A Spy's Guide to Thinking

Key takeaways

• Thinking Like an Intelligence Analyst
• Structured Brainstorming Before Committing to a Conclusion
• Devil's Advocacy: Deliberately Arguing the Opposite
• Separating Facts From Assumptions
• Red-Teaming: Actively Trying to Break Your Own Plan
• Slowing Down the Rush to Judgment

Final takeaway

Braddock encourages identifying, in advance, which categories of your own decisions are significant enough to warrant deploying these techniques, rather than applying the full toolkit to every minor daily decision.