Here at Proficiency1 we’re busy building up our catalogue of offerings to serve the needs of national security and risk intelligence professionals, and we already have three of my courses as part of our soft launch that you can check out now. They’ll give you a sense of our overall approach to providing useful information and practical guidance in focused, easily digestible chunks. Best of all, two of the three are free for now!
- Ten Tips to Improve Your Analytic Writing: Practical Writing Advice From a Former Analytic Manager. As the name suggests, this free course offers 10 tips for improving your analytical writing from a former senior CIA analytic manager — spoiler alert: it’s me — who reviewed thousands of analytic products. By the end of this course you’ll be able to avoid common pitfalls that can distract your reader and keep them from understanding your product’s message, believing it, or even deciding to read it in the first place.
- Mastering the Unwritten Rules of Executive Presence: How to Construct a Confident, Captivating Professional Persona. Executive presence isn’t just for executives. Every professional consciously and unconsciously communicates their competence to bosses, coworkers, and customers through their presence. Learn in this roughly three-hour course how and why your presence is so important and get practical guidance for honing yours to become a more effective, trusted, and respected professional.
- An Insider’s View on Being a CIA Analyst: Pros, Cons, and Some Tips for Applicants. This is my honest, no-holds-barred look at what Central Intelligence Agency analysts do, why working as one was my dream job, and why it might be a great — or horrible — choice for you. I’ll also offer some very practical tips on how to improve your chances of being hired.
In terms of what you can look forward to from Proficiency1 in the coming months, we have a range of courses coming in our professional and analytic skills, domain expertise, and leadership and management pillars, including:
- Writing for Your Executive Customer: The Keys to Analytic Writing With Impact
- How to Craft an Insightful Leadership Profile: Assessing Leaders From Politicians and CEOs to Terrorists and Technologists
- Ethics Fitness Training: How to Make Ethical Decisions as an Analyst
- Strategies for Success as an Analyst
- Understanding China’s Worldview
- An Overview of China’s Military
- How Pakistan Works
- Leading in a Crisis
- An Introduction to Terrorism Analysis
- An Introduction to Public Health Analysis
- The Fundamentals of Risk Management
If there’s something you‘d like to see a course on that would help you advance and excel as a professional, please let us know. You can follow our catalogue as it grows here, and please follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates on new courses.