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Work Like a Spy: Business Tips from a Former CIA Officer Hardcover – January 1, 2013
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—James Childers, CEO, ASG Global, Inc.
When J. C. Carleson left the corporate world to join the CIA, she expected an adventure, and she found it. Her assignments included work in Iraq as part of a weapons of mass destruction search team, travels throughout Afghanistan, and clandestine encounters with foreign agents around the globe. What she didn’t expect was that the skills she acquired from the CIA would be directly applicable to the private sector.
It turns out that corporate America can learn a lot from spies—not only how to respond to crises but also how to achieve operational excellence. Carleson found that the CIA gave her an increased understanding of human nature, new techniques for eliciting information, and improved awareness of potential security problems, adding up to a powerful edge in business.
Using real examples from her experiences, Carle-son explains how working like a spy can teach you the principles of:
- Targeting—figuring out who you need to know and how to get to them
- Elicitation—a subtle way to get the answers you need without even asking a question
- Counterintelligence—how to determine if your organization is unwittingly leaking information
- Screening—CIA recruiters’ methods for finding and hiring the right people
The methods developed by the CIA are all about getting what you want from other people. In a business context, these techniques apply to seeking a new job, a promotion, a big sale, an advantageous regulatory ruling, and countless other situations.
As Carleson writes, “In a world where information has a price, it pays to be vigilant.” Her book will show you how.
- Print length208 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPortfolio
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 2013
- Dimensions6.31 x 0.75 x 9.31 inches
- ISBN-101591843537
- ISBN-13978-1591843535
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Editorial Reviews
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Review
—Publishers Weekly
"Carleson deftly translates the skills of spy craft learned through her eight years in the field—intelligence gathering, recruitment and crisis management—into know-how that can be used 'by anyone—at any level—in the workplace,' she writes. The advice, techniques and exercises for networking, improving sales and generally getting ahead of the competition won’t morph you into a master spy, but it will definitely expand your approach to everyday interactions and make you more versatile, shrewd and savvy, whether you’re a job seeker, salesperson, manager or CEO."
—Success
“I found Work Like a Spy to be much more than a compelling read penned by an ex-CIA officer. J. C. Carleson importantly offers a fresh slate of easily understood risk mitigation practices and exercises.”
—FRANCIS D’ADDARIO, CPP CFE, Emeritus Faculty Leader, Strategic Influence and Innovation, Security Executive Council
“This is a blast! J. C. Carleson has written the cure for the common business book. Part business advice book, part memoir, part window into the world of covert intelligence, it will both inform and intrigue the reader. Going beyond the typical business anecdotes, Carleson gives us a glimpse of the world of covert officers, international intrigue, and true high stakes encounters. More than just telling stories, though, Work Like a Spy uses examples from the CIA to provide a set of principles that can be used to succeed in any organization.”
—ALEXANDER J. S. COLVIN, Professor of Labor Relations and Conflict Resolution, ILR School, Cornell University
“Carleson provides a compelling argument for the importance of intelligence and counterintelligence in day-to-day business. Her straightforward suggestions encourage the reader to always be on guard for information—either to keep it or to gather it.”
—DEB COHEN, Ph.D., SPHR, SVP, Knowledge Development, Society for Human Resource Management
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Portfolio (January 1, 2013)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 208 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1591843537
- ISBN-13 : 978-1591843535
- Item Weight : 13.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.31 x 0.75 x 9.31 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,603 in Political Intelligence
- #3,540 in Job Hunting & Career Guides
- #9,993 in Business Management (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

J.C. Carleson is a former undercover CIA officer. Her near-decade of covert service took her around the globe, from bomb shelters in war zones to swanky cocktail parties in European capitals. A graduate of Cornell University, she lives outside Washington, DC. Visit her website at www.jccarleson.com.
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As a Human Intelligence Collector in the U.S. Army, I have long come to realize it is all about people. Essentially any item of information we need is in the mind of someone if we can only access it. Likewise, essentially anything we need done can be done by someone if we can only get them to do it. Understanding human nature, both our own and of the people with whom we interact, means everything. Work Like a Spy offers an inside glimpse into the world of human intelligence and unclassified tradecraft that can help us all be more effective.
