Sir David Omand served as Intelligence and Security Coordinator in the Cabinet Office from 2002-2005, coordinating counterterrorism strategy. He draws on historical examples to argue for a new outlook on the relationship between security and intelligence--one that respects human rights and avoids the pitfalls of flawed information.
A provocative work by an intelligence mandarin and senior scholar, both committed to ethical discourse and principles. Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, author of We Know All about You: The Story of Surveillance in Britain and America
"From the former director of GCHQ, Professor Sir David Omand, learn the methodology used by British intelligence agencies to reach judgements, establish the right level of confidence and act decisively. Full of revealing examples from a storied career, including key briefings with Prime Ministers and strategies used in conflicts from the Cold War to the present, in How Spies Think Professor Omand arms us with the tools to sort fact from fiction, and shows us how to use real intelligence every day."-- Page 4 of cover
From the former director of GCHQ, learn the methodology used by the British intelligence agencies to reach judgements, establish the right level of confidence and act decisively. Intelligence officers discern the truth. They gather information, often contradictory or incomplete, and, with it, they build the most accurate possible image of the world. With the stakes at their absolute highest, they must then decide what to do. In everyday life, you are faced with contradictory, incomplete information, too. Reading the news on social media, figuring out the next step in your career, or trying to discover if gossip about a friend is legitimate, you are building an image of the world and making decisions about it. Looking through the eyes of one of Britain's most senior ex-intelligence officers, Professor Sir David Omand, How Spies Think shows how the big decisions in your life will be easier to make when you apply the same frameworks used by British intelligence. Full of revealing examples from his storied career, including key briefings with Prime Ministers from Thatcher to Blair, and conflicts from the Falklands to Afghanistan, Professor Omand arms us with the tools to sort fact from fiction, and shows us how to use real intelligence every day
'David Omand is exactly the man you need in a crisis' RORY STEWART From the former Director of GCHQ comes a guide to surviving crises using the latest intelligence strategies War, terrorism, cyberattack, climate change, the threat of AI: it has never been more important to be prepared for the crises that await us. In How to Survive a Crisis, Professor Sir David Omand draws on his experience in defence, security and intelligence, including as Director of GCHQ and UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, to show how you can detect a looming crisis and extinguish it (or at least survive it with minimum loss). Using gripping real-world examples from Omand's storied career, and drawing lessons from historic catastrophes such as Chernobyl, 9/11, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the WannaCry ransomware cyberattack, this empowering book is filled with practical advice on how to survive the multiplying crises of the future. Not every crisis need tip into disaster, if we have invested in we are prepared for it. 'This book is the instruction manual we all need' SIR ALEX YOUNGER, CHIEF OF MI6 UPDATED WITH A NEW FOREWORD
Bez gadżetów w stylu Jamesa Bonda, za to z solidną dawką sztuki dyplomacji David Omond, były agent brytyjskiego wywiadu uczy myślenia, zdobywania wiedzy, czytania między wierszami i zbierania informacji w poszukiwaniu prawdy. W codziennym życiu często dysponujemy niepełnymi i sprzecznymi informacjami: newsy z prasy i internetu, posty w mediach społecznościowych, plotki z biura, i na ich podstawie podejmujemy decyzje, które są wiążące dla naszego życia. Omand pokazuje, jak najlepiej wykorzystać posiadaną wiedzę, aby wybierać najlepsze z możliwych dróg i rozwiązań. Prezentuje sposób myślenia i działania agentów wywiadu oraz metody weryfikowania, czy tor naszego myślenia jest właściwy, czy nie wpływają nań nasze nieświadome uprzedzenia. Pokazuje, jak unikać wikłania się w teorie konspiracyjne i jak nie dać się nabrać fake newsom oraz manipulacjom. Radzi, jak w inteligentny sposób wykorzystać zdobytą wiedzę, jak budować partnerskie relacje oparte na zaufaniu, a także jak tworzyć strategiczną sieć kontaktów.