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This OODAcast features a fascinating conversation with Michael Gibson, the author of the book "Paper Belt on Fire" who is also the co-founder of the Thiel Fellowship program and the 1517 Fund, both of which focus on identifying unconventional ideas and individuals that can drive disruptive innovation in technology, arts, and science. In this interview we dive into the establishment of the Thiel Fellowship which attracted a lot of attention and detractors with a grant program that paid $100k to college aged students to skip the degree and work on passion projects. Michael followed this up with the formation of a venture capital fund that had a comparable investment thesis and has successfully invested in entrepreneurs emerging through unexpected channels and without college degrees. Michael's book, and this conversation, resonated with me as I can't escape the feeling that he is onto something pointing out the declining value and increasing cost of a college education, but also his thesis that a new period of innovation is required and that the disruption will come from unlikely sources. We take a deep dive into some of the areas requiring disruptive innovation and also a few of the exemplars from both the Thiel Fellowship and the 1517 fund. This conversation is a call for revolution in how we think about entrenched organizations and the potential for their inevitable decline. Official Bio: Michael is co-founder and general partner at 1517. If the rust belt has come to define the hollowed-out industries of the Midwest, in the next ten years the paper belt will come to define the paper-based industries from Washington DC to Boston. In DC, they print money, visas, and laws on paper. In Delaware, companies incorporate on paper. In NYC, they print media on paper. And in Boston Harvard and MIT print diplomas on paper. Michael is dedicated to lighting the paper belt on fire. Additional Resources: Paper Belt on Fire book Thiel Fellowship program 1517 Fund Recommended Books: Foster by Claire Keegan The Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem by Matthew Hollis Red Sparrow series by Jason Matthews  

In this OODAcast, we talk with Jimmy Soni, the author of the book "The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley". The Founders was one my Top 10 Security, Technology, and Business books of 2022, and is one of the few books I read last year that qualifies for each category. Jimmy takes a deep, historical look at the founding story of PayPal with detailed analysis, interviews, and access that you won't find in any other telling of the PayPal story. PayPal is a fascinating company to look at, not only to examine the PayPal business, but in looking at what emerged out of the PayPal founding team in the future. A list of companies that includes the likes of SpaceX, Tesla, Affirm, LinkedIn, YouTube, Yammer, Palantir, Kiva, Yelp, and Yammer! In the OODAcast we discuss: PayPal's founding history The unique cast of characters and the importance of understanding their origin stories Key moments in PayPal's success How PayPal is ultimately a hacker success story. Podcast Version:   Official Bio: Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His newest book, The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, was a national bestseller and received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, The Economist, Financial Times, and more. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the 2019 Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his daughter, Venice. Recommended Books: The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley A Night to Remember Paper Belt on Fire: How Renegade Investors Sparked a Revolt Against the University

In this OODAcast we interview one of our close friends and OODA network members, Jen Hoar. Jen is a former journalist-turned-corporate investigator who has leveraged the potent act of asking, and listening, to turn strangers into sources and contacts into clients. Her expertise, which is clearly also her passion, is identifying and interviewing smart people about any given topic, to learn as much as possible to inform clients’ executive decision-making. Harnessing her experience as a journalist and business intelligence practitioner, she has developed and delivered Human Intelligence for Business training for entrepreneurs, sales, private equity, business development and legal professionals. This training refines how to identify and contact knowledgeable people - prospective clients, partners, investors and subject matter experts - to harness unique insight from purposeful dialogue. Official Bio: Jen Hoar leads human source intelligence work at Forward Risk. She specializes in — and loves — finding and interviewing smart people about any subject. A former journalist, Jen first honed investigative prowess at ABC News, National Journal, and CBS News, and later by working with former CIA operations officials and prosecutors, among others, in boutique corporate intelligence firms in the Washington, DC, area. Jen was also a founding member of a Facebook investigative team, where she worked on election integrity and information warfare issues. A proud double Hoya, Jen is nonetheless endeared to Fordham, where her parents were longtime professors. Additional Information: Connect with Jen on LinkedIn OODA Network Interview with Jen Book Recommendation: Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street