Work Like a Spy is divided into three parts. Part One is an introduction to the clandestine world and the basic concepts of intelligence collection from human sources. Carleson makes the fundamental assertion that the best way to get information on any subject is to get it directly from a human source that has it. She further elaborates on techniques anyone can use to get close to the people who can help them and how to use observation, interpersonal skills, and elicitation techniques to establish rapport and obtain useful information. Beyond simple theory, Carleson includes practical exercise to give her readers opportunity to apply and build each skillset she discusses. It is important to note Ms. Carleson is not teaching people how to use or manipulate others. On the contrary, she is simply helping her readers understand the nature of human interaction and how to prepare for opportunities and potential dangers. The author also discusses counterintelligence (CI) and gives practical, inexpensive ways for business leaders to detect potential CI issues. She recommends monitoring for certain changes in an organization's operational environment to include where former employees are going to work, where former clients are going for business, and how quickly competitors are countering new initiatives. Changes to the composite answers to such questions may be indicators of potential intelligence leaks.
In Part Two, Carleson discusses internal business applications of human intelligence tradecraft. She gives immensely practical hiring advice. From the careful crafting of job announcements to using elicitation skills learned in Part One to corroborate applicant skills and background, her advice on employee screening alone could save an organization considerable time and money. CIA management techniques can also be applied to internal management of both personnel and crises. Again, Carleson renders practical advice - how to attract and retain highly skilled personnel and how to best utilize unique talents and personalities. She describes the importance of establishing non-negotiable organization ethical absolutes and the key roles management must fulfill during an organizational crisis. My favorite nugget of advice I gleaned from Part Two was to "Own the solution, not the mistake." It is insufficient for a leader to take ownership of a mistake - seizing the initiative to develop a fully-implementable solution for the mistake is far more important than simply admitting to it.
Part Three describes external applications of lessons from the CIA. If anyone has a hard sell to make, it is a CIA case officer. Convincing someone from another part of the world to commit espionage against their government, their group, or even their own tribe or family is amazingly difficult - not to mention potentially very dangerous. Yet the CIA successfully does it time after time, and over the years, case officers have learned valuable lessons about human nature in the process. Carleson concludes this section by stating the CIA does not focus on selling a product. Instead, CIA case officers focus on developing interpersonal relationships, conducting research, understanding vulnerabilities, and building rapport. These skills tend to be neglected in today's world of high-tech communications. As Ms. Carleson reminds her readers, psychological prowess is far more important than technological prowess. Finally, the author instructs her readers in how to follow the CIA's strategy of "360-degree intelligence collection" by building a source network that includes subordinates, peers, supervisors, and even multiple sources from within the organizations of suppliers and subcontractors. Nothing compares to intelligence and support available directly from the people most able to provide it.
Work Like a Spy is an interesting read and a great primer on unclassified CIA tradecraft. The book goes a long way to help readers understand the importance of interpersonal relationships and how to be successful at them. Ms. Carleson concludes her book with the assertion that building "a solid reputation for integrity" is far more important than any tradecraft, no matter how well applied. I could not agree more. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be more successful and astute in their interpersonal relationships. The tradecraft presented in this book is powerful, but doomed to fail unless applied with integrity and honor. As chaplains in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps say, "The moral high ground is key terrain."
Carleson, J.C. (2013). Work Like a Spy: Business Tips from a Former CIA Officer. London: Portfolio Hardcover.
As an experienced corporate professional on Wall Street with a mix of technical background, selling skills and leadership responsibilities, I found that all the points made in the book I already knew. I'm not suggesting I know everything, clearly I don't which is why I purchased the book to see if I could learn anything substantive. It turns out that the points made weren't detailed enough and were too vague to be of use for someone who has survived successfully so long in the corporate world already.
