Analysis 101: Strategies for Success as an Analyst is for anyone who is an analyst, aspires to become one, or manages them. It’s designed to fill a critical hole in most analysts’ educations by providing a framework for thinking about what it means to be a professional analyst and offering a set of practical strategies to help any analyst succeed, regardless of their area of specialization. The course serves as Analysis 101 for anyone who prefers to learn the fundamentals of being an analyst in just a few hours rather than by trial and error while on the job. It’s filled with fundamental information every analyst should know on day one of their career but rarely does.

The instructor has nearly 30 years of experience as an analyst, analytic manager, and trainer of analysts at the Central Intelligence Agency and in the private sector. He draws from his experiences of what did and didn’t work for him and the hundreds of analysts he’s observed. He shares his views on the purpose of analysis, what makes analysis valuable to customers, and what professional success as an analyst looks like. The bulk of his course centers on his 10 key strategies for you to achieve that success.

Unless you’re in one of the relatively new academic programs designed to produce intelligence analysts, you’re probably learning valuable substantive knowledge in your classes but not the mindset or habits required of a professional analyst. In fact, you’ll need to unlearn many of the habits that led to academic success to succeed in your career. This course will help you prepare for that career and to interview more effectively for any analyst job.

In less than three hours this course delivers nearly 30 years’ worth of wisdom with steps you can take now to be seen by your boss, peers, and customers as a more professional and effective analyst. Although the course is ideal for a new analyst, it has something valuable to offer more experienced analysts who have never assessed their job’s requirements for success or the best ways to attain that success.

In this course, you’ll learn:

• The critical differences between succeeding in academia and succeeding as a professional analyst, including how to break the bad habits you develop as a student
• The four things you must bake into every piece of analysis to satisfy your skeptical customers
• The different types of value your analysis offers customers and what you should always strive to provide
• The two most important skills every analyst must have
• How to profile your customers to better understand and meet their specific needs
• The three elements of expertise required for success as an analyst
• How to think about uncertainty, ambiguity, and anomalies
• The key elements of an effective analytic argument
• How to build strong, productive ties with your fellow analysts and avoid the pitfalls that can taint professional relationships

An Aspirational Definition of Success

This free lecture is part of the JTG Proficiency1 course Analysis 101: Strategies for Success as an Analyst by Chris Savos.