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Red Team: How to Succeed By Thinking Like the Enemy by [Micah Zenko]

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Micah Zenko

Red Team: How to Succeed By Thinking Like the Enemy Kindle Edition

by Micah Zenko (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Essential reading for business leaders and policymakers, an in-depth investigation of red teaming, the practice of inhabiting the perspective of potential competitors to gain a strategic advantage

Red teaming. The concept is as old as the Devil's Advocate, the eleventh-century Vatican official charged with discrediting candidates for sainthood. Today, red teams are used widely in both the public and the private sector by those seeking to better understand the interests, intentions, and capabilities of institutional rivals. In the right circumstances, red teams can yield impressive results, giving businesses an edge over their competition, poking holes in vital intelligence estimates, and troubleshooting dangerous military missions long before boots are on the ground. But not all red teams are created equal; indeed, some cause more damage than they prevent. Drawing on a fascinating range of case studies, Red Team shows not only how to create and empower red teams, but also what to do with the information they produce.

In this vivid, deeply-informed account, national security expert Micah Zenko provides the definitive book on this important strategy -- full of vital insights for decision makers of all kinds.

Print length

338 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Basic Books
Publication date

November 3, 2015
File size

1285 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An important book."―Red Team Journal

"[Zenko's] valuable analysis and advice will be of particular interest to executives, and anyone charged with strategic planning."―Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center and deputy commanding general for future at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

"The most depressingly timely book on terrorism I read this year."―Carlos Lozada, editor of the Washington Post Book Party blog

"An excellent book.... There are few business or government officials who could not derive some insights from the wide breadth of examples Zenko exploits so effectively."―War on the Rocks

A gripping, deeply informed overview of red teaming.... Red Team is filled with harrowing stories of red-team failures but also successes in the domains of both national security and the private sector, where companies, for example, red team against hackers."―Soundview Executive Book Summaries

"An excellent book."―Booklist

"Zenko explains, in absorbing detail, the value of red teams, groups formed to act as devil's advocates.... Zenko offers readers much to consider and an effective way to take action."―Kirkus

"In today's complex world, decision makers need smart, sophisticated, and insightful options. Red Team shows policymakers and CEOs alike that the way to make the best use of your organizational talent is to break down your organization."―Jami Miscik, former Deputy Director for Intelligence, CIA

"Complacency, groupthink, inertia, tunnel vision. These are the most common after-the-fact explanations of big failures in politics, government, war, and business. In these pages Micah Zenko offers a lucid analysis backed by many fun-to-read examples of common mistakes as well as a useful compendium of best practices. Red Team is must-read for decision makers everywhere."―Moises Naim, Distinguished Fellow, Carnegie Endowment, author of The End of Power --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Micah Zenko is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He lives in New York. --This text refers to the preloaded_digital_audio_player edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B012271LJM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; 1st edition (November 3, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 3, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1285 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 338 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #399,482 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #373 in Intelligence & Espionage (Kindle Store)
- #480 in Business Teams
- #514 in Business Systems & Planning

Customer Reviews:
96 ratings

About the author

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Micah Zenko

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Micah Zenko is the Director of Research and Learning at McChrystal Group, charged with the development and instruction of offerings designed to improve judgment, decisionmaking, and organizational performance. He is also the Whitehead Senior Fellow at Chatham House, and has a column at ForeignPolicy.com.

Customer reviews

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2 star		4%
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Top reviews from the United States

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William Struse

Real World Red Teaming

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2015

Verified Purchase

I realize that I’ll never be that four star general Red Teaming the possible choices a major world power might make when it realizes it has lost the race to singularity and its nuclear arsenal no longer provides the strategic projection of force it once did, nor will I be the CEO of a multinational internet sale behemoth Red Teaming Europe’s demographic chances into a comprehensive future cooperate sales strategy, nevertheless I did enjoy Micah Zenko’s new book Red Team: How to Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy.

Despite the subtitle of the book How To Succeed By Thinking Like The Enemy, Mr. Zenko explains how Red Teaming is essentially, focused alternative analysis directed towards a real world problem so that it may be more clearly understood and then solved with the best possible outcome.

In reading this book an aspect of the subject which really stood out to me was that no matter your position of authority or social status, humility and critical thinking often go hand in hand, and that pride and its companion arrogance are often rewarded by a special kind of blindness.

