A Spy's Guide to Thinking

By: John Braddock

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 1 hr and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

"Head wounds bleed. All those vessels going to the brain. Carrying nutrients so you can think. Which I hadn't...I was stunned. But I hadn't lost yet. I still had the phone. And two options."

There are a select few people who get things done. Spies are first among them.

In this 45-minute listen, a former spy introduces two simple tools for thinking. The first describes how we think. The second helps us think ahead. They are the essential tools for getting things done.

The tools are applied to an incident in a subway car in Europe where a spy faces a new enemy. Then, they're reapplied to Saddam Hussein's stockpiling (or not) of weapons of mass destruction.

John Braddock was a case officer at the CIA. He developed, recruited and handled sources on weapons proliferation, counter-terrorism, and political-military issues. A former university research fellow, he is now a strategy consultant. He helps people and organizations think more effectively about their strategy, their customers, and their competition.

©2015 John Braddock (P)2015 John Braddock

Just Not Enough

This is a good listen, but there is just not enough content to make a complete statement.

There is only one example given from which to draw all of the author's conclusions. This example is broken down bit-by-bit, move-by-move, piece-by-piece - which is great! The only problem, is that this book really needed (a minimum) of about three examples to clarify and drive home the author's points.

The book is great, but ...

Took me a minute to get past the narrator, but I ended up really liking the story!
Is this the first time the narrator read this??

What you think is vague what you know is clear!

much safer to admit you know nothing but recognize a situation, hypothize a potential threat, discuss the knowns. then proceed or ignore.

ehhh..it's ok

vanilla...not bad. it was at least short. narrator had a lisp that was distracting that made it difficult for me to concentrate.

Not

I liked that it was read very well.
Also some of the stories did make you analyze the way thinking should be but I felt it was Way to Vague and Basically didn’t tell me as much as I thought it would to reading people. My expectations were high but this was very limited and common sense information. Still a good reminder was good but wasn’t great. With the without would of Gave us more descriptive insight on what to look for and do to think like a spy.

Brief but well described

A very brief but well written and performed decsion and thought guide.
Kevin Pierce is excellent as always

Interesting and succinct

Nicely done. Thanks for the excellent little book. Interesting story, engaging, and interesting point. Recommended.

Short but GREAT!

This book was short but informative. Great buy. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to change their thought process.

Ideal Length for the Subject Matter and Enjoyable

The Audiobook of this Kindle Single is almost the perfect length. Short and to the point while doing a good job of going over the basic points. I think the way this is spaced and performed is ideal for retention. Very entertaining.

Tight, compelling, and useful.

My summary is just that. He provides two useful tools. And explains them within a simple circumstance, our government’s structure, and geopolitics.
Thanks John, nice job.