Covering technology issues, and specifically cybersecurity as a journalist is a tough endeavor. Some of these technologies are complex as are the security vulnerabilities often inherent in their deployment and making these topics broadly accessible can be a challenge. Many of the underlying issues touch upon national security and civil liberties creating an interesting nexus that must be highlighted in the proper context. Lastly, it can be a challenge to create trusted relationships with the hacker community, but they provide essential perspectives and leads. Joseph Menn has established himself as one of the top journalists covering these issues for over two decades at organizations like the Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, and now at the Washington Post. He's spoken at conferences like Black Hat, Def Con, and RSA. He's written three books covering topics like Napster, cybercrime, and most recently the infamous hacker group cDC in his book "Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World". In the OODAcast, Joseph provides insights from his career as a journalist covering technology and cybersecurity. We explore how he first got involved with Def Con Black Hat and the value of attending the events. Joseph discusses how he first got introduced to the cDC and why he decided to write a book about the group and developed an overall positive outlook in the critical role hackers will play in saving the world. Official Bio: Joseph Menn joined The Washington Post in 2022 where he specializes in computer security, hacking, privacy and surveillance. He has perhaps the longest running track record among professional journalists covering cyber security and cyber conflict issues, having over two decades of experience on the topic. Prior to the Washington Post he covered cybersecurity and technology for Reuters, the Financial Times and the Los Angeles Times His books include "Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World" (2019) and "Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords who are Bringing Down the Internet" (2010). External Links: Cult of the Dead Cow book Joseph Menn on Twitter Book Recommendation:  The Dawn of Everything

Lawrence Gasman has researched and reported on quantum technologies from the beginning of the discipline of quantum computing. He is now the President of Inside Quantum Technology (IQT), which provides in-depth business intelligence for the quantum technology industry. IQT also runs several major quantum technology conferences as well as a quantum industry news service. On this OODAcast we ask Lawrence to provide us with frameworks for understanding the state of quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum security and the business around each of these major fields. Discussion topics include: - How to explain the world of quantum effects to non technical leaders and what business leaders should know about the strange world of quantum physics. - The overall state of quantum computing today - How non-experts can know if a claim in a quantum computing project is valid or not. - A useful description of quantum sensing. - The importance of quantum security. - New NIST algorithms for improving quantum security. - The state of quantum R&D - what comes next in the quantum industry. For more see: https://www.insidequantumtechnology.com For more on quantum computing, quantum sensing and quantum security see the OODA Guide to Quantum Computing and Quantum Security Sensemaking Related Reading: Explore OODA Research and Analysis Use OODA Loop to improve your decision making in any competitive endeavor. Explore OODA Loop Decision Intelligence The greatest determinant of your success will be the quality of your decisions. We examine frameworks for understanding and reducing risk while enabling opportunities. Topics include Black Swans, Gray Rhinos, Foresight, Strategy, Stratigames, Business Intelligence and Intelligent Enterprises. Leadership in the modern age is also a key topic in this domain. Explore Decision Intelligence Disruptive/Exponential Technology We track the rapidly changing world of technology with a focus on what leaders need to know to improve decision-making. The future of tech is being created now and we provide insights that enable optimized action based on the future of tech. We provide deep insights into Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Quantum Computing, Security Technology, Space Technology. Explore Disruptive/Exponential Tech Security and Resiliency Security and resiliency topics include geopolitical and cyber risk, cyber conflict, cyber diplomacy, cybersecurity, nation state conflict, non-nation state conflict, global health, international crime, supply chain and terrorism. Explore Security and Resiliency Community The OODA community includes a broad group of decision-makers, analysts, entrepreneurs, government leaders and tech creators. Interact with and learn from your peers via online monthly meetings, OODA Salons, the OODAcast, in-person conferences and an online forum. For the most sensitive discussions interact with executive leaders via a closed Wickr channel. The community also has access to a member only video library. Explore The OODA Community

