Today being April 30th it’s a particularly good day to tell you about Operation Mincemeat. Here’s a debrief I read about it a few weeks ago:
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Early on the morning of April 30, 1943, a floating body was discovered off the southern coast of Spain. Retrieved by a fisherman, it was brought to the city of Huelva and identified as Captain William Martin, of the British Royal Marines. A briefcase chained to the corpse contained documents indicating that the Allies planned to advance on Greece and Sardinia — intel that the Nazi-sympathizing Spanish authorities