There are three key aspects to successful intelligence operations...being able to ascertain what it is you need to know, having a plan to bring together that information and finally turning the information into actionable intelligence. All of these three activities come at a cost and this article seeks to examine these costs to suggest a [...]
There is a fundamental problem with information; there is far too much of it and it is too often contradictory. In most other ways, information cannot be faulted… it is such useful stuff, pretty much everything we do requires an input of information. The question is: can we sort the good from the bad, both [...]
You may have noticed that there is an awful lot of information out there. Some of it good, some not so good and much that is, well… wrong. Hopefully most people would agree with the premise that good decisions are based on good information, and that the most relevant and accurate information will lead to [...]
You may have noticed that there is an awful lot of information out there. Some of it pertinent to what we are doing, some of it correct, but much that is neither of those two things. But how does a business sift through all the available information to come to a real understanding as to [...]
The ability to make sensible decisions in business is central, with clear implications for a company’s reputation, profit, productivity and sustainability. Decisions require a clear objective and a thorough understanding so that the decision-maker can view the issue at hand in context and be able to identify available options. So armed, thoughts can then focus [...]
How can it be that we see the world so differently? Even when we are on the same team, working for the same people and aiming for the same objectives, we can witness the very same event, but come away with a different interpretation of what just happened. This is described by Sir John Lubbock [...]
We are faced with a potential embarrassment of riches as the discipline of intelligence is now spreading fast across the commercial sector. This presents rewarding opportunities for those working in this field as companies identify the value of intelligence in delivering a competitive advantage and a proactive stance towards risks and opportunities. There is a [...]
It is a fact that most intelligence work is not that glamorous, and intelligence analysts will only occasionally get to deliver dynamic assessments to the management board, pull people out of far-flung places in the nick of time or forestall the next crisis. This may come as something of a shock to those intending to [...]
What is it we believe and why? A pretty big question without a pint of good ale to hand maybe, but nevertheless relevant given all of the information of which we are in receipt every day. Of course, that we have such flows of information today is amazing, and something we could not have imagined [...]
A great deal of effort is expended looking into the past at unexpected events, under-performance, operational failures and so on. This is just our natural human instinct to seek understanding of what has happened, particularly if it was a damaging incident. Many of you will recognise that you are stuck in a system focussed on [...]