While the OODA Loop was been heralded in the domain of conflict, we often find the concept in business and there is no greater business analogy to dogfighting that David Greenberg's experience as a trader on the floor of the world's largest physical commodities exchange. David's job required rapid decision making based on constantly changing information and the mental fortitude to move onto the next decision and rapidly learn from both successes and mistakes. In addition to his work as a trader, David also guided the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) through its largest period of growth and through a digital transformation. In this OODAcast, David shares his story and talks about how to make decisions in complex environments, but also developing the mental resiliency to deal with rapid change and impactful mistakes. David also shares his experiences from 9/11 and how one tiny circumstance saved his life and re-focused his energy on helping others. Full bio: Mr. Greenberg is the President of Greenberg Capital. He served as an Executive Board and Board Member of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). He oversaw a decade of its largest growth from $800 million to $12 billion. Notably, at the time it was the world’s largest physical commodities exchange. While at NYMEX, David was the Chairman of the Corporate Governance, Marketing, International Expansion, Electronic Trading and Security Committees. Mr. Greenberg’s twenty years as President of Sterling Commodities shaped the firm into one of the largest local clearinghouses at NYMEX. Mr. Greenberg served as Director of Development for Executive Education at Florida Atlantic University. As a seasoned speaker, he has graced the podiums of the country’s most prestigious colleges and universities: West Point Military Academy, Columbia Business School, New York University, Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Business and Sacred Heart University’s Jack Welch School of Business. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of Junior Achievement of South Florida and the Leadership Council for the United Negro College Fund of South Florida. Mr. Greenberg is a graduate of Connecticut’s Suffield Academy, where he later served on the board. David is a graduate of Syracuse University. In addition to his successful career in significant advisory capabilities, he is a globally renowned and noted market analyst and media contributor. Having appeared on CNN, Fox Business News, Bloomberg and CNBC, Mr. Greenberg is often quoted on times such as the present. Mr. Greenberg’s expert opinions can be found in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Financial Times and other publications. Additional Resources: https://www.instagram.com/tradingshrink/ https://daviddouglasgreenberg.com/ Recommended Book: Raven Rock by Garrett Graff

John Spencer is a writer, thinker, speaker scholar who currently serves as the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the US Military Academy. He brings the experience of a veteran who has led in combat to his work, and in his latest book, Connected Soldiers, also provides insights from his time as a stay at home parent as his wife deployed. His analysis of connectivity and ints impact from multiple angles makes his book a very well rounded examination of how the Internet age is transforming how nations go to war. In this OODAcast we discuss the book as well as John's career and insights he has for leaders, including leaders in business. We examine: The US Army Rangers, their mission and spirit and ability to focus How lessons in leadership from John's early career informed his leadership in combat Boredom in war and how soldiers fill down time and how connectivity and new technology is used in down time Ways connectivity and gaming impacted soldiers under John's command in combat What it was like for John to be a stay at home dad when his wife deployed and how connectivity impacted that experience Unit cohesion and unit motivation and lessons relevant beyond the military Lessons from history being repeated in the Ukraine situation. John Boyd and the OODA Loop as an example of studying our own way of thinking and seeking to learn better and optimize decision making For more see: John Spencer Online Connected Soldiers The Modern War Institute

Duyane Norman spent nearly 30 years in the CIA with three Chief of Station and multiple other tours in a variety of interesting geographies and also had a focus on technology issues serving as Deputy Director of the Office of Technical Service within CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, and as a member of the CIA Counterterrorism Center’s Incident Response Team. Duyane established a reputation as an innovator and a disruptor looking for ways for the intelligence services to flourish given the fast pace of technological change and the dynamic threats emerging on the global landscape. In this OODAcast we discuss his career in the CIA, how the agency must adapt over time, and the role disruptive technology will play in the geopolitical landscape. We also talk about his Station of the Future project and how that can serve as a roadmap for future innovation. Official Bio: Duyane R. Norman retired from CIA in March 2019 as a member of the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service with 28 years of distinguished service. He currently leads the Defense Innovation Unit’s engagement with the Department of Defense’s Agencies and Activities and serves as DIU’s link to the Intelligence Community. He is the District of Columbia Chairperson for the National Board of State Funeral for World War II Veterans and an occasional consultant to a range of government agencies and private companies. Mr. Norman has substantial leadership, operational and technical experience across a broad spectrum of military and government. He is a recognized leader in innovation, having founded and led the Central Intelligence Agency’s Station of the Future Program. He served seven overseas tours in the Directorate of Operations, in Central and South America, Central Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Middle East, including three tours as Chief of Station and one tour as a War Zone Chief of Base. He served multiple assignments at CIA Headquarters including Chief of Operations for Latin America Division, with oversight and responsibility for all CIA operations in Latin America, as the Deputy Director of the Office of Technical Service within CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, and as a member of the CIA Counterterrorism Center’s Incident Response Team. Mr. Norman earned a BA in Latin American Studies from Vanderbilt University. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. Book recommendations: Ghost Fleet Flashman series

