Customer Reviews

Real-World Intelligence

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Meyer's distinguished career includes serving as associate editor of Fortune magazine (primarily responsible for coverage of the U.S.S.R.) and then as special assistant to the director of the C.I.A. and vice chairman of the C.I.A.'s National Intelligence Council (primarily responsible for estimates and projections concerning the U.S.S.R.). Meyer is widely recognized as the first senior government official to predict the collapse of the U.S.S.R. Upon retirement from public service, Meyer founded Real*World Intelligence, Inc. of which he continues to serve as chairman and CEO. He is widely recognized as a leading authority on competitive intelligence. He and his associates developed the world's first customized turn-key intelligence system for organizations and they now work with clients throughout the world.

There are many misconceptions about the C.I.A. For example, contrary to what many people think, only a small percentage of time and effort (about 5%) is devoted to espionage (or "spying"). Most of the work consists of obtaining and then evaluating "open-book" information. That is, information readily available to virtually anyone. There may also be misconceptions about the subject of Meyer's book, competitive intelligence. For example, that efforts to obtain the information on which it depends must necessarily be illegal, unethical, immoral, etc. Not so. As Meyer carefully explains, there is an abundance of information in the public domain which is easily (and legally) accessible. In Real*World Intelligence, Meyer organizes his material within six chapters:

The Most Powerful Management Tool of All

The New Intelligence

How Intelligence Works

What Intelligence Outfits Look Like

Intelligence and Policymaking

The Future of Intelligence

What he offers in this book is a cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective system by which to determine (a) which information is of greatest importance to an organization, (b) how to obtain that information and then manage it, (c) how to convert (or upgrade) that information to intelligence, and finally (d) how to derive greatest benefit from it.

In the so-called Age of Information, it is imperative for any organization (regardless of size or nature) to establish and then develop such a system. Think of intelligence as "radar" which will enable an organization to survey and then navigate its way through totally unfamiliar "territory." Think of intelligence as a means by which to recognize critically important early-warning signs and then respond effectively to them. Also think of intelligence as a means by which to know what an organization needs to know about its competitors but, much more importantly, what it needs to know about its customers and their customers as well as what it needs to know about the rapidly-changing world it shares with them.

Anyone who questions the importance of such intelligence should ask this question: "The next time I am behind the wheel of a vehicle, what if I were wearing a blindfold as I pull out into traffic?" Obviously that makes no sense and yet many organizations are now wear a blindfold as they proceed into an uncertain future. Hence the great value to them of Meyer's book. END

Herb, one of the distinguished speakers at OSS '92, has been Vice Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, and is in my mind one of the top five pioneers of business intelligence in the United States. He started in late 1970's, and his little paperback book is both a gospel and a guide of continuing value. This book was distributed at OSS '92, and continues to be worthy of reading by senior executives who don't do a lot of reading.

This book is on my MUST READ book for managers and decision makers.

The idea that the person responsible for "intelligence" is ALWAYS in conflict with the decision maker was a real eye opener.

Conflict 1: Gathering information is a continuous process with no end result in sight. Demands for information by decision makers are usually one-time no-warning events.

Conflict 2: If the decision maker hears what he already "knows" or believes to be true, the information is of no value. To provide value, the intel person has to buck the belief of the boss. Not a prescription for career advancement.

Real World Intelligence reveals no secrets. In fact I think everything the Author explains is well know and generally accepted amongst those who think about this kind of thing. To be fair this book was first published in 1987. Some of this may have been new at that time. Now it is not.

The author states quite clearly that he has no secretes to reveal in this book, so perhaps that criticism is not valid either. However he does claim to inform us of the new role of intelligence in business. Unfortunately there is remarkably little new information in this book. In a few cases the author falls into trite cheerleading. In my opinion there is very little insight into how to run a successfully intelligence operation. The author claims to have extensive experience in that realm. This book would have been improved had he shared some of those experiences.

The book is well written and offers a clear overview of the topic of open source intelligence. He also covers the role of intelligence in corporations. This role will clearly be growing. This text may be valuable as a high level overview of what intelligence is and how it can be used. The authors simplistic righting style and lightweight content make it only a basic primer.