With a decade of experience and well-over 2000 quality Intelligence assessments I’ve learnt some simple and universal truths about Intelligence.

Here are 24 of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the past 10 years in the Intelligence-biz.

What is your question? 

As simple as it sounds, if you don’t know what you don’t know, you’re going to be hopelessly lost before you’ve even started.

Quite simply, the most important thing is to hone in on your problem, and frame it in a simple to approach the question.

• Should ANTIFA be classified as a terrorist organisation?
• Do anti-consorting laws actually have an effect on Outlaw-Motor Cycle Gangs?

Framing your question correctly gives clear and concise direction for collection, research and assessment. It also helps to avoid those ‘all-nighters’.

What should you promise your customer?

Answer: A solution.

An intelligence brief is not a tick-box exercise. Your job is to define the problem so clearly that the customer can determine the best solution.

If your customer is left wondering you’ve not solved the problem. So then it’s back to the drawing board.

Less is more.

Intelligence assessments will often morph and grow.

As you research and design the assessment it’s easy to get swept up in the hype and try to stuff as much text, images and mapping into a single PowerPoint slide as you can.

Don’t over-egg the pudding. If it feels like you’re getting off-topic, or shifting the purpose of the brief, just park that element and pick it up later.

Your personal image matters (so does your reputation).

We have an old saying in the Intelligence game, you’re only as good as your last assessment.

And so, you need to remember, your image will be constantly called into question by your audience.

For example, if you’re a lazy or inept analyst, you can bet your assessments will be viewed with the same level of criticism.

Tell them something they don’t know.

Otherwise, what’s the point?

Your job isn’t to confirm what they already know, it is to provide timely and accurate Intelligence that actually informs decisions.

So, you need to tell them something they don’t know – and it needs to matter! Otherwise, you may as well be reporting the news.

Imagination is key.

You’ve probably heard the age-old debate about whether Intelligence more Art or Science.

Well, every good analyst must have a creative side. Don’t be afraid to chase an imaginary rabbit, free your mind to explore creative solutions – let the artist in you flourish.

Don’t be a bore.

There’s no nice way of saying it. But no one enjoys listening to the incessant mono-tone droning of a boring Intelligence brief.

Learn to tell a good story and involve the customer in the story. Use their experience, draw references they’ll know and take them on a journey.

Make sure it’s actionable.

If there’s no point to it, then there’s no point.

Give the audience something to take home, something to use and something to do.

Make your work matter by adding in a rousing call to action – even if it’s just to rouse more collection.

Don’t pull your punches.

Intelligence analysts are advisors, so make sure you advise!

Don’t shirk your responsibility by telling the customer what they want to hear, or agreeing to their opinion because it’s a safer option.

If you disagree, own it.

Know your audience, and where they’ve been.

It’s best to know who your audience is, and their experience.

Do your homework, and speak to their reference points – you’ll create a deeper connection and allow your assessments to bind with their experience.

Bad news doesn’t get better with age.

Always give it to them straight.

New leadership needs to come correct.

Time and time again I’ve seen bullish new leadership come rushing in with a raft of ideas, keen to make their mark on the organisation.

Often promises of a ‘revolutionary new system’ or ‘improved processes’ shine as bright as a magnesium trip-flare only to fizzle out after thirty seconds.

 You need to learn the systems, learn the processes, and understand the people before determining the best way forward.

The best way to achieve buy-in is by understanding the problem and serving the customer. Don’t be so quick to reinvent the wheel.

Not my monkey, not my circus.

Know what you can control, and own it. Accept what isn’t yours and do your best to play in the sandbox you’re in.

A picture is still worth 1000 words – maybe more!

Don’t use words when you could use a picture.

Develop the skill to present without text, use supporting images or props to tell your story.

Learn to utilise programs (like Canva) and build slides, images and graphics that tell a story for you.

Give examples.

We all learn through shared experience, so give examples. It’ll help others learn.