However, to be fair, as I was reading the book, I felt that the points made were good aggregate summaries of overall approach to surviving the workforce, and would have been particularly helpful to me in my earlier years. As I read the book, I felt myself constantly conjuring up images and names of people I have come across that fit into some of the personality types and the descriptions were fairly accurate in terms of success profiles and "what not to do". In spite of that though, neither of the sections went into enough detail to be truly actionable.
In addition, I didn't feel that the author had a substantial corporate world experience. The author admits job hopping quite a bit and didn't stay at each job for long. Perhaps 1-2 years max at each job, although I can't remember if that was specifically stated. The point is, how can one be a reputable source on the corporate world if they haven't been able to implement these specific "suggestions" in the workforce? They can't. I don't feel the author has more credibility than, say myself, in the corporate world. Mgmt trainee starting off in the executive compensation dept? Not to belittle that, but hardly a barometer for success, even if it is entry-level, first job straight out of college.
Chapters:
1) Basic Principles: high level overview of the book, a quick interesting read of sidebar anecdotes. Lends the book to potential of learning something.
2) Operating Instincts: this chapter focuses on 4 building blocks:
- targeting (this is basic principle 101 of finding out who to reach out to and a book on networking would have been better; added nothing for me)
- strategic elicitation (tips on eliciting information from people - again, no value add for anyone was has traveled for work and is somewhat of an extrovert and can strike up a conversation)
- corroboration (common sense, which admittedly is not really common anymore, but who doesn't seek to validate observations? anyone who has gone through any type of group projects, starting with school and rumors, will know to corroborate hearsay)
- trust & rapport (really? come on. this is not even 101)
3) Business Counterintelligence: an interesting chapter full of anecdotes, but nothing truly substantive for the vast majority of professionals despite the upfront caveat by author that this is applicable even if you're not working on a secret defense project or as a subcontractor for one. There was a good story about the corporate world and how a guy hired an office manager who was the daughter-in-law of a competitor; this does reaffirms that the paranoid survive.
4) Recruitment: a lot of common sense here about how to recruit people and matching skills with tasks instead of title; again, a lot of common sense that any somewhat experienced professional should already know and if HR doesn't do this in this day and age (March 2013) then shame on the company.
5) Ethics: thankfully, not a chapter preaching ethics and right vs wrong, but conclusion is that an ethical person is more trustworthy. Really? Come on. The book "Everything I learned, I learned in Kindergarten" or whatever the specific title probably explained this already.
6) Crisis Mgmt: Good stories about CIA's post-9/11 response which serve as good reminders of what to do in time of crisis; as well as what not to do. Good accurate protrayal of what happens in corporate world but stops short of explaining the motivations of poor crisis mgmt in corporate world - notably that the chain of command are also running around nervous, each man for himself and as such, productivity grinds to a halt. Because the high ups are concerned about their own job security with no definable stake in the final outcome (beyond stock options), paralysis exists. A nice contrast the author could have introduced is that firms with a large ownership structure by a founding family (i.e. common in Asia, but not in the USA) will NOT see this because there is effective leadership coming from on top. Sadly, no offer of advice by the author on how to handle this situation if you are a worker bee.
7) Sales Pitches: Absolutely not helpful to those who already understand "build rapport, find common ground". Truth be told, I was looking for a magic bullet here or some insight that I didn't already know. Basic networking strategies of having multiple stories to show as examples in conversations are more helpful than anything the author wrote. To be fair, one thing that was a good reminder to me was Technique #7 of "Regularly Re-recruit". Oftentimes, we need to constantly remind our clients and constituents of why they use us a vendor. Constant (but not bothersome) reinforcement is critical.
8) Supply-Chain Mgmt: a summary of everything else discussed in the book, particularly, have multiple sources of information that you corroborate. Nothing new at all.
9) Competition: evaluate your own weaknesses, improve them, understand your rivals, nothing new either.
In summary, a good summary for a college student, but nothing substantive for anyone with moderate success in the corporate world. Perhaps my expectations were too high?
Top reviews from other countries
There are some exercises to train you, but it is pretty hard to accomplish (for example, try to figure out the color of someone-you-don't-know's car without directly asking him).
