Harnessing the Power of Intelligence, Counterintelligence & Surprise Events - Hardcover

Martin, Alain Paul

9780865029248: Harnessing the Power of Intelligence, Counterintelligence & Surprise Events

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0865029245 ISBN 13: 9780865029248

Publisher: Professional Dev Inst Pr, 2002

This book covers the organization, leadership, tools, practices and culture of intelligence. It reveals a powerful framework comprising new instruments, platforms and breakthrough concepts to address intelligence issues facing professionals and decision-makers, at the national and corporate levels, post September 11. Armed with a wide variety of real-life examples and road maps from business, government and the military, the author demonstrates how the framework can be applied to win customers and allies, seize opportunities, anticipate threats, shield assets from adversaries, and gain insights into the mindset of stakeholders, by legal and ethical means. The content is based on Harvard University Global System™ management road maps pioneered by the author Alain Paul Martin.

The failure to act on valuable intelligence is legion. About half of the book addresses this issue with new instruments for intelligence analysis and interpretation. A full chapter focuses on anticipating and managing surprise events, and another covers the application of the issue-incubation cycle, as an early warning system. Neglecting this cycle can result in undue risk exposure and flawed decisions. In addition, acting on valuable intelligence requires the commitment of a team, with members playing complementary roles. Otherwise, too many important ideas, intelligent trails and even great goals and missions are abandoned. The book examines the power, status and role of the catalysts of intelligence-led change. It also introduces new intelligence tools used to analyze the perceptions and behavior of consumers and other stakeholders.

The book is suitable for general audiences. Learning about intelligence can help each of us make wiser choices, work better and be a more informed and accountable citizen. Technical terms are explained thoroughly. Real-life examples about people and important issues will be fun to read, talk about, both at work and to stimulate discussions and give your staff or students a primer on intelligence.

All in all, this is an excellent, timely and easy to read book with entertaining, vivid examples and breakthrough instruments, most of which are not available elsewhere. As illustrated by the following testimonies, this book is highly recommended for managers, professionals, educators and students in business, government and the military.

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From the Publisher:

Ten Competitive Advantages of This Book

The following competitive-advantage features position this book to sell to a wide audience of managers, professionals, entrepreneurs, business students, intelligence professionals, military analysts and diplomats.

1. The book’s framework addresses many of the neglected human-intelligence issues in business and national security. Military leaders recommend the book for officers, strategists, and defense and law-enforcement students. The framework has also been proven to help companies, both large and small, use smart intelligence to win customers, team-up with selected allies, and shield their assets from competitors and other adversaries.

2. There are no books in the market addressing intelligence and intelligence security with such a comprehensive framework and proven strategic-thinking tools. Professors of business and public administration should consider the book for adoption in MBA and MPA programs. Professor F. Warren McFarlan of the Harvard Business School notes: "This is an extraordinarily thoughtful and well written book on a topic of great contemporary importance. Its advice is detailed, practical and completely on target." For Professor Sunder Kekre of Carnegie Mellon Graduate School of Industrial Administration, this book is "a must read for senior executives... Alain Paul Martin built his concepts very cleverly with thought-provoking examples and jogs the minds of the readers to ponder deeper into the power of intelligence! This is a grand slam by Martin."

3. Beyond the academic community, this book has also gained immediate acceptance among leading decision and policy makers and is already recommended by executives in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. Many of these individuals are great role models with whom targeted readers can readily identify. The Chairman, President and CEO of McCain Foods stresses that "this book should be compulsory reading for senior executives." Archie Dunham, the CEO of the world’s largest oil company and simultaneously the Chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers, found "a powerful message" in the book. And John Harbour has applied the framework to "craft the vision and strategic direction" of Desjardins, a $75 billion financial institution. John Fletcher, who advises Shell International on Global Change, notes that "the section on exploiting the power of Search Engines typifies the extensive research input into this book." Positive feedback also came from executives of Alcoa, Boeing, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, MasterCard, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Shell, Nippon Roche, Scandinavian Airlines, Lufthansa and SAAB. Even the chief intelligence officers of organizations that depend on intelligence to excel wholeheartedly recommend the book. Indeed, executives and intelligence professionals who have learned about Martin’s proven intelligence framework have changed the way they work.

4. The book provides numerous case studies and vivid examples on detecting threats and opportunities early. A leading scientist on the prevention of disease and major risks, Dr. Brian Morrissey wrote a unique case study on the valuable lessons drawn from Mad-Cow issue incubation in the U.K. Policy makers and professionals in communication and public affairs can apply Dr. Morrissey’s suggestions to prevent and mitigate major risks.

5. Readers will learn how to hitchhike on surprise events to create value and orchestrate major change, be it corporate, institutional, technical or social.

6. A full chapter is devoted to intelligence tools and platforms. Its focus is on the use of generalized and specialized search engines and directories. A comprehensive case study on stem-cell migration illustrates the step-by-step process involved in intelligence collection, validation and analysis. Beside its pertinence to marketers, scientists, engineers, intelligence officers and college students, this case study also provides practical tips on using the Internet to prepare professional and managerial candidates for job interviews.

7. The book is full of practical illustrations, success stories and insights from business, government and the military. In each chapter, a delicate balance is maintained between the details necessary to treat a specific topic and the big picture. New ideas are clearly presented and technical terms are explained thoroughly. Without being simplistic, the language is within the reach of corporate staff of all levels and functions. Some stories could be used to stimulate discussions and give college students a primer on intelligence. With the above features, the book also makes fascinating reading even beyond the college-educated general public.

8. For those who want to dig further, there are extensive endnotes, a multilingual bibliography, a series of recommended Web sites, a handy book index, a 4-tier table of contents and two colorful Harvard road maps on strategy and risk. Thus, readers can quickly locate what they need and are bound to refer to the framework and the book’s practical tips, time and time again.

9. The author, Alain Paul Martin has a solid track record as entrepreneur, consultant and educator. His road maps are marketed under the prestigious trademark Harvard University Global System.

10. Frequent readers can enjoy years of trouble-free use. The sturdy hardcover and the excellent bookbinding are much better than the large majority of trade books. The hardcover design and title get the immediate attention of potential buyers including Internet surfers and browsers in bookstores.

These 10 features reflect the exceptional value of this book as summed up by the comments of Professors Mark Thompson and Tak Wakasugi.

From the Author:

Why Should You Read or Offer This Book As A Gift?

A wide variety of individual and corporate buyers can benefit immensely from reading this book. Although the interest for this publication is worldwide, the focus of this document is on the North-American market, which is characterized by the following features.

1. More than ever before, intelligence and intelligence security, like insurance, are now considered an essential part of the cost of doing business regardless of the economic climate and the sector of activity: business, government and defense. As an illustration, President Bush made improved intelligence gathering and analysis a top budget priority in his 2002 State-of-the-Union address.

2. With less trade barriers and excess capacity in nearly every industry, competition has nowhere to go but up. Competitive intelligence is emerging as a fundamental lever in most functions of the enterprise. Without it, scientists, engineers, managers in business and government, and professionals in finance, marketing and sales are flying blind. This book opens their eyes to counterintuitive ways of promptly acquiring intelligence and connecting the dots.

3. Whether you are competing for a job or negotiating a deal, you will be much better prepared by reading this book. Indeed, you will increasingly face colleagues, teammates and adversaries who have cutting-edge skills in intelligence. The subject is among the fastest growing disciplines in business schools. Furthermore, corporate, collegial and municipal libraries confirm the growing demand for books on intelligence.

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