Provide time for questions.

Always allow time for feedback and questions, take every opportunity to satisfy questions, and deliver more value in every answer.

Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity.

Consider what you need to say, and what can wait for questions.

Provide a summary and keep the detail, you can always elaborate later.

Ghetto Done.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. But it does have to get done.

If an email achieves the outcome then get typing, if a phone call will suffice…then pick up the phone.

Get the info to where it’s needed. Keep it ghetto, and get it done.

If you can’t write it, just say it.

Don’t waste your time right-clicking and using the MS Word Synonyms just to sound smarter.

Say what you’re thinking in the clearest possible way.

If you can’t write well – just say what you’re thinking.

The ‘so what’ factor?

Every point should matter.

Every statement should have a ‘so what?’ relevance. Always ask yourself, So what? What does it mean?

Fight for information.

Information isn’t always going to just come to you.

Good intelligence analysts know they need to fight for information, which means asking questions, finding resources and getting after it.

Develop your network, and if you cannot answer a question, ask around – ask who might and don’t be afraid to pick up the phone until you get what you’re after.

This alone separates good analysts from the average.

Follow up, don’t make it up.

It’s more than acceptable to not know something. You’re human, you’re not expected the know everything.

What is unacceptable is to make up an answer.

If you don’t know then just say you don’t know. You won’t be crucified.

When it’s all said and done, find out and follow up.

Keep it factual.

Keep your emotions in check.

Decision-makers need you to present facts, findings and clear assessments.

Try to remove ‘you’ from the assessment and deliver the information without emotion.

Keep the main thing the main thing.

The quality of your intelligence depends entirely on the focus of your question. Maintain your focus.

Is this everything you’ve learnt?

Not at all.

These are simply a handful of the lessons that apply across the spectrum of Intelligence Operations.

If you desire to become an intelligence analyst or want to learn the skills needed to turn everyday information into Intelligence – I’ve developed a separate and specialised course just for you.

Click here to get instant access to our online Intelligence Training Course. 

Want to learn a simple, yet very effective technique to extract more meaning, and better analyse information?

Want to hear a grown ass man talk about high-school, magic the gathering and try to cram as many memes into 580 words as possible…?

Then you’ve come to the right place.

This article will show you how I use good ol’ fashion highlighters to understand information and extract more meaning from any given article, intelligence brief or book.

I remember back in high school, I would often see the smart kids using highlighters in class.

…I never actually knew what they were highlighting. But they all had’em.

It didn’t bother me none. I had more important things to be getting on with – like learning how to play Texas Hold’em and winning Magic the Gathering Tournaments…

Yep, true story.

Ah, but how the tables have turned. Now I’m the one all with all the highlighters…

[manic laugh] mwahahahaha

As it turns out, these little suckers are a force multiplier for intelligence analysts.

It’s proven, using highlighters to mark texts, documents, books and articles not only improves concentration, they also help memory retention and information recall!

More importantly, using this simple tactic can actually improve your understanding and critical thinking…

You can thank me later.

So, to use this tactic you’ll need 4 x different coloured highlights. (And yes, they do need to be different coloured…)

Ok, so to use this technique, follow these four easy steps below;

Step 1 – Read First (don’t highlight)

Yep, read first to get an understanding of the content, it’s meaning, and a general overview.

Step 2 – Connect the dots (with highlighters)

Using your four different coloured highlighters, as you read through each paragraph, use a different highlighter to identify –

• A person (Green),
• A place or location (Blue)
• A time, date or year (Yellow) &
• An action, or future action to come (Purple / Pink / Whatever else).

Step 3 – Repeat

As you read, continue to use this technique throughout.

You’ll start to see patterns in places, with people and identify the key pieces of information needed to make intelligent assessments.