Greg Touhill is one of the nation’s premier cybersecurity, information technology and risk management leaders. As an Air Force officer he led technology efforts in some of our nation's most demanding organizations including combatant commands during time of war. He is an accomplished speaker and author and business executive and also served as our nation's first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Touhill is currently the director of the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute's CERT Division. In this capacity he leads one of the most highly regarded organizations in the cybersecurity community. The CERT is a diverse group of researchers, software engineers, security analysts and digital intelligence specialists who work together to research vulnerabilities, contribute to long term changes and develop cutting-edge information and training to improve the practice of cybersecurity. In this OODAcast we examine Greg's approach to leadership and then get into: Operational views of the cyber threat that can help drive collective action in mitigating risks. Ways security leaders can continue to learn and grow The CERT's role in improving security through cybersecurity Lessons learned in communicating security topics with non technical audiences (including a fantastic discussion of lessons from SciFi)

In this OODAcast, we interview Ron Gula, co-founder and CEO of the highly successful Tenable Security(NASDAQ:TENB) and currently President of Gula Tech Adventures. Ron has a long history in the cybersecurity field that includes starting his career as an NSA hacker and then transitioning into an entrepreneur responsible for multiple innovations in the market and several successful companies. Ron remains a hacker at heart, and currently focuses his energy on investing in and mentoring emerging companies, improving public awareness on cybersecurity, and engaging in philanthropic efforts. In our conversation with Ron, we explore his career history, the state of cybersecurity, where we should focus our innovation investments, and how cybersecurity professionals can help solve not just global problems, but get engaged in local solutions at scale. Ron is President at Gula Tech Adventures which focuses on cyber technology, cyber policy and recruiting more people to the cyber workforce. Since 2017, GTA has invested in dozens of cyber start-ups and funds and supported multiple cyber nonprofits and projects. Ron started his cybersecurity career as a network penetration tester for the NSA. At BBN, he developed network honeypots to lure hackers and he ran US Internetworking’s team of penetration testers and incident responders. As CTO of Network Security Wizards, Ron pioneered the art of network security monitoring and produced the Dragon Intrusion Detection System which was recognized as a market leader by Gartner in 2001. As CEO and co-founder of Tenable Network Security, Ron led the company’s rapid growth and product vision from 2002 through 2016. He helped them scale to more than 20,000 customers worldwide, raise $300m in venture capital and achieve revenues in excess of $100m annually. Ron is President at Gula Tech Adventures which focuses on investing and advisement of two dozen cyber-security companies. Ron was honored and humbled to receive the 2017 Betamore BETA award, be named a 2016 Baltimore Tech 10 leader and a 2013 Maryland entrepreneur of the year by Ernst and Young. Additional Resources: Gula Tech Adventures Ron on Twitter Book recommendations: Shards of Earth A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe

In this OODAcast, we talk with Jim Lawler who is a Senior Partner at MDO Group, which provides HUMINT training to the Intelligence Community and the commercial sector focused on WMD, CI, technical and cyber issues. Mr. Lawler is a noted speaker on the Insider Threat in government and industry. Prior to this, Mr. Lawler served for 25 years as a CIA operations officer in various international posts and as Chief of the Counterproliferation Division's Special Activities Unit.  We talk with Jim about his career in intelligence and national security, his views on the current threats including some of his fictionalized accounts in his novels, and his most notable intelligence operation; the A.Q. Khan nuclear takedown. Mr. Lawler was a member of CIA's Senior Intelligence Service (SIS-3) from 1998 until his retirement in 2005. He was a specialist in the recruitment of foreign spies, and he spent well over half of his CIA career battling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. As Chief of the A.Q. Khan Nuclear Takedown Team, which resulted in the disruption of the most dangerous nuclear weapons network in history, Mr. Lawler was the recipient of one of the CIA's Trailblazer Awards in 2007, marking the 60th anniversary of CIA. In 2004, former DCI George Tenet sent Mr. Lawler a note which stated, “Jim, what you and your team have achieved will rank up there as one of the most spectacular intelligence accomplishments in the history of the CIA. It occurred because of your exemplary leadership. Not only are we in the process of taking down a network, we are also in the process of disarming a country as a result of your fine work. With respect, George J. Tenet” And former DDCI John McLaughlin noted that the effort was “the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a perfect intelligence operation.” Mr. Lawler also received the Director's Award from DCI George Tenet, the U.S. Intelligence Community's HUMINT Collector of the Year Award, and the Donovan Award from the CIA's Deputy Director of Operations. He is a graduate of Rice University, Houston, Texas; and the University of Texas School of Law. He is married to Ellen and has three children and seven grandsons. He has completed two novels: “Living Lies,” an espionage story of the Iranian nuclear weapons program, and “In the Twinkling of an Eye,” about recruiting a spy at the heart of a devastating covert Russian-North Korean genetic bioweapons program. Both have been cleared by the CIA’s Publication Review Board and are to be published in 2021. He is currently writing his third espionage novel, “The Traitor’s Tale,” which is about treachery and treason deep within the CIA. Additional Resources: Jim's book Living Lies Book Recommendations:  The Recruiter First Casualty Slow Horses

