Wild Card
ROBERT DAVID STEELE, WILD CARD PROVOCATEUR FOR ANY AUDIENCE
"Robert," or more formally in Latino culture, Robert David STEELE Vivas, is described by Bruce Sterling inHacker Crackdown: Law and Order on the Electronic Frontier as “about 100 times as smart and 10,000 times as dangerous as the best of the hackers, for he is successfully hacking the most challenging of bureaucracies…for the right reasons.”
Alvin Toffler, whose research focuses on the state and future of intelligence, knowledge, and research, says in War & Anti-War: Survival at the Dawn of the 21st Century “Few have thought as deeply or imaginatively about such questions as a super-smart [now fifty-seven]-year old former Marine and intelligence officer named Robert D. Steele…“
Robert is a Wild Card, plain and simple, which is why we created a new category for him alone.
A recovering spy, an honorary hacker, the #1 Amazon reviewer for non-fiction, a “serial pioneer” who single-handedly inspired 90 governments to adopt Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) that can be shared in lieu of secret intelligence that is risky, expensive, and limited, he is a prolific author and a combination of strategic, analyst, reformer, and provocateur that will inspire any audience in any sector toward achievement of Organizational Intelligence, Conscious Evolution, and Self-Awareness.
A listed star in a Hollywood documentary on CIA, drugs, and the Los Angeles Crack Explosion, he has been a keynote speaker at Hackers on Planet Earth, the Amazon Developers Conference, Gnomedex, L-3 Communications, the Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security, among many others. He is a leader of the global movement to connect bottom-up citizen wisdom with all information in all languages all the time, so as to create the World Brain and an EarthGame™ in which everyone plays themselves to eliminate fraud, waste, and all forms of corruption, so as to create a prosperous world at peace.
Founding CEO of Open Source Solutions Network, of Earth Intelligence Network, a 501c3 Public Charity, and founder of Phi Beta Iota, an open honour society for public intelligence, and the Journal of Public Intelligence, he is the “intelligence minuteman” who has defined and informed the eight tribes of intelligence: Academia, Civil Society, Commerce, Government, Law Enforcement, Media, Military, and Non-Governmental.
He has been published in CounterPunch, Forbes ASAP, TIME Magazine, Wired Magazine, and a variety of professional publications, and is generally the most prolific, persistent, and panoramic of the scholar-practitioners in the field of intelligence (decision-support).
Among the first to be assigned the terrorist target full-time, in the 1980's, as a clandestine case officer (spy) he has done it all from the classic recruitment of traitors to surreptitious entries to covert action operations including regime change planning. He broke away from the spy world when offered a chance to create what was then the Nation's newest national intelligence production capability, the Marine Corps Intelligence Center (today a Command), and what he learned there inspired a 20 year odyssey and walk-about that has improved the lives of over 25,000 professionals, all of whom have learned how to use Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) in order to convert information into intelligence and intelligence into profit.
Among the first to recognize and embrace hackers as a national resource rather than a threat, he is an honorary hacker in Europe (Hac-Tic, Chaos Computer Club), in New York City (Hackers on Planet Earth), and in Silicon Valley (the Hackers Conference started by Stewart Brand and managed today by Glenn Tenney). He has given invited rants to Paul Allen's INTERVAL Corporation, held over 1000 hackers spell-bound for up to four hours with his "SPY IMPROV: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Did Not Know Who to Ask," and informed members of the American Committee on Foreign Relations all over the countries (19 stops) about "9/11, the Real-World, and the Future of Intelligence."
For 20 years he created and managed the only international conference bringing together spies, academics, commercial intelligence, military and law enforcement intelligence, and subject-matter experts covering the ten high-level threats to humanity as well as the twelve core policy areas that every community must manage if it is to be prosperous and secure. In the course of this 20 year walk-about he has peered into every corner of the real-world and seen reality as it really is, not as the politicians, advertising, world-wide wrestling, and pundit managers would have you mis-perceive it.