Step 4 – Analyse Your Information

Now you can extract relevant information, and structure your data it in a multitude of ways;

People. Use a network analysis or hierarchy tool to analyse all the green highlighted information. Or,

Timeline. Use a timeline analysis technique to list the yellow information in chronological order to better understand what happened and when.

Geoint. Plot all the blue information on a map to understand where events occurred, what else happened in those areas and the surrounding environment.

Stuff that happened. Your pink / purple highing should detail the actions relevant to the incident.

Extracting this information can provide unique insight into what has occurred (explanative analysis) and what might happen in the future (predictive analysis).

Want to see it in action?

Sure. This is how I use the highlighter technique –

Now it’s your turn.

Download the following article – visit the link here. Read it once then use the highlighter technique to extract the different elements.

Let me know what you find, or the insights this technique identifies.

Happy highlighting –

In summary. The highlighter technique helps intelligence analysts with cognative function such as information recall and critical analysis. It also allows me to feel like one of those smart kids in high school. Win, win.

Homework. Get yourself some highlighters and start practising this technique.

Then let us know how this technique helped you to better identify and extract information for Intelligence! Reply in the comments below.

Ok, so you’re interested in a career in Intelligence – 

You’re intrigued by the concept of learning secrets,

Perhaps you want to contribute to something bigger.

Maybe you enjoy solving puzzles and working with different pieces of information…?

But you don’t know where to start?

Well you can’t exactly just walk into a three letter agency, and there’s a lot of competition for internship positions.

So – how can you become an intelligence analyst today (even if you’ve got no experience)?

The intelligence profession is expanding immensely, now incorporating ‘non-traditional’ roles and organisations.

Today many government departments are leveraging intelligence analysts for their unique operational environments.

Environmental, energy, and even education departments are using intelligence to cut through the noise and provide insight from information.

We’re seeing the same enthusiasm for intelligence in the private sector also. Private companies, Defense contractors and OSINT businesses are demanding skilled and capable intelligence analysts!

It’s now much easier to find experience, develop your skills and become an Intelligence professional than ever before…

And so, this article will teach you the four steps to getting started in intelligence, even if you’ve got experience at all –

Follow these four steps below to get started in intelligence today:

Step 1. Identify Your Problem

Step 2. Own Your Environment

Step 3. Move the needle

Step 4. Share your Intel

Step 1. Identify Your Problem. Define your Battlespace. 

Step 1 is all about determining your focus area. It involves choosing your battlespace.

As a military intelligence analyst, you are posted to a different location and unit every 3-4 years. These re-deployments require you to refocus on a new problem or battlespace.

As an intelligence analyst, you need to define the ‘problem set’ you’re going to own.

There’s a range of different environments for you to operate in, each will have unique challenges and interesting elements.

However, an Intelligence analyst cannot be everything to everyone. You cannot spread yourself too thin on the ground.

The best intelligence comes from that which is highly targeted and highly focused.

So, to become an intelligence analyst today, the first step is to define the problem you’re going to become a subject matter expert in.

To do this ask yourself the following questions;

• What news reporting, blogs and current affairs am I most interested in?
• If I could learn the inner workings of an issue or problem – what would it be?
• If I had to brief the president (or insert key decision maker) on a topic or issue, what would it be?

The goal here is to identify the operational environment.

You: “But Ben, I have so many things I want to learn and get involved in…”

Me: “I got you fam!”

…You don’t need to focus on this one thing forever – but you do need focus on it to start.

This process will get you learning about intelligence, and developing the skills needed to become an intelligence professional.

This process will get you learning about intelligence, and developing the skills needed to become an intelligence professional.

I get it, there’s many a rabbit to chase – but you need to learn the skills, so focus on developing them here.

To become a skilled and professional intelligence analyst, you need to choose ONE problem set and crush it before jumping into the next.

