Analyst Talk - Before You Leap - High Confidence. Wrong Answer.

Episode: 00311 Released on March 23, 2026 Description: In this 12th installment of the Before You Leap deep dive series, Randy Stickley joins Jason Elder to break down one of the most critical challenges in intelligence work: the confidence–accuracy gap. Why do analysts sometimes express high confidence in incorrect assessments or low confidence in correct ones? Randy explores the underlying causes, including epistemic limits, time pressure, bias, and the illusion of precision. He also discusses the real-world consequences, from intelligence failures to missed warning signs, and offers practical solutions to improve analytical rigor. This episode is a must-listen for analysts looking to sharpen their critical thinking, improve communication, and produce more reliable intelligence products. 🎧 Listen, share, and keep talking! [Note:  Description produced by ChatGPT.]
Get to know more about Randy by listening to his episodes on Analyst Talk With Jason Elder: https://www.leapodcasts.com/e/atwje-randy-stickley-the-self-promoter/
https://www.leapodcasts.com/?s=BeforeYouLeap 

Name Drops:
Public Service Announcements:
Dr. Andrew Wheeler on his new book:  Large Language Models for Mortals
https://crimede-coder.com/cdcstore/product/large-language-models-for-mortals/
Promo code: LEAPLLM to get $20 off the book purchase
Dr. Eliann Carr on the Crime Analyst Census Survey
Link to survey:  https://form.jotform.com/251745683433058
Related Links: 
Rethinking Thought https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ82G1PL/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk
https://www.amazon.com/Intelligence-Secrets-Mark-M-Lowenthal/dp/1544325061
Richards Heuer – Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
https://www.ialeia.org/docs/Psychology_of_Intelligence_Analysis.pdf
Mark Lowenthal – Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy
https://study.sagepub.com/system/files/lowenthal6e_im.pdf
Sherman Kent – Words of Estimative Probability
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words_of_estimative_probability
Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_of_competing_hypotheses
CIA – A Tradecraft Primer: Structured Analytic Techniques
https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Tradecraft-Primer-apr09.pdf
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Contact: randall.c.stickleyii@gmail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/randall-stickley-36b0a5109/  

Transcript:  No transcripts due to technical issue 

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