Alyssa Miller is a life-long hacker and highly experienced security executive who has a passion for security and the security community. She is an excellent advocate for continuous improvement in the community and a frequent speaker to audiences of both fellow business leaders and security community audiences. This combined with her deep experience in the industry makes her the perfect person to research and write the Cybersecurity Career Guide. The guide is a much needed  resource  for our community. In this OODAcast we ask Alyssa for context of use to cybersecurity professionals, including discussing insights important to those just starting out, those seeking to continue their self improvement journey, and those seeking to laterally move into the community. In the discussion we also capture the fact that the book is also a great resource for the most experienced cybersecurity professionals, since these more senior individuals are frequently asked for mentorship and other career advice and will find this to be a good source of current insights. We seek to go beyond the advice in the book and believe you will find this interview and excellent window into the decision-making processes and perspectives of Alyssa. The attitudes and approaches of a hacker, including those great traits of curiosity, persistence and continuing self education are apparent and an example for us all. The book is available now for pre-order and purchasing at this link will enable an advanced electronic copy for review:  Cybersecurity Career Guide

This OODAcast is a special edition focused on profiling Russian President Vladimir Putin with Dr. Scott Shumate, who has over 30 years of experience evaluating national leaders, terrorists, spies, and insiders.  Scott shares his unique perspective's on Putin informed by his extensive experience and insight.  During this session we explore: Is Putin suicidal? Is Putin a rational actor? How would Putin feel about an escalatory use of cyber attacks? What is Putin's primary motivation in attacking the Ukraine? How does Putin value propaganda? Should we expect more nuclear bravado from him? Is he a narcissist? Plus lots of additional insights... OODA Loop members can find our quick summary of this profile here (Link) R. Scott Shumate is the president of Valutare, LLC. He has overseen contracts with the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Secret Service, and the Department of Homeland Security. Scott worked for 19 years as an undercover operations officer, psychologist for the Central Intelligence Agency, he is seen as an expert in Counterterrorism, Middle Eastern, South-East Asian, Euroasian cultures including Russia and Chinese cultures. Scott left the Agency in 2003 to Join the Department of Defenses, Counterintelligence Field Activity as a Senior Executive where he led a multimillion-dollar Behavioral Sciences program that infused operational guidance to FCI programs as well as investigations. Currently, Dr. Shumate has developed a new and creative Insider Threat program that uses big data to analyze metadata on a network that uses Context and Motivational analysis. The model is based on an offensive recruitment, crime and changes in the person’s environment. Through Valutare, he provides Counter-Surveillance, Elicitation, and Interviewing training as well as TSCM scanning.

In this OODACast, Matt talks with Chris Butler about how concepts like adversarial thinking can be applied to product design and management.  Chris is an exemplar of someone who has excelled in his field but also looks to study and bring disruptive ideas like randomness and future framing from other disciplines to determine their value and applicability in product management.   As it turns out, he's a big fan of John Boyd's OODA Loop and even made a trip to the Boyd archives where he discovered that Boyd was a fan of a certain science fiction book.   Chris Butler is a chaotic good product manager, writer, and speaker. He facilitates critical decision making for teams that build new and innovative products. Chris focuses on bias, uncertainty, and randomization to help build robust and resilient teams. He has over 20 years of product management leadership at Microsoft, Waze, KAYAK, and Facebook Reality Labs. He is now Assistant Vice President, Head of Product Operations, at Cognizant where he PM's the PM experience.   Additional Information:   Book Recommendation:  Why Greatness Cannot be Planned https://amzn.to/3tvkIeN   Chris on LinkinedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbu/   Chris on Twitter https://twitter.com/chrizbot   Chris on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTR1CgetbclHfZvNAR8BTCpA5Hz9qFxqf Chris on Medium https://chrizbot.medium.com/

