A. P. Martins New Book Recommended by business and military leaders, and professors at Harvard, MIT, INSEAD and Carnegie Mellon --- Harnessing the Power of Intelligence, Counterintelligence & Surprise Events

Alain Martin delivers a powerful message... Martin's latest publication is a richly-resourced guide for the intelligence gathering practitioner, replete with compelling examples of successful applications." Archie Dunham, CEO, ConocoPhillips

If anticipating your competitors next move is what keeps you up at night- start here."
Dr. Paul Dishman, President, Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals

This is an extraordinarily thoughtful and well written book on a topic of great contemporary importance. Its advice is detailed, practical and completely on target."
Prof. F. Warren McFarlan, Harvard Business School

Intelligence is a fundamental element of effective policies and decisions made by business, governments and the military. Its absence has led countless national and business leaders to defeat." With less trade barriers and excess capacity, competition has nowhere to go but up. Competitive intelligence is emerging as a fundamental lever in all functions of the enterprise. Without it, managers, engineers and marketing professionals in business and government are flying blind. There is no better book to open their eyes to counterintuitive ways of promptly acquiring intelligence and connecting the dots than Harnessing the Power of Intelligence, Counterintelligence & Surprise Events.

This seminal book covers the offensive and defensive functions of intelligence, their organization, leadership, tools and culture. It reveals new human intelligence instruments, platforms and breakthrough concepts to address intelligence issues, both at national and corporate levels. It can help companies use smart intelligence to win customers, team-up with selected allies, and shield their assets from competitors and other adversaries. Its focus is on detecting threats and opportunities, by legal and ethical means, and earlier than can be learned through reliable media. Readers will learn how to orchestrate and hitchhike on surprise events to create value.

Full of practical illustrations and insights from business, government and the military, this book has gained immediate acceptance among leading decision and policy makers and is already recommended by decision and policy makers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. The Chairman, President and CEO of McCain Foods stresses that this book should be compulsory reading for senior executives." Archie Dunham, the CEO of the worlds largest oil company and simultaneously the Chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers, found a powerful message" in the book (see first sidebar). And John Harbour, has applied the framework to craft the vision and strategic direction" of Desjardins, a $75 billion financial institution. John Fletcher, who advises Shell International on Global Change, notes that the section on exploiting the power of Search Engines typifies the extensive research input into this book." Positive feedback also came from executives of Alcoa, Boeing, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, MasterCard, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Shell, Nippon Roche, Scandinavian Airlines, Lufthansa and SAAB.

Alain Martin provides great insight into the competitive intelligence function. Vivid examples from multiple industries bring the book alive. The framework and tools are practical. They would have broad applicability across our company from guiding R&D decisions to developing strategies for our sales representatives."
Director, Global Competitive Intelligence
Eli Lilly and Company

At present, one of the most important strategic management challenges is understanding and enhancing the process of transforming vast amounts of information into useable knowledge. Alain Martin's book is an excellent guide to meeting this challenge. He provides a structure and format that enhances our understanding and creates useable knowledge. I highly recommend that all managers and leaders read this book with a view to gaining informational insights and practical knowledge that can be applied to either everyday or crisis situations."
Director of Strategic Intelligence
Department of National Defence, Canada

Selected among many from leading practitioners on intelligence, the above testimonies also illustrate the exceptional value of this book. Coming from the chief intelligence officers of organizations that depend on intelligence to excel, these testimonies carry more weight than any promotional literature about this book or its author, Alain Paul Martin. Indeed, executives and intelligence professionals who have learned about Martins proven intelligence framework have changed the way they work.

The knowledge you gain from this book can change your own planning and decision-making practices in these compelling times of unprecedented threats and opportunities. The book brings Martins framework to life and goes further by sharing hard-won lessons from experience in business and defense. For those who want to dig further, there are extensive endnotes, a multilingual bibliography, a series of recommended Web sites, a handy book index and two colorful Harvard road maps on strategy and risk. Readers are bound to refer to the framework and the books practical tips, time and time again.

The book is suitable for general audiences. Learning about intelligence can help each of us make wiser choices, work better and be a more informed citizen. New ideas are clearly presented and technical terms are explained thoroughly. Without being simplistic, the language is within the reach of corporate staff of all levels and functions. Some stories could be used to stimulate discussions and give college students a primer on intelligence. Numerous real-life examples about people, events, current affairs and important issues will be fun to read, talk about, both at work and at home. As Harvard Emeritus Professor William J. Bruns said: Martin has created a framework and processes that anyone or any organization can adapt and use to create information and intelligence that will prevent or reduce unpleasant surprises in their lives or work."

Bottom line, no reader will come away empty-handed. All in all, this is an excellent, timely and easy to read book with entertaining, vivid examples and breakthrough instruments, most of which are not available elsewhere. Highly recommended for managers, professionals and educators.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2002093491
ISBN 0-86502-924-5 (bound)
Published by Executive.org (www.executive.org/intelligence)
Bookstores Order Desk: Toll free: 1-800-HARVARD or (613) 730-7777 Helene, Paul or Isabelle
Press Relations: (613) 730-4446 or toll free: 1 (866) 407-8667

Read Alain Martin's interview at http://www.booksandauthors.net/Interviews/APMartin.html