Work Like a Spy: Business Tips from a Former CIA Officer
Even though the CIA has been prominent in the not-so-great-news department of late, there are some intriguing takeaways from its operatives. Offering no tell-all story, former operative Carleson applies her learning from eight years at the CIA—during the aftermath of 9/11—to corporate America and business success. Many of her easy-to-read lessons concern information—how to get it and how to use it legitimately when applied to internal and external competition and to the improvement of performance and outcomes. For the first third of the book, she concentrates on boot-camp tactics and follow-up exercises, such as targeting, corroboration, and strategic elicitation. The rest of the book is concerned with how to use those tactics in a host of situations, from recruitment, ethics problems, and crisis management, to sales, compliance, and using competitive intelligence. It’s certainly not a dry read, since Carleson inserts some harrowing (and declassified) accounts of her CIA adventures. Although a hard-to-categorize book, it nevertheless is a useful guide. “There is information for the taking that can change the entire playing field for you and your organization. Getting this information is a matter of asking the right people the right questions in the right way.” Learn it, use it. --Barbara Jacobs