John Chambers is the legendary former CEO of Cisco, a company he helped grow from $70 million in revenue per year when he joined in 1991 to $1.2 billion a year the year he became CEO to over $48 billion a year by the time he retired in 2015. As a leader John was always known for far more than just revenue growth, he was skilled at building an organization that treated people well, including employees, customers and the community. In this OODAcast we discuss John's book, Connecting The Dots, which shares his insights into leadership including leadership of organizations that need to disrupt themselves. The lessons of this book can help those at any stage of a career improve in their ability to lead innovative companies. John speaks to many learning points in his career including early lessons on how governments and companies ignore transitions at their own peril. He draws lessons from lost opportunities that include things West Virginia could have done differently, as well as transitions missed by IBM and Wang. We asked John to elaborate on his ability to spot market transitions and assess how they should impact business strategy and operations. This is a skill we are always seeking to improve at OODA and found his recommendations very consistent with our methods of keeping our ear to the ground and seeking insights from multiple sources, then dealing with reality as it is, not as you hope it will be. We also ask John for his assessment into the changing economic situation because of the pandemic. We discuss how his projections at the beginning of the pandemic played out. We then get his assessment on what is in store for the coming months, resulting in advice which should be heard by any CEO seeking to serve. He tells us agility, a word he used to dislike because it sounded like marketing, now needs to be the mantra of every CEO. "Agility is the watchword for leaders today" John is currently the CEO of JC2 Ventures, a venture capital firm he founded to invest in and mentor startups he believes are positioned to become core drivers of economic growth and job creation in the digital age. We discuss his approach on finding these firms and mentoring them. The CEO of a key firm in his portfolio, Guarav Banga of Balbix, was interviewed for the OODAcast last year). John concludes with advice for any leader seeking to succeed: "You deal with the world the way it is, not the way you wish it was." He also reminds us all that "The winners are those that do not do the right thing for too long. The winners are those that are willing to disrupt themselves."

In this OODAcast, we talk with Simon Clark. Simon a British journalist and writer. He previously worked at the Wall Street Journal. His investigative reporting has led him to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, the copper mines of Congo and to many banks in the City of London. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2016. Simon is the author of the "The Key Man: The True Story of How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale ". The book tells the story of Arif Naqvi and his Dubai-based private-equity firm Abraaj and how he attracted  billions of dollars in investment and shared the stage and social scene with the world's global elite in what would become one of the most audacious large scale frauds of recent times. The book also made my Top 10 Security, Technology, and Business book list for 2021. We discuss the rise and fall of Arif and specifically look at the tragedy of root causes that shifted Abraaj from the beacon of emerging economy investments to a shell game of alleged deep investor fraud. We also spend time discussing why Arif was able to attract so much attention and the role transparency could have played in discovering the fraud sooner. Podcast Version Simon's Book: The Key Man: The True Story of How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale Book recommendation: Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty  

Charity Wright is a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst with over 15 years of experience at the US Army and the National Security Agency, where she translated Mandarin Chinese. Charity now specializes in dark web cyber threat intelligence, counter-disinformation, and strategic intelligence at Recorded Future. Her analysis has provided deep insights into a variety of incidents, activities and strategic moves by well resourced adversaries, primarily actors operating in China. In July 2021 she led production of a report on China’s digital colonialism, surfacing aspects of espionage, surveillance and manipulation campaigns that were staggering in scope. China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR) initiative, announced in 2015, is an expansive global data infrastructure that does far more than serve users. It has been proven to have a dark side that includes exporting surveillance technologies to dictators and authoritarian regimes throughout the developing world, in some cases trading technology for access to sensitive user data and facial recognition intelligence. Domestically, China uses this type of technology to assert authority over its citizens, censor the media, quell protests, and systematically oppress religious minorities. Now, over 80 countries are enabled to do the same with Chinese surveillance technology. In this OODAcast we examine Charity’s approach to analysis and review some of the key elements of her reporting on China’s Digital Silk Road. As we do we also examine ways that open societies can work together to help mitigate these threats. We also examine Charity’s views on other global cyber threats and seek insights that can help any intelligence analyst continue to improve their craft. Additional Resources: China’s Digital Colonialism

