EI-201b · Module 3

Human Source Relationships

3 min read

Human sources are the most valuable and most fragile layer of your source network. A peer who mentions a vendor's internal restructuring at a conference dinner provides intelligence that no automated monitor will ever capture. But human source relationships require investment: you must provide value, not just extract it. The VANGUARD approach treats every human source relationship as a two-way exchange. You share ecosystem intelligence that is valuable to them. They share observations that are valuable to you. The exchange must be genuinely reciprocal — not just perceived as reciprocal.

Do This

  • Share your non-proprietary intelligence freely — your Thursday briefing, sanitized of client-specific details, is valuable to peers
  • Invest in relationships before you need them — the source you cultivate this quarter provides intelligence next quarter
  • Maintain 5-10 active human source relationships across different ecosystem segments — breadth prevents blind spots
  • Document insights from human sources immediately — memory degrades rapidly and the context matters

Avoid This

  • Treat human sources as one-way information extraction — they will stop sharing once they realize the exchange is not reciprocal
  • Wait until you need a source to start building the relationship — trust takes months, not minutes
  • Rely on a single human source for an entire ecosystem segment — people change roles, leave organizations, and lose access

Human source ethics matter. Everything discussed in this course is about publicly available information and willing professional exchanges. Never solicit confidential information. Never misrepresent your purpose. Never share intelligence attributed to a human source without their permission. The intelligence community's ethical standards apply: the source chooses what to share, and you protect their identity in your reporting unless they explicitly authorize attribution.