Who is he?
- Sherman Kent is known as the “father of intelligence analysis” and was a well-known, prominent figure at the CIA, as well as a professor at Yale University
The Doctrine
- Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20201102212401/https://www.cia.gov/library/kent-center-occasional-papers/pdf/OPNo5.pdf
- Kent believed that analysts are an asset to an organization because of their ability to share information to the business people (“decision-makers” and “action-takers”)
- Focus on Policymaker Concerns
- “actionable intelligence”
- analysts primary goal is to serve the policymakers so giving them information and organizing it in a way that is easy-to-follow and based on their needs is important
- analysts must put the policymakers first. You must consider the
- Avoidance of a Personal Policy Agenda
- goal is to help everyone and to remain impartial to any political agendas in your assessments
- avoid any biases or favoring certain groups
- focus on all possible outcomes
- Intellectual Rigor
- use critical thinking to assess and evaluate information and ensure information is neutral and point out any gaps
- Conscious Effort to Avoid Analytic Biases
- analytic / cognitive bias is human
- try your best to avoid these biases
- be especially conscious of your biases
- Willingness to Consider Other Judgements
- collaboration is key and make sure you have an open mind by considering other points of view
- Systematic Use of Outside Experts
- use outside opinions
- news media accounts, journals, etc.
- Collection Responsibility for Judgement
- coordinate with others
- take accountability when needed
- Effective Communication of policy-support information and judgements
- know your audience and share information in an easy-to-digest manner (shorter and straight-to-the-point as the policymakers in the organization are busy)
- avoid being vague
- don’t use non-falsifiable judgements (“may” or “could”)
- Candid Admission of Mistakes
- analysts should try their best to master intelligence but mistakes do happen
- make sure you understand your mistakes and prevent them from happening in the future
- actively review your performance