Living Life in the Overlaps

A Venn diagram to explain what I do at work.

I live in the overlap of:

INFORMATION.This is the reception, observation, sensing, or sharing of feedback or other information inputs. It relies on awareness, alerts, & being open to receive data — but also the ability to push this information forward. (Real-Time Crime Centers, anyone?)

INTELLIGENCE. Intelligence is both a process & a by-product of a process. Through aggregation, it uncovers patterns & trends, as well as predictions & anticipations. By sharing these insights, groups & teams gain a shared & underlying awareness, sense-making, orientation, biases, or mental models.

INVESTIGATIONS. Investigations is the process of solving mysteries. It uses clues to develop multiple, conflicting theories. And uses critical thinking to find evidence, facts, observations, & data to disprove hypotheses.

INTERDICTION. Interdiction is the action in the field or arena. It’s driven by intentions, purpose, desires, or interventions. It can be both reactive & proactive. It’s often driven by strategy, method, or procedure — & often changes the landscape.

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(I actually hadn’t used the letter “i” on purpose. It just sorta happened.)

This depiction shows the overlaps of four (4) somewhat distinct yet inextricably related areas where I continually find myself. It’s the generalist in me that appreciates these connections & links.

I need a few more beers to expand upon the 2-3x layer overlap (as opposed to the 4x layer overlap) — to describe what those shortcomings or specializations looks like in real life when we lack one (1) or more of the layers.

I’ve also realized that, through a quick reordering, I’ve described Boyd’s OODA. That wasn’t intentional, but rather serendipitous.

I’m not confident this depiction, separation, & categorization will outlast any comments or replies here. I surely hope it doesn’t survive the next few months. But for now, it makes sense to me.

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Lou Hayes, Jr. is a detective supervisor in a suburban Chicago police department. He's focused on multi-jurisdictional crime patterns & intelligence, through organic working groups compromised of investigators & analysts from a variety of agencies. With a passion for training, he studies human performance, decision-making, creativity, emotional intelligence, & adaptability. In 2021, he went back to college (remotely!), in hopes to finally finish his undergrad degree from the University of Illinois - Gies College of Business. Follow Lou on LinkedIn, & also the LinkedIn page for The Illinois Model.