Not sure what problem you want to get involved in? here are some examples;

Criminal Intelligence

• Gangs
• Drugs
• Money Laundering
• Kidnap for Ranson
• Counter Narcotics
• Corruption
• Prisons / Corrections
• Border Protection
• Organised Crime
• Homicide
• Explosive Ordinance (IEDs etc)
• Arson
• Issue Motivated Groups & Extremists
• Identity Theft and Fraud
• Illegal Wildlife Poaching & Smuggling

Terrorism

• Islamic Extremism
• Religious Extremism
• Ideological Extremism
• Domestic Terrorism
• Terrorist Funding (Hawala etc)

Espionage

• Corporate Espionage
• Counter Espionage

Defense and Military Intelligence

• Small Arms and Munitions
• Explosive Ordinance (IEDs)
• Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency
• Black Swan
• Geo-Politics and strategic awareness
• Missiles
• Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Energy (CBRNE)
• Targeting
• PSYOPS

Non-profit Intelligence 

• Child exploitation
• Illegal slavery
• Illegal labour

If none of these ‘problem stets’ tickle your fancy, consider something you want to learn more about – a problem you would like to fix.

You don’t need to be in one field of intelligence forever. But remember, the better you are at one the more transferrable your skills will be to the next.

In the military, Intelligence analysts are reassigned and posted to a different location roughly every 3-4 years. This means they shift focus to a new operating environment, and a new problem set.

My first assignment was in Counter-Insurgency (as Iraq and Afghanistan was the focus at the time), I then moved to a Counter-Terrorism role and now I specialise in Criminal Intelligence.

Defining your operating environment is a lot like choosing your college major or your specialty. Except, it won’t cost you thousands if you get it wrong.

Action Item: Before moving forward – you need to know the problem set that interests you. If you don’t have one, choose one from the list above. You need to have your problem set to move forward because step 2 is all about owning your environment.

Step 2. Own Your Environment

Question: What makes an Intelligence Professional successful?

Answer: They understand their operating environment better than anyone else and offer unique insights that shape decisions.

Welcome to step 2, becoming subject matter experts. This step is all about owning your environment.

Here our job is to understand and own our operational environment so we can make informed assessments and provide unique insights.

To do this, you gotta get into it… You can’t fake this part.

To truly own your environment, successful intelligence analysts need to read / research and learning EVERYTHING relevant to their specific problem.

Let’s say you’ve chosen to Domestic Terrorism, and you’re researching the threat posed by sovereign citizens. To provide any real value, you’re going to need to dive in and understand the context, and all elements of the problem.

Same for counter-narcotics, illegal immigration, Islamic extremism and industrial espionage –

Each present unique operational environments you need to learn about.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be in the industry to learn and research it. Remember, we’re becoming intelligence analysts today, and you can become a subject matter expert in a specific problem very quickly.

So, owning your environment involves the following elements:

• Identifying current trends and issues,
• Defining the problem(s) that exist and what causes them,
• Understanding what has happened to this point,
• Identifying information and knowledge gaps

Ok, so let’s own our environment…

Identify Trends and Issues

You can identify trends and issues by reading recent and relevant reporting about your specific problem.

When you start there will already be people in this space so find those sources of information, see what they’ve said, see what they know.

Now we’ve chosen our problem set, lean into it – identify texts, blogs, podcasts, resources, discussion forums, other professional and bodies also involved in this work.

Start to build a picture of what has happened, what is happening, and what could happen tomorrow…

Defining the problem(s) that exist and what causes them, 

You will need to complete some research.

Get into the details, read books and speak to people who are familiar with this issue / problem.

Learn the backstory, and get to understand the nitty-gritty of your issue. Insight comes from these small details, so block out some time, turn off your phone and dive in.

Seriously, to be a good intelligence professional, you need to have a passion for learning.

I know it doesn’t sound as fun as picking locks and secretly recording conversations – but every good intelligence professional needs to understand the key issues and concerns of their operating environment.

Understanding what has happened to this point

Whats the [back] story, morning glory? To provide valuable intelligence moving forward, you need to understand what’s happened in the past.

