tiger Trap: America's Secret Spy War with China Review

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Tiger Trap: America's Secret Spy War with China ReviewDavid Wise writes with direct, swiftly moving prose and adds new information to the record; however, the analysis of Chinese intelligence activities is flawed and readers will not be able to place Chinese intelligence activity into context after studying this book.
Wise contributes new information in a couple of areas. He adds more detail about Gwo-Bao Min (Tiger Trap) than was previously available and weaves together the disparate threads connecting Chinese espionage allegations on West Coast. Wise fills in some of the gaps left in previous treatments. Wise also pulls together a good deal of information on the recent espionage cases in the last five years, which would only be available to a lay reader after several hours of research.
Unfortunately, Wise chooses not to take a step and look at the information he so assiduously collected. Instead, he relies on retired FBI agents, who repeat old platitudes about Chinese intelligence methods----platitudes that may never have been true to begin with. This might be tolerable if Wise himself had not collected a lot of data contradicting his opening chapter. Most Western observers believe Chinese intelligence methods are wildly different than Western or Russian models. They think, among other points, China relies on amateur collectors rather than professional intelligence officers, does not pay for secret information, and does not develop formal intelligence relationships.
Yet Wise charts the tale of the Chinese intelligence officer at the heart of recent espionage cases, involving Chi Mak, Kuo Tai-shen, James Fondren, and Gregg Bergersen. Chinese intelligence recruited these sources and paid them in exchange for US defense secrets. Why did they spy? Greed. Venality. One might be tempted to forgive Wise's reliance on out-dated analysis if these were new developments. However, Wise also provides a short summary of the Larry Wu-Tai Chin case, who spied from the 1940s to 1985. The Chin case looks and feels like one of the many cases run across the NATO-Warsaw Pact divide.
No coverage of Chinese intelligence today would be complete without a section on cyber (hacking), but there is little in Wise's treatment to commend. The cyber chapter is a summary of news clippings and official commentary. For better analyses of Chinese cyber activity, academic and policy journals, like Survival (IISS) and International Affairs, offer accessible (jargon-free) and thoughtful treatments that put Chinese cyber in perspective.
Ultimately, Tiger Trap is a good read with some new information about Chinese espionage cases; however, it is unsatisfying for anyone looking for anything that goes beyond the headlines. If there were more choices for reading about Chinese intelligence, this book would probably only rate 2/5 stars. There are, unfortunately, few alternatives to Wise's book and he should be recognized for mostly sticking to facts in the espionage cases. This redeeming feature makes Tiger Trap a useful reference guide and the clean writing makes it an easy read.Tiger Trap: America's Secret Spy War with China Overview

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