Paraphrasing Trotsky on war,
he likes to say
“You may not be interested
in reality,
But reality is assuredly
interested
in you.”
He reads in close to 100 distinct categories of non-fiction. As the #1 Amazon reviewer for non-fiction, an odd distinction for which he gives all credit to Dick Cheney ("people started appreciating my reviews after Dick Cheney hijacked the White House and took us to war with lies"), he regards himself as intelligence officer to the public, and in that capacity is constantly seeking audiences who want to get back in touch with reality, understand what he calls "the paradigms of failure," and restore both the moral spirit of America, and its entrepreneurial energy.
Robert is available as a lecturer, educator, trainer, or coach, with his fees determined by a combination of location (surcharges apply beyond the East Coast) and time desired from a 90 minute lecture with questions to a half day seminar to a full day training session or a two-day leadership retreat. As a new speaker, we are offering a sharp discount to encourage our client base to both invite him, and give us feedback we can use in promoting him.
Topics:Public Intelligence: Use It or Lose It
Beyond Illusions, Restoring the Republic
9/11, the Real World, and the Future of America
SPY IMPROV: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Did Not Know Who to Ask
WILD CARDS: The Future and What You Can Do / Video Samples:
Steele on Open Source Intelligence
Hollywood: The Last White Hope
Amazon: Creating the World Brain
Gnomedex: Open Everything
Steele at Hackers on Planet Earth
SPY IMPROV (Audio Clips)
Robert’s Books:
What Others Say About His Past Work
Robert Steele is unusual for an American…he is clearly internationalist in his orientation. He has written a book that can bring us together in facing our greatest enemies: ignorance, poverty, and mistrust. Rear Admiral Hamit Gulemre Aybars, Turkish Navy (Retired)
Robert Steele’s vision for the future of intelligence is clearly “internationalist” in nature. It focuses on regional partnerships…and on the value of open source intelligence collection. Rear Admiral Dr. Sigurd Hess, DE N(Ret), Former Chief of Staff, Allied Command Baltic Approaches
Constantly committed to truth and honesty, [his work] demonstrates his ability to grasp the real issues and to take into account the views and concerns of men of good will from all nations and all cultures. Admiral Pierre Lacoste, French Navy (Ret), Former Director of Foreign Intelligence (DSGE)
Robert Steele goes well beyond the original visions of the best of the Directors of Central Intelligence, and has crafted a brilliant, sensible, and honorable future for the intelligence profession. Major General Oleg Kalugin, KGB (Ret), former Elected Deputy to the Russian Parliament
Over a broad canvas reflecting the changing nature of information and information technologies, Robert Steele lays the foundation for the future of e-intelligence. Commodore Patrick Tyrrell, OBE, Royal Navy, United Kingdom
Steele consistently has been well ahead of the pack in his appreciation for everything from open source research to the implications of technology…his work thrills with its insights and ideas. Ralph Peters, Fighting for the Future: Will America Triumph?
Steele’s concept is simple: Empower the citizen and private sector to gather and analyze intelligence so that we can make informed decisions [using] Open Source Intelligence gathering [that] is faster, smarter, cheaper… Robert Young Pelton, author, World’s Most Dangerous Places, producer, Come Back Alive
Robert Steele deserves our admiration and our focused attention for bringing the idea of open source information to the fore. His passion to serve the nation by developing this new approach...is exemplary. Lieutenant General Patrick Hughes, U.S. Army (Retired), Former Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
Robert Steele storms into the core of intelligence issues without fear. The scope of his work is impressive and whether you agree with him or not, you cannot ignore what he says. The Honorable Richard Kerr, Former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
Learn More About Robert
Formal Resume Public Intelligence Blog
Earth Intelligence NetworkOpen Source Solutions Network
To Inquire About or Schedule Robert’s Services:
Mike Taubleb, Chief Matchmaker, Promenade Speakers Bureau, LLC
Office: 718-789-1136
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