
Nowadays, a PO must be constantly informed about the market trends, consumer behavior, and other similar products on the market. A general should have a strong intelligence force in order to obtain information about these aspects. The goal of the war is to obtain a quick victory, and in order to do that, the general should constantly be informed of and adjust his strategy based on enemy strength, position, and maneuvers. In Sun Tzu’s Art of War, 13th Chapter (Employment of Secret Agents) is dedicated to secret agents and knowledgeabout the enemy army and moves. In this article I will try to expand the list of similarities between these roles and present the way that Sun Tzu treated the importance of information for the general and how this applies to the PO role nowadays. ArgumentĪs described in the previous article ( Ancient advices for a Product Owner – TSM Issue 29), the PO and the General from Sun Tzu’s Art of War are very similar in regard to their responsibilities and characteristics. No slip-ups.This article is the second related to Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and adds more arguments to my personal belief that the 2500 year military treatise is a guidebook for the nowadays role of Product Owner. If you called in a bomb threat when you were a senior in high school as a prank, but never got caught, expect something from your past to be brought up in the meeting. We're talking about the CIA, here, so it's likely that they'll be able to do some deep research.Any psychological issues, legal issues, or interpersonal quirks can keep you from getting the job. A polygraph test will be administered to check the accuracy of your claims, and a drug screen will also probably be a part of any application, so you'll also need to stay away from illegal substances and be sober. To give yourself the best possibility of being accepted, stay out of trouble.There will likely be several hundred applicants for any given job opening, so this is especially critical if you want to succeed.

If you have any felony arrests, or even misdemeanors, your application will likely be flagged and discarded before you even have an opportunity to prove yourself as a reliable agent. To work as a secret agency, you need to have an exceedingly clean record. If you hope to embed as an undercover agent in the future, this can be an excellent stepping stone. Competitive intern programs are available for students studying foreign policy or law enforcement, and the agency tends to hire from this pool of applicants in the long run.

Liars will avoid contractions, re-start sentences, and often repeat the question verbatim as a way of stalling and coming up with a suitable answer.People telling the truth will "spread out" more. Liars tend to fold up, keeping their limbs in and their body away from others, symbolizing discomfort. Learning to detect lies can help make you a better liar as well. Likewise, if you're the one finding the suspicious behavior, you've got to be able to find the lie quickly and efficiently. If a secret agent gets caught by security guards at midnight hiding in the records room with a flashlight, he must come up with an excuse or an escape in the blink of an eye and make that lie believable. Learn to detect lies and learn to tell lies.