Identifying information and knowledge gaps

Once you’ve ‘read in’, you’ll start to understand the issue in more detail and begin to develop your own list of information gaps – things you need to know.

Identify you’re information requirements, what is it you don’t know? What’s missing? What elements need further research and investigation?

When you start to identify the knowledge gaps – you can start to create intelligence that moves the needle. 

Step 3. Move the Needle

Intelligence analysts ‘move the needle‘ by making a valuable contribution to their operating environment.

So, after learning the current trends and issues, you should have an understanding of what information is missing, and what needs further research.

These knowledge gaps become your information requirements. Information requirements form the direction for intelligence collection.

Let’s assume you’re interested in researching drug supply from Mexico across the border into the United States. In step two you researched the trends, issues and drivers for the problem and identified the historical context also –

To move the needle, you need to identify what’s missing, what information is currently unknown…

Mexico Drug Smuggling – Example:

• Is there a connection between drug supply and human trafficking from Mexico into the United States?
• Are drugs reportedly cheaper in one area of the United States than another? Why? Could this be linked to supply?
• Has the reported seizure rates of drugs from Mexico increased or decreased over the past 10 years? Does this indicate intervention is having a positive or negative effect on supply?

See these questions could then form your collection requirements, and answering then can actually have an impact in terms of resource allocation, targeting and crime reduction.

**Note, I don’t have anything to do with counter-narcotic operations, nor do I know much about drug trade from Mexico into the United States – just using this as an example of how to identify information gaps**

Develop an Intelligence Collection Plan

Developing an intelligence collection plan is easier than it sounds…

First, identify what information you need to know,

Second, determine what resources you have to get the information,

Third, request the information (as required),

Fourth, conduct your own research at the same time.

Here’s how it looks in a Gucci graphic below:

Go Get That Info

Without a functioning intelligence organisation supporting your information collection, you’ll need to do the majority of the collection yourself,

But that’s fine – here are my recommendations;

Break down your info gaps into manageable chunks,

Use forums (i.e. Reddit), discussion boards and Q&A sites online (like Quora) to post questions, and ask for the information you need.

Find and email professionals on linkedIn, Twitter and Facebook who can help answer your questions,

Conduct interviews, like actually speak to real humans about your questions and see if they can provide insights to answer your collection requirements.

If you’re not too comfortable reaching out to people directly, either treat it like a HUMINT challenge or write an email that asks them to help. Alternatively, you could email and schedule a time to chat after giving them notice of your info gaps.

Really the point here is that you take steps to get the information you need…that’s intelligence. Don’t wait for it to come to you. Fight for information.

Analyse and Assess

Once you start your own research and receive information back, you need to know how to evaluate and analyse it.

I’m not going to go into heaps of detail here because we’ve covered ‘how to analyse information’, and ‘how to turn information into intelligence using structured analytical techniques’ in other posts.

Use the tools and skills of analysis to evaluate and analyse the information to extract meaning and provide insight.

And, voilà – Now you’ve got yourself some fancy intel.

Step 4. Share Your Intelligence

Ok, so you’re probably thinking – “I’ve done all this research, I’m pretty au fiat with sovereign citizens, or whatever the hell is going on in Venezuela, what can I do with all this…?”

So this is where the fun begins –

You’re now a subject matter expert, you’ve got insights to offer and intelligence to provide.

You know need to share it with the world.

Today, there’s more and more companies, organisations and non-profits desperate for unique insights and who can benefit for your intelligence.

Now we just need to find them and get their attention.

Social Media

Do you even social? While it’s taken me a few years, I’ve recently got well into Twitter – perhaps it’s my short attention span or love of funny memes, but 140 characters seem to be enough for me to ‘say what I need to say and move on’.

But there are tones of value on social media, which provides you with an opportunity to not only share your intel with the world but to reach out and connect with people and organisations who can benefit.

I recommend:

• Create a Twitter account specifically for your chosen problem set. You could use your personal account, but I’d create a new one and then start finding those people in the same circles.
• Use hashtags, and keyword searches on Twitter and Facebook to find people have the conversations you can value add to (in fact you should have done this back in step 2).
• Reach out, comment, post and ask them to read and review your intelligence.
• Submit your work via email to businesses, firms, agencies and non-profits who could benefit from it and seek feedback.

Blogging Platform

Consider starting a blog (i.e. WordPress etc) to host your intelligence and make it easy for people to find you online and share work.

Find Decision Makers 

Find the decision-makers in your environment and get the intel to them. Find them online, find them in person, find them and get it to them.

If you’re wanting a career in intelligence, or to develop intelligence skills – think of the customer who could benefit from your information, from your knowledge and get them the info.

You can start developing your intelligence skills today. You don’t need permission, and you don’t need to wait.

In fact, we’ve just put the finishing touches on our Online Intelligence Analysis Training Course, where we personally step you through the intelligence cycle and show you how to create quality intelligence assessments.

For more information on our Online Intelligence Course – Click here.

In summary, the four steps to become an intelligence analyst today (even if you’ve got no experience) are as follows;

1. Identify and define your operational environment
2. Research it thoroughly and become a subject matter expert.
3. Move the needle by providing insights into a problem, and
4. Share your intelligence with decision makers and people who can use it

Let us know what problem sets and operating environments you’re interested in working in – is there a specific problem you want to research, learn and impact?

** If you’ve read through to this point and you’re motivated to get started, I’m currently offering an opportunity for readers to work with me, and go through this process step-by-step.

If you’re interested in learning how to create intelligence products today firstly sign up to recieve our weekly Intel 101 newsletter, and shoot me an email at ben@intelligence101.com. ***

To your success,

Ben.

Usually anything with big words like ‘probabilistic thinking’ and ‘heuristics’ cause my eyes to instantly glaze over while I nod-wisely and back out towards the exit…

…but, this week, I read an article about Probabilistic Thinking which had some great insights for Intelligence Analysts.

WTF is Probabilistic Thinking? 

Lad, it’s all about just making a guess!

Yep, a lack of perfect information and an unpredictable future means Intelligence Analysts need to make ‘best guess’ or prediction based on probabilities.

Why should I care? 

Intelligence Analysts deal in the realm of uncertainty, and probabilistic thinking is a powerful tool for analysts to evaluate, strategise and ultimately make a call.

There’s no real ‘exact’ formula for probability, which is why some people (**Cough – academics and engineers) often freak out about making a call without certainty.

But probability is one of the key tools used by intelligence analysts. (hint: this is why you should care)

Take Sherman Kent for example, back in the 1960’s Kent wrote “Words of Estimative Probability” – where he discussed the use of terms to express probability for intelligence assessments.

Kent advocated for intelligence analysts to use probability indicators to convey assessments – a trait that’s still taught today.

How Do You Use Probability in Intelligence? 

To develop sound probabilities, you need to know what ‘priors’ exist – that is, what has happened before.

You then compare this with the likelihood of the event happening again.

Probabilities must be fluid and continually assessed with new information.

When new information is received, it must update our existing understanding of the issue / problem or concern.

Will The Enemy Use The Mountains To Approach? 

See – in the realm of intelligence, we don’t deal in certainties.

A decision maker asking the question above is invoking a typical black or white response – but it doesn’t leave much room for the grey.

A better approach would be to provide a probability indicator and update your assessment when more information is available.

For those playing at home – this is literally the guts of intelligence analysis.

Identify an outcome, collect information, assess the probability and reassess when more information becomes available.

How Will it Help Me?

Remember, Intelligence isn’t an exact science – using probabilities will help you develop better intelligence assessments.

If you’re unfamiliar with the process – read our article On Words of Estimative Probability and start using the terms taught by Kent today.