Who will you trust at the moment of choice?
If you don't want to ruin your life
Think like an FBI behavioral analyst!

If we could predict people, choosing would be easy.

At every moment of our lives, we are faced with a choice: to trust or to doubt, to accept or to reject, to leave or to remain, to love or to fear.
If these choices accumulate to shape our lives, then the most important thing at the moment of choice is predicting the outcome of the situation. The author, who was the director of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Center, created a manual on "people-reading techniques" while engaged in counterintelligence activities to save the nation from crisis.

There is probably nothing more serious in life than not being able to read people's minds and predict their actions.
Because so many people hide their intentions and conceal the truth for far more sinister purposes: greed, psychological manipulation, power, control, deception, and so on.
If we have to start something important with someone and they are unpredictable, we may feel unsure about what to do and even fear it.


This book presents six manuals for predicting people, developed by FBI behavioral analysts through decades of extensive field experience and research.
By mastering this manual, you too can identify fraudsters and resist those who manipulate your mind, just like agents from the world's largest and most advanced investigative agency.
Because you can read their inner thoughts from their actions.
Whether in relationships with friends, colleagues, lovers, bosses, or business associates, you'll learn how to predict whether others will be your allies or enemies, how they will behave in critical situations, and why they will behave that way.

Faced with this chaotic situation, it suddenly occurred to me that I couldn't predict what my fellow investigators, whom I thought I knew well, would do.
It was impossible to predict whether he would try to run away, run to help people, or go home to his family instead of dealing with the situation on the spot.
There is no right or wrong in any action, but it is very important to get to know the people I work with.
Still, I couldn't figure them out.

I thought I knew them well, but I realized that I had only known them through the lens of who they presented themselves to me.
Whether it's because they're humble, secretive, embarrassed, or just want to keep their lives private.
I was largely unaware of the many virtues my colleagues possessed, including the courage John and Lenny displayed.

In the midst of the chaos that had suddenly changed from before, there was nothing that could be predicted.
With the third World Trade Center building still intact after being hit, I headed toward a tower that appeared to be undamaged.
A few investigators followed me out and I spoke to them.
“Pair up! It’s better than dying alone.” One of the investigators fell back and quietly slipped away.
--- 「1.
From "Winning in an Unpredictable World"

The challenges of survival and success, once relatively easy to achieve in America, are no longer simple.
This is because the era of global economics has brought about an era of unprecedented uncertainty.
In an age where the entire world becomes a stage for hyper-competition, we find ourselves competing with people we have rarely met or visited.
So, seeking the comfort of control and predictability is like trying to catch a rainbow that has no clear form and is far away.

This uncertainty will continue to permeate our lives, only in different specific forms.
This is our reality, and like reality itself, uncertainty is neither good nor bad.
It's just reality.

Only the wealthiest 1 percent can escape this reality, but the rest of us, the so-called real world, must form "allies" and adapt as best we can to the realities of human existence in the real world.
Some of the truths of the real world are not easy to accept.
--- From "2. Think Like an FBI Behavioral Analyst"

“Sounds like an important story!” He tried to avoid giving the impression that he was looking for something confidential, but he seemed impressed that I was handling such an important task, even though I was relatively new to the FBI (Positive Clue 8).
(Omitted) He said this.
“I can’t help you much with what you want.
But if you're curious about what I think about terrorism…?”

“I’m curious.” “There’s someone in my home country who owes me a debt of gratitude.
“I can tell you some things that might be helpful to you, and that might be helpful to our country and to me as well.” (Positive Clue 5) He continued.
“If a partnership is formed, I will continue to be involved.
The risk it poses is my problem, not yours.
“Of course, if your work is successful, it will be of great benefit to me as well.” (Positive Cue 4) Then he dropped a surprising gift on my lap.
It is still confidential.
But at least it does reveal that he has connections to terrorists who have infiltrated various rebel militias in his native Russia and other republics that are rebelling against Russia.
--- 「3.
First Signal: From the Alliance

No matter how much you trust him, there are countless areas where relying on him would be not only impossible, but also insane.
Would you trust a pilot performing brain surgery or a surgeon flying a plane? This suggests that there are more areas where people are untrustworthy than areas where they can be trusted.

So, you have to be realistic.
Each person has areas in which they are good and areas in which they are not good.
And we must not overlook that both competence and sincerity are necessary to do anything well.
We may wish to trust and rely on someone who is capable but insincere, or someone who is sincere but incompetent, but realistically, this is impossible. (Omitted)

Integrity is often far more important than ability.
If you are a conscientious person, you can assign them task B even if they are not good at task A.
Even if you are not proficient in a particular task, you can eventually become fully competent by being diligent in filling in your shortcomings.
It is more common for a conscientious person to overcome a lack of competence than for a competent person to overcome a lack of integrity.

--- 「5.
Third signal: From "Trustworthiness"