I realize things might seem quiet on the Proficiency1 front because we haven’t been putting out a lot of blog posts or launching new courses lately, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re hard at work with our instructors and partners developing and producing new courses that we plan to launch in the next couple of months to add to our current courses and round out our initial online offerings. Our upcoming courses include:
- Understanding China’s Armed Forces. Taught by a true expert and former Army attaché in Beijing and Hong Kong, this course provides an in-depth look at China’s armed forces and includes an eBook version of the online content. The course is the perfect complement to our recently launched Understanding China’s Worldview.
- Cybersecurity Fundamentals. Taught by a former senior National Security Agency officer, this course provides an overview of the issues, technologies, actors, and policies related to cybersecurity and will serve as the perfect introduction to the topic for new cyber analysts or anyone needing a foundational understanding of this important subject.
- Critical Thinking for Analysts: Avoiding Common Analytic Pitfalls. Taught by a former senior Defense Intelligence Agency officer and analytic trailblazer with decades of experience, this course helps analysts steer clear of the mindsets and assumptions that too often lead to analytic errors.
- Creative Thinking for Analysts. A current practitioner of helping analysts unlock their potential for creativity will show students how to employ strategies to overcome the cognitive biases that often stifle creativity.
- Leadership Strategies for Analysts. A natural follow-on to Strategies for Success as an Analyst, this course looks at how analysts (or anyone) can exhibit leadership skills to help themselves succeed and be a force multiplier on their teams.
- Leading Analysis. A former senior CIA officer who wrote the definitive book on how to run an analytic unit, Leading Intelligence Analysis: Lessons from the CIA’s Analytic Front Lines, is adopting his book for an online course that will help any manager of analysis and analysts build healthy, effective units that provide outstanding products to their customers.
- How Pakistan Works. Our South Asia expert is creating a course that explains how Pakistan functions and sheds light on Islamabad’s domestic and foreign policy choices that frequently frustrate US interests in the region.
- Open-Source Intelligence Methodologies Working with our partners at Plessas Experts Network, we’ll have one course that focuses on how to get the most out of the Google search engine to supercharge your online research skills. We’ll pair this with an overview course on how to exploit social media to aid your analysis of people, places, and events.
- Strategic Planning. Working with our partner at Kolenda Strategic Leaders Academy, we’ll be offering a version of his outstanding course on how to conceptualize, develop, and implement an effective strategic plan for any organization. It’s a practical, hands-on, exercise-rich approach to the topic that will help leaders plan for the future.
When I find a few minutes for my next post, I’ll talk about the exciting changes coming for Proficiency1 as we move to more of a blended learning approach and offer in-person training in critical analytic skill areas to complement our online offerings. Stay tuned!