Red Team offered many historical examples of effective and ineffective red teaming exercises and the lessons to be learned from both. The history enthusiast and those who follow the evolution of military/corporate thought and strategy are sure to find the book especially enlightening.

Though clearly Mr. Zenko is a proponent of Red Teaming and its many beneficial outcomes, he also acknowledged the weaknesses and limits of the endeavor. In an effort to address the weaknesses and increase the effectiveness of the concept Mr. Zenko provides six guiding principles for Red Teaming. There are as follows:

1. The Boss Must Buy In
2. Outside and Objective, While Inside and Aware
3. Fearless Skeptics with Finesse
4. Have a Big Bag of Tricks
5. Be Willing to Hear Bad News and Act on It
6. Red Team Just Enough, But No More

I found Read Team: How to Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy a stimulating read which will provide food for thought for many days to come.

On a more personal note, as I was reading this book over the past week I couldn’t help but share with my wife and children some of the fascinating historical examples of Red Teaming that Mr. Zenko wrote about in this book.

So a couple of nights ago we were all sitting around the dinner table discussing the day’s events and our plans for the coming week. I brought up the subject of the soon arrival of our new baby chicks and the necessity to complete a new home for them. I asked our five children if they had any suggestions on how to improve upon our existing design and my sixteen year old daughter gets a big smile on her face and responds, “So you mean we are going to Red Team the chicken coop?”

In closing I don’t know what other people will get out of Mr. Zenko’s book but it has offered the seven of us new perspective on problem solving and critical thinking, and who knows we might even get a better chicken coop out of it, that is if the our children can get their CEO’s to buy into the idea.

(A special thanks to William McCants for recommending Red Team.)

22 people found this helpful

Helpful

J A W

Misleading title

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

History of red teaming, yes. Value of red teaming, maybe. How to red team, no. No discussion on tools to break through biases or "think like the enemy." Disappointing purchase.

36 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jason Wood

Excellent Introduction to Red Teaming

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is a great book to get introduced to red teaming and how it is used by different organizations and industries. I've been a technology red teamer for several years and Mr Zenko introduced new ways of using red teaming to me. For example, as I read and thought about how red teaming is used in law enforcement, I realized how I to apply those lessons in technology red teaming to help train network defenders. I really liked how he demonstrated red teaming in action by using clear and impactful examples from real events. I recommend checking the book out.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

The Real Bob

Best plans and bad intentions

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

Likely my (favorable) bias on this subject. I agree with the author that the use of red-teaming and alternate analysis can (should) lead to better decisions. Sadly, as the author relates, some of the most hopeful exercises failed not because of the methods but because those who wish to hide shortcomings were able to confound the red-teamers. So even the best laid plans for analysis can be derailed due to bad intentions of various actors. Remain hopeful and try to integrate these methods into regular business activities, even if you refrain from calling your efforts "red-teaming."

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Fred

Great resource

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book is a great resource on red teaming, its history and the adaptable methodologies used to influence positive change with in organizations. It well written and well researched. I highly recommend it.

Helpful

Stephen

surprisingly engaging

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

"think like the enemy" to find flaws in your own plans. kept my attention much better than anticipated

Helpful

Vic Galfano

The author provided some good historic background and applications

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2016

Verified Purchase

The author provided some good historic background and applications. He offers parameters on how/when Red Teaming should be structured. He described limited application outside of the military or intelligence realm. So if you like some good stories, he did a good job of describing how Red Teaming was applied in those areas.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Brian D. Labatte

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2016

Verified Purchase

Great concept. Would have liked to see more discussion on the building of checklists.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Brian Rodriguez

Not was what I was hoping but I'm satisfied

Reviewed in Mexico on October 25, 2019

Verified Purchase

If you are a hacker you better not to buy this book but if you want to know where the 'red team' term comes, is a great book with a lot of examples.

One person found this helpful

Chris Allen

Detailing numerous military and business experiences the book is fun and reads quickly

Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2017

Verified Purchase

An interesting read on a fascinating subject. Detailing numerous military and business experiences the book is fun and reads quickly. While it lacks really breaking into more technical aspects of planning these tests it isn't meant to be the definitive instruction manual rather more an introduction.