In this episode, co-hosts Arik and Derek Johnson catch up with an old friend, Eric Garland, Executive Director of Competitive Futures, to talk about the world of competitive intelligence. Eric dives into the complexities of competitive intelligence and how technology today gives us the resources to understand a plethora of information. Even though the internet is a great source of information, Eric emphasizes the importance of an “old school” information hub: Human Intelligence, or HUMINT, as it’s called in the field.
Eric also gives his perspectives on a daunting question: What do the 2020s bring? He explains that there are several spasms going on in the world right now and that radical transparencies in our technology are shaking existing institutions to the ground. He shares examples throughout history where technology was able to manipulate our opinions, our time usage, and our everyday lives.
Tune into this week’s episode of Running Into the Fog with special guest Eric Garland. Learn more about the importance of senior intelligence, Eric’s reason for working in the world of intelligence, and the technological history behind many world events.
Quotes
• “I got my start in the world of competitive intelligence as an operative and analyst collecting information on competitors, and taking that back to the office and analyzing it to figure out what people’s competitors were up to, to tell them what to do.” (02:12-02:20)
• “I still ask what don’t I know out there, what’s published, what are other people reading, and what’s really going on? So, I still use human intelligence methodology for that. Or as I have a T-shirt printed up: HUMINT. We just asked the guy.” (03:37-03:50)
• “All of that radical transparency is causing every institution we have to be shaken to the ground.” (14:38-14:44)
• “Well, there’s only so much disillusionment that humans can take at any given time and kind of keep it together. I think sometimes when you have total disillusionment, and you overthrow everything at once, it doesn’t always work so well.” (24:26-24:38)
• “I think as we learn more about the role of corporations and some of these anti-democratic movements of recent, that’s gonna shake a lot of people’s confidence because this internet thing is cool.” (33:50-33:58)
Links
Connect with Eric:
Twitter | https://twitter.com/ericgarland
Website | https://www.ericgarland.co/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-garland-a1338b99
https://nexaurorawdc.wpengine.com/
Arik JohnsonLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/arikjohnson/
Derek JohnsonLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-johnson-cfa-190893/