New ideas from the intelligence profession
Short stories to illustrate intelligence practices and their ethical challenges. Analysis to explore further.
Innovations to help industry use intelligence practices for everyday problems. Methods, ready for anyone to use. Examples, written as short stories.
Featured short stories
Stories about using intelligence practices to manage crises at work:
- “Fightback” – manage a technology failure – a case studyA technology failure. This is a case study of a quality assurance manager facing his worst nightmare, and how he reacted. It’s an example of intelligence-based project management.
- “Today will be different” – how to achieve chaos resolutionChaos surrounds Libby’s work. She dreams of order. Then a new manager arrives and claims he has a magic wand. … This is story of a chaos resolution.
Stories about intelligence workers in intelligence agencies, each illustrating a different human aspect:
(See all of the 21 short stories.)
- Sweet and Sour Chaos – escape from an intelligence agency to industryAn intelligence analyst tries to find a “purpose” after escaping from the “Agency” to industry. Konstantina must save her colleagues from disaster. … The story illustrates challenges of taking intelligence practices and adding them to project management in industry.
- Drumhead Trial – an example, and 6 ways to fight it“Drumhead Trial”. An intelligence researcher is accused of incompetence when investigative journalists outsmart him. The story shows the danger of being a scapegoat – in almost any job.
- An agency man – a story of an ex intelligence officer in industryEx intelligence officers face many challenges adjusting to civilian life. This is a 4 page story to illustrate the transition, and the challenge of hiding their background.
- Spy catcher rivals – using AI in counter intelligenceSpy catchers (counter-intelligence). An intelligence analyst competes against a researcher armed with AI. Who will catch the spy first?
Featured themes
Take pride in professionalism,
for any discipline
– Work to high standards
– Commit to continual learning
– Help others to achieve their dreams
Use intelligence-led project management
to control projects with extreme risk
– Build an effective team
– Manage unknown unknowns
– Protect the business
The impact of secret intelligence,
and how to provide a duty of care
– Watch for innocents touched by your activities
– Be wary of the impact of extreme secrecy
– Continually build on public trust
Independence
I am entirely independent of the intelligence services, and always have been.
My fiction writing is inspired by the struggle of young professionals to make a better world.
My application of intelligence techniques to industry are to help things work better:
— Adrian Cowderoy, story-teller, innovator and Chartered IT Professional
– so people can cope with project crises,
– and managers can handle staffing crises and reorganisations.
Story topics
Bias Cleverness Confidence Despair Failures Fear Hope Individuality Keeping up Leadership Morality Overload Recognition Sanity Self-discovery