Jan Chipchase is the founder and director of Studio D Radiodurans, a research, design and innovation consultancy. He specializes in identifying nuanced patterns of human behavior. The insight it generates informs and inspires design, strategy, brand and public policy. Jan describes his work in design anthropology in terms of a satellite launched into space that is chartered with identifying new planets, existential threats, but with a lens that can also be turned back on earth to help his clients also understand themselves. I've been fascinated with Jan's work for quite some time and had previously read and recommended both of his books. His research provides great insights into how products are being intentionally and unintentionally used and often take him into gray market environments. In this OODAcast, we discuss Jan's work but also his insights into how to conduct field research, build focused teams, and what sorts of insights can be derived. He also shares some great OODA Loop stories where quick decision-making and disrupting expected behaviors allowed him to get out of some tight situations. Earlier in his career he was Executive Creative Director of Global Insights at frog, a global design and innovation consultancy, where he headed up the global research practice. Prior to that he was Principal Scientist at Nokia where he specialized in entry level products. He's worked on products that have collectively sold over a billion units. His first book Hidden in Plain Sight was published in English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Russian. It became a best-seller in South Korea, of all places. The follow-up Today’s Office was published in South Korea. He also wrote The Field Study Handbook. At various times he has been based out of London, Shanghai, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berlin and a decade in Tokyo. Additional Links: Studio D Radiodurans Jan's Books: Hidden in Plain Sight The Field Study Handbook Book Recommendations: The Culture Map Living in Data Sensemaking in Organizations

Ben Dubow is CTO and founder of Omelas, a firm that provides data and analysis on how nations manipulate the web to achieve their geopolitical goals. He has a background in research on Russian and Chinese online information operations and is a recognized expert, having appeared on international media including Reuters, Bloomberg and Roll Call. Ben began his career tracking jihadi, white supremacist, and Iranian activity online before joining Google where he played a lead role in removing ISIS content from YouTube and establishing the Redirect Method to counter violent extremism. Before Omelas, Ben was Secretary of Code To Inspire, a nonprofit that teaches Afghan women to code. Ben speaks Arabic, French, Farsi, and basic Russian. In this OODAcast we discuss Ben’s continuous drive to work in meaningful ways by contributing technical and cultural expertise to emerging challenges. Other topics include: The foundational story of Omelas and the needs for technology to help spot malicious influence operations via tracking open source information.   How to focus on missions by understanding what decision-makers need How authoritarian states manipulate open source data Why propaganda is effective and how the right information can help counter it How technology can improve scale of analysis The Omelas Wolf Totem dashboard and what it presents The metrics that can be applied to malign influence operations How to reduce the risk of our own analysts being biased in research Additional Links: Omelas https://www.benjamindubow.com/ Book recommendations: The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth The Invention of Russia: The Rise of Putin and the Age of Fake News  

In this OODAcast we talk with Jahon Jamali of Sarson Funds about a range of cryptocurrency issues including his coming book Deep Crypto. We also dive deep into the coming Metaverse. Jahon Jamali is a leading expert on emerging technologies, global risk management and international relations. He began his career as a U.S. Intelligence Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency. He also has extensive experience in the high tech community creating and growing startups through to successful exits. All this makes him an even more credible authority when it comes to seeking the trends that are moving technology, business and government operations forward. This discussion examines the role of Bitcoin and Ethereum in finance today and the especially important need for cryptocurrencies to provide a trust layer for the Internet. Think of this trust layer in the context of the coming metaverse. As Jahon makes clear, there have been great visions of a metaverse for years, but something has been missing: a trust layer. Jahon also builds a very compelling logical argument that free loving countries open societies should really embrace cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Dictatorships and kleptocracies hate cryptocurrencies. This is a big reason he is quick to point out, in case there is any mistake, that “cryptocurrencies are as american as apple pie.” Some of the topics we cover include: Money as a belief system and the current status quo of money The need to shift concepts of money and the need for trust Jahon's experience educating large financial institutions on the nature of cryptocurrencies The state of maturing cryptocurrency community What an immutable distributed ledger can do for establishing a foundation of trust The shifting of importance of geographical boundaries What everyone (yes everyone) needs to know about cryptocurrencies The waking up of governments, including state, local, and even national governments to crypto Some of the naysayers and arguments against the Metaverse and Cryptocurrencies The OODAast with Jahon makes it very clear, he is a great explainer of topics like these, which makes us very eager to see the book Deep Crypto. Pre-order yours at: Discovery Deep Crypto