If you really want to know why the project you and your team just put six months of your life into ended in disaster, this guy can help.
Peter Earnest is a former CIA spy master who knows how to get information from people or – as he and his co-author call it – use elicitation techniques. Which is a nice way of describing the science of interrogation by way of conversation.
In their new book “Business Confidential: Lessons for Corporate Success from Inside the CIA,” Earnest, who worked for the CIA 36 years and is now executive director of the International Spy Museum, and business writer Maryann Karinch, explain how techniques of our national espionage and intelligence services apply to business success.
The section on gathering intelligence and collecting information on people gets to the heart of getting to the bottom of who did what and what was said. The authors offer up verbatim psychological approaches that may be more productive than the typical post-mortem meeting taking place in companies every day.
Perhaps these approaches which involve “flattery, criticism and using the leverage of someone’s emotions” can be put to work in your office.
For instance, if you are a manager trying to get to the bottom of why the deal of the century fell apart, instead of “Who dropped the ball on this?” you might try “direct questioning” which would sound like this: “What signs did you notice that the deal was falling apart?”
Or there’s the “emotional appeal”: “Your concern for your team has always been evident, so just do what’s best for them. Tell me what went wrong so everyone can learn from it.”
There’s always the when all-else-fails “futility” proposition: “I don’t see any way for you to get out of this mess without your career taking a hit. Why don’t you tell me what happened with the project. Maybe I can make some sense of it.”
The “fear down” overture: “You seem very upset about the failure of the project. Don’t worry. Just calm down and we’ll figure this out and fix the problems.”
The “pride and ego down” approach: “I think you’ve been slipping lately, but maybe other members of the team are making you look bad. Tell me exactly what happened with this project.”
Or the “we know all” position: “A few of the team members have sent me e-mails about the project, so I have a pretty good idea of what went on. Tell me what you think happened here.”
The “silence” approach: “Have a seat. Let’s talk about the project.” Then you say nothing, waiting for the person to start blurting things out. Yes, silence is that awkward.
Your technique for obtaining information in business “will be shaped by whether you want an operational relationship or just a quick bit of information from someone you may never see again,” the authors say.
For example, you can simply throw someone a bone – which is giving information to get it. I must say, I find this technique a bit underhanded. Nonetheless, it goes like this:
You say, “There was a proposal talked about at such-and-such meeting” – knowing darn well the proposal was shot down. But you don’t mention that fact.
“When you talk about something that seems to be confidential, that sense of quid pro quo often takes hold,” they say.
Sneaky stuff? Perhaps. But these techniques, based on an understanding of human nature, can get to information without being threatening. Which goes to show that the intelligence mindset used in the world of espionage can also have value in the world of business.
Andrea Kay is the author of “Work’s a Bitch and Then You Make It Work: 6 Steps to Go From Pissed Off to Powerful.” Send questions to her at 2692 Madison Road, #133, Cincinnati, OH 45208; www.andreakay.com or www.lifesabitchchangecareers.com. She can be e-mailed at: andrea [at] andreakay [dot] com.
MOSCOW (Reuters Life!) – Russian spy Anna Chapman showed up at President Dmitry Medvedev’s showcase science park on Tuesday, the latest in a long line of celebrities invited to add a touch of glamour to Moscow’s answer to Silicon Valley.
Wearing a knee-length black dress, with a green velvet corset, Chapman said she was enjoying life since the spy scandal which led to her arrest and expulsion from the United States alongside nine other Russian sleeper agents.
The redhead capitalised on her popular “sexy spy” image with a photoshoot and interview in the November issue of the Russian edition of Maxim magazine, where she appeared in lace and leather and waxed poetic about her love of romantic men.
When asked whether she was pleased with her new job as a banking advisor, she told Reuters: “Well, yes.”
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales was also present on Tuesday to speak with Russian government leaders about the science park.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came to Russia in October to give a public endorsement to the project, which has also attracted a multi-million dollar investment from Microsoft.
Chapman became one of Russia’s most famous spies when photographs she posted on social networking site Facebook were plastered across the front pages of tabloid newspapers around the world.
Although celebrated by the Kremlin and Russian media, the Russian spy ring was reported to have failed to secure any major intelligence before their arrests.
Medvedev awarded the group of spies the country’s highest state honours in October.
(Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk, Writing by Thomas Grove, editing by Paul Casciato)
Former Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive, diplomat and Government adviser Charles Finny has been named by WikiLeaks as the United States’ top Kiwi contact.
But Mr Finny denied being a spy and said the “key contact” mentions were flattering. He is quoted often in the US diplomatic cables controversially made public by website WikiLeaks, and in a cable from May 19, 2006, was singled out as a “close [US] embassy contact”.
“I am regularly talking to embassies, high commissions and journalists in New Zealand and around the world, in areas where I have expertise,” Mr Finny said.
“I don’t want to be big-headed about it but I do know quite a lot about what goes on in some parts of the world and also about international organisations and how they operate. I am regularly consulted all over the world.”
Mr Finny is employed by public relations company Saunders Unsworth and works with domestic and international clients on tertiary education policy, international trade, aviation policy, infrastructure policy and government procurement.
He has spent much of his life studying and working overseas, living in the US, Britain, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Taiwan.
Before joining Saunders Unsworth in July, he spent five years as Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive. He previously had 22 years’ experience in international trade, economics and diplomacy, serving in the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, the Trade and Industry Department and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
He is also a member of the Victoria University Council and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Greater Wellington regional council in this year’s elections.
Mr Finny said he often saw important embassy contacts at functions in Wellington.
“You see them at cocktail parties, you have lunches occasionally and sometimes they formally call on you … once every four or five months. But you would probably see them once a week at cocktail parties.
“I would say I speak most often to the Australians and the Americans and I also do work for the New Zealand Government from time to time.”
The US embassy was less keen to discuss Mr Finny. “We do not comment on materials, including classified documents, which may have been leaked,” spokeswoman Janine Burns said.
“Any unauthorised disclosure of classified information by WikiLeaks has harmful implications for the lives of identified individuals that are jeopardised in other countries, but also for global engagement among and between nations.
“While we cannot speak to the authenticity of any documents provided to the press, we can speak to the diplomatic community’s practice of cable writing. Cables reflect the internal day-to-day analysis and candid assessments that feed the governments’ foreign relations deliberations.
“These cables are often preliminary and incomplete expressions of foreign policy, and they should not be seen as having standing on their own or as representing US policy.”
Mr Finny’s main area of expertise is international trade negotiations in Asia. “We just talk about what’s going on and what’s happening in various places around the world,” he said.
He “absolutely” was not a spy. “I talk to lots of people across the business community, the diplomatic community, international organisations and media.”
Do you want safety for you and your family? How about we build a fence too keep all the dangerous people outside, and we will put barbed wire on it to keep people climbing over, and electrified cables to keep people digging under it, and guard towers to see anyone approaching it, with machine guns to scare the dangerous people off and make sure they cannot get in. and the the fence will ring your house to keep the dangerous people out and the safe people safely inside, and we cannot risk your safety by ever letting you out.
UNDER FIRE: Former ALP senator Stephen Loosely says Senator Arbib is no spy. Picture: AFP Source: The Australian
MARK Arbib was not a spy and was in fact acting in Australia’s interests when he told US diplomats what was going on inside the ALP.
Anyone who says otherwise is anti-American, insists former ALP senator Stephen Loosely.
Mr Loosley said Senator Arbib was doing nothing more than politicians from the Labor and Liberal parties had been doing for decades when it came to frank, private political discussions with envoys from Australia’s closest ally.
Senator Arbib, the Sports Minister, was portrayed as a spy in the Fairfax press yesterday after he was named in WikiLeaks cables as one of several politicians who discussed with US envoys the inner workings of the Labor Party, including leadership issues, just before Kevin Rudd was deposed as prime minister.
Mr Loosley admitted that he was one of several Labor Party members who tipped off US diplomats in Sydney in late 1991 about the probability that Paul Keating would depose Bob Hawke as prime minister.
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“A lot of people, including myself, were involved in those conversations with the Americans, because it was very much in our national interest that the Americans were clear about what was happening inside the government,” Mr Loosley told The Australian yesterday.
“The notion that Mark Arbib is somehow a spy is truly absurd and offensive. The Australia-US relationship is based firmly on trust, and the reason we have such a relationship is because both sides are constantly working the patch as far as politics and policy is concerned.”
Mr Loosley, a member of the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, attacked Senator Arbib’s critics as anti-American.
“For some elements of the political class, the closeness in our relationship with the Americans is always equated to subservience, but that is simply not true,” he said. “It is a two-way process, and this sort of discussion also helps Australia form views about our allies.”
Former politicians and diplomats said yesterday the unique nature of the Australia-US relationship meant there was broader and more open dialogue between diplomats, politicians and decision-makers than occurred between other countries.
Senator Arbib is one of many Australian politicians who attend the leadership dialogue, an annual bipartisan forum of leaders from government, business and the media from both countries who engage in frank discussions on the bilateral relationship under Chatham House rules.
The leaked US cables said Senator Arbib was “an influential factional operator” who “has met with us repeatedly throughout his political rise”.
Strategic analyst Hugh White said Senator Arbib had not done anything wrong in speaking frankly to the Americans about Labor Party issues.
“The standard we should apply here is whether he has said anything which damages Australia’s national interests,” Mr White said. “I don’t think it does any harm for the private machinations of the Labor Party to be shared. Lots of politicians have been doing the same thing for years. These are not matters of national security.”
Left-wing journalist and author John Bilker said the revelations about Senator Arbib’s links with the Americans raised questions about whether the US government played a role in the deposing of Mr Rudd as prime minister, given that Senator Arbib was an architect of Mr Rudd’s demise.
He said the US might have been unhappy with Mr Rudd because he appeared ambivalent about Australia’s continued military involvement in Afghanistan.
One senior Labor figure, who asked not to be named, said that although Senator Arbib had not broken any rules in talking about party affairs with US diplomats, he would be ostracised by many within the Labor movement because of his activities.
A former Australian Secret Intelligence Service agent, Warren Reed, said the nature of Senator Arbib’s links with the US embassy and its staff should be explored more closely.
“If the Americans are referring to Mr Arbib as a ‘protected source’ then they clearly believe he is of value to them,” Mr Reed said.
Greens leader Bob Brown said he would not be surprised if conversations he had had with US officials were the subject of secret embassy cables.
“I regularly . . . get asked to meet the US ambassador and indeed a few other ambassadors from countries around the world,” Senator Brown said. “I’m always very careful about that, because you know the information is going back to the home capital, whether it is Beijing or Washington or Wellington, or wherever.
“I think it’s good that this (the Arbib cables) has seen the light of day. We all have to answer as elected members of parliament for any information we’re giving to foreign embassies.”
The son of one of the highest-ranking CIA officers to betray his country dodged a prison sentence Tuesday after making a deal with prosecutors to help build their case against his father.
Nathan Nicholson apologized in court for his role in a scheme to get his father’s Russian handlers to pay the man he once idolized: Harold “Jim” Nicholson, who is serving 24 years at a federal prison in Oregon for his 1997 espionage conviction.
U.S. District Judge Anna Brown sentenced Nathan Nicholson to 5 years on probation and 100 hours of community service after agreeing with a joint recommendation by prosecutors and defense attorneys who said he was manipulated and groomed by his father.
“Once this defendant was confronted, he did not hesitate to accept responsibility,” Brown said in court.
Nathan Nicholson had already pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of a foreign government at his father’s bidding and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and Brown said his actions will remain with him for the rest of his life.
‘I want to be my own man’
The 26-year-old told The Associated Press and The Oregonian newspaper that he had idolized his father, but “after this, I want to be my own man now. I don’t want to live in someone’s shadow.”
In a case that unfolded like a fictional thriller, from 2006 to 2008 the 26-year-old former Army paratrooper traveled the world at his father’s bidding to meet with Russian agents — in San Francisco, Mexico City, Peru and Cyprus — to collect payments the father believed were long overdue.
His father trained Nathan in CIA tradecraft, advising him to hide money from the Russians in different places, to never deposit more than $500 in his bank account, and to pay for trips in cash to avoid a paper trail.
It began in the summer of 2006 when the incarcerated Harold Nicholson asked his son to help him contact the Russian government for “financial assistance,” a sort of pension for his past work. Nathan Nicholson, then 22, was a student at Lane Community College.
The younger Nicholson was excited about the prospect of doing clandestine work for his father, according to the sentencing memo.
Harold Nicholson told his son to go to the nearest Russian consulate to make initial contact, and over the next two years, the son met with Russian agents six times. Prosecutors say Russian agents agreed to meet with the younger Nicholson because they wanted to learn how the FBI caught his father and to obtain information about the CIA.
Nathan Nicholson was paid a total of about $47,000 by the Russians.
The imprisoned ex-spy encouraged his son by praising his work, saying “he had performed as well as, or better, than some of the CIA employees” he had trained for the agency, according to the sentencing memo.
But as he jetting around to his meetings with them, the FBI was already on to the father and the son. In February 2002, a “concerned citizen” told the FBI that Harold Nicholson may have tried to contact Russian agents through other inmates and an investigation was begun, leading to an indictment in January 2009.
Harold Nicholson pleaded guilty Nov. 8 to the same charges as his son. He faces sentencing Jan. 18.
Dad caught in 1996
Harold Nicholson had risen to CIA station chief before he was arrested in November 1996 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia with 10 rolls of film he had intended to hand over to Russian agents. Federal officials say that before his arrest, he had been trotting around the globe to hand off documents to the Russians and that he was paid for his work.
Nathan Nicholson said he was about 10 when he first learned his father worked for the CIA. At the time, Harold Nicholson was an instructor at a CIA training camp in Williamsburg, Va.
The family had moved around a lot, and Nathan said he rarely saw his father but soaked up his stories about Harold Nicholson’s own military career in the Army.
In their sentencing memo, federal prosecutors said the elder Nicholson had “significant emotional power” over the son, using his skills to “groom and manipulate him” while in prison.
Nathan Nicholson said he now wants to rebuild his life — a “very frugal” existence on VA benefits and financial aid at Oregon State University, where he’s studying computer science.
“I want to restore the honor that was lost,” he said.
