STRATFOR

1. New Email Guidance STRATFOR

2. STRATFORNew Email Guidance • Goals • alleviate the daily electronic waterboarding that is our lives – i.e. see an immediate and significant drop in the daily avalanche of emails • better value our time, by spending less time sorting and deleting and more time focusing on analytic discussion and interaction

3. STRATFORanalysts@stratfor.com analysts@stratfor.com is absolutely central to STRATFOR because it allows people to see a ton of information and to make connections that no one else would make. Our lack of compartmentalization is at the heart of what makes us unique. When in doubt, the imperative is to send information to more people rather than fewer.

4. STRATFORanalysts@stratfor.com • guiding principal: before using analysts@stratfor.com, ask yourself if every single analyst in the company needs to see the email. • If you are ever unsure, err on the side of inclusiveness – if not analysts@stratfor.com, at least keep the whipcrackers in the loop.

5. STRATFORanalysts@stratfor.com • no change: ‘for today’, ‘analyst updates’, budgets, analyses for comment and edit, guidance from on high*in Red Alert situations, all traffic will continue to go to analysts@stratfor.com as it has in the past. • change: discussions, morning discussions, taskings, conversations, etc.

6. STRATFORanalysts@stratfor.com • Discussions • Will now begin within and among the Regional/Thematic AOR email lists • the expectation will now be a more mature, carefully crafted and clearly articulated thought • Ideally, it will convey the consensus or pin-point the disagreement within the relevant AOR(s) • Be rigorously labeled with G/S/B and 1-4

7. STRATFORanalysts@stratfor.com • As appropriate, discussions will now use the following format: • Event/what happened • How we know it • Our analysis of it • What is under discussion • In short, the idea is to have the thought process within the AOR(s) as clearly articulated as possible, rather than having that process take place on the analysts@ list.

8. STRATFOR analysts@stratfor.com • Morning Discussions – these will now be sent by Peter and the whipcrackers directly to individuals or the appropriate regional and/or thematic AOR email list(s). Responding is not optional. But do take the time to flesh out the issue amongst your AOR or with other relevant AORs before formulating one coherent response. • Other taskings/coordinating emails should be directed to individuals and appropriate AOR email lists.

9. STRATFOR alerts@stratfor.com • guiding principal: high-level situational awareness • no change: G/S/B 1-4 emails will continue to flow through to this list, so all analysts have immediate access to developments that are being sitrepped on site. (Though level 4 material is generally appropriately limited to regional AORs). • change: * items, market updates and sweeps, OS digests

10. STRATFOR alerts@stratfor.com • * items (with rare exceptions) will now be sent directly from watch officers to the appropriate regional/thematic AOR email lists • Situational awareness emails like the market update will now be appearing under alerts@stratfor.com or sent only to the appropriate regional/thematic AOR email lists • OS digest will no longer be delivered

11. STRATFOR secure@stratfor.com • guiding principal: insightThe standard is to err on the side of exclusion and discretion when it comes to dissemination in order to protect the security of our sources. • Stick will continue to manage and maintain the guiding document for sending and disseminating insight.

12. STRATFOR Regional and Thematic AOR email • mesa@stratfor.com, eurasia@stratfor.com, eastasia@stratfor.com, africa@stratfor.com, latam@stratfor.com, ct@stratfor.com, military@stratfor.com • guiding principal: we will use these rely on these lists more heavily for intra and inter-AOR coordination and intellectual collaboration • change: OS *items, morning discussions, taskings, digests, visibility issue

13. STRATFOR Visibility Issue Necessarily reducing visibility, but requires a higher consciousness of who is involved in a conversation – and more specifically, who is not. • Any issue George expresses particular interest in, ensure that he is CCed on all traffic on the issue for the rest of the day. Be sure to CC him on any discussions for the next several days. • New email: whips@stratfor.com

14. STRATFOR whips@stratfor.com A new email list that will include Peter, Reva, Lauren and Karen as well as Maverick and Jenna. This will be a managerial list for coordination and administrative needs, and an easy address to CC on discussion or other issues on the regional and thematic AOR email lists that might be of significance or interest. Err on the side of including them.

15. STRATFOR Analysis Proposal Subj: Analysis Proposal – [AOR] – [Subj] Just as Peter and the whipcrackers assign pieces, it is completely appropriate for analysts to propose pieces. As distinct from discussions, the Analysis Proposal is a mature thought that is ready to be crafted into a piece. Instead of the discussion format for analysts@stratfor.com, this email should be formatted as a brief outline of the piece you are pitching, along with any argument you would like to make in its favor. Send to whips@stratfor.com.

16. STRATFOR New Email Guidance • Highlights: • Email traffic has become unsustainable, this is a first step in reshaping how we communicate as a company • Most of this is basic etiquette (though it is not optional) • Please do not hesitate to email me with thoughts, suggestions or issues as they come up. Recognizing and examining issues that arise will be essential to making sure we continue to evolve this guidance to best and most efficiently serve our needs.

17. Questions? STRATFOR New Email Guidance