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Think Like a Spy: Master the Nine Secret Skills of Influence and Leadership
'It's rare to find a book that is not only intensely personal but deeply practical. Julian Fisher has somehow pulled it off, in this fascinating and engaging guide to the art of influence. Think Like a Spy is a fantastic read, full of eye-opening espionage tradecraft as well as insightful tips on how to achieve your business goals. Highly recommended' - Henry Hemming, author of Four Shots in the Night
Discover the secret skills of influence and persuasion taught to intelligence officers and how to adapt them to win over personal and professional allies to your cause.
Every day, intelligence officers achieve the unimaginable. They persuade people to share classified secrets with them. To become traitors, in fact. And their targets do it willingly, despite the risk of imprisonment, torture and, even, execution. Spies achieve this thanks to their structured use of nine secret skills of espionage. In Think Like a Spy, you'll learn these techniques and how to adapt them for effective and ethical use in your own life.
A good spy is a people-person. She knows how to identify a potential agent, how to attract their attention and what to do to build an enduring relationship with them. From this base, she will coax out personal information to work out what makes her target tick. She will use that knowledge and her understanding of human psychology to her advantage while winning lasting commitment from her new ally.
All these skills can be mastered and turned to use in civilian life. The author realised that he used all of them in his own progress from the poorest postcode in Britain to Oxford University, into a blue-blooded stockbroking firm, and on to a thrilling and varied career in the security and intelligence worlds. Julian uses a wide variety of stories from this journey to illustrate how spy skills can be adapted to situations and challenges that we all face.
Everyone is capable of thinking like a spy and of using that thinking to transform their lives. This is your opportunity to learn how.
Discover the secret skills of influence and persuasion taught to intelligence officers and how to adapt them to win over personal and professional allies to your cause.
Every day, intelligence officers achieve the unimaginable. They persuade people to share classified secrets with them. To become traitors, in fact. And their targets do it willingly, despite the risk of imprisonment, torture and, even, execution. Spies achieve this thanks to their structured use of nine secret skills of espionage. In Think Like a Spy, you'll learn these techniques and how to adapt them for effective and ethical use in your own life.
A good spy is a people-person. She knows how to identify a potential agent, how to attract their attention and what to do to build an enduring relationship with them. From this base, she will coax out personal information to work out what makes her target tick. She will use that knowledge and her understanding of human psychology to her advantage while winning lasting commitment from her new ally.
All these skills can be mastered and turned to use in civilian life. The author realised that he used all of them in his own progress from the poorest postcode in Britain to Oxford University, into a blue-blooded stockbroking firm, and on to a thrilling and varied career in the security and intelligence worlds. Julian uses a wide variety of stories from this journey to illustrate how spy skills can be adapted to situations and challenges that we all face.
Everyone is capable of thinking like a spy and of using that thinking to transform their lives. This is your opportunity to learn how.
346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2024
40 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 11, 2024
I picked this book off the bookshelf more out of intrigue than passion for the subject. An easy read, written by an author who grew up in the poorest neighbourhood in the UK. He overcame substantial obstacles to graduate from Oxford, and establish a renowned agency focusing on intelligence work in Africa.
The premise of the book is how can everyday people learn from the techniques spies use to forge authentic alliances. The author answers this question by detailing the methods used to convince people to betray their countries. The chapters are relatable , and generally follow the structure of a theoretical outline, a personal story about applying the influencing techniques on a mission, and historical references such as the KGB’s alliance with Robert Hanssen.
Whilst the book is entertaining, and it is interesting to read stories about surveillance involving presidents of third world countries, I don’t think there is anything eye opening here. For practical tips, the book heavily relies on existing research by Robert Cialdini on the art of persuasion for example. From a readers perspective it is clear the author is wary of giving away any sensitive information, at times can state the obvious, and consistently maintains a high level. It is maybe worth reading but I would not be bumping it up my wish list.
The premise of the book is how can everyday people learn from the techniques spies use to forge authentic alliances. The author answers this question by detailing the methods used to convince people to betray their countries. The chapters are relatable , and generally follow the structure of a theoretical outline, a personal story about applying the influencing techniques on a mission, and historical references such as the KGB’s alliance with Robert Hanssen.
Whilst the book is entertaining, and it is interesting to read stories about surveillance involving presidents of third world countries, I don’t think there is anything eye opening here. For practical tips, the book heavily relies on existing research by Robert Cialdini on the art of persuasion for example. From a readers perspective it is clear the author is wary of giving away any sensitive information, at times can state the obvious, and consistently maintains a high level. It is maybe worth reading but I would not be bumping it up my wish list.
February 28, 2025
3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
An okay read about the basics of spy craft and how to build alliances. It’s okay but not brilliant and the concepts are there but not memorable. It’ll be an okay read but not earthshaking.
An okay read about the basics of spy craft and how to build alliances. It’s okay but not brilliant and the concepts are there but not memorable. It’ll be an okay read but not earthshaking.
June 28, 2024
I enjoyed listening to Julian reading his book about Spycraft and applicability to real life. Very entertaining and insightful.
January 19, 2025
Some really great stand alone anecdotes and lasting take aways. But hard to get into a flow with reading this one!
July 1, 2025
Strange book. Firstly it doesn't exactly match the title; it also includes some memoir of his time as a spy in Africa. However, I found that the most interesting bits. It also has good advice for networking. There are more interesting books on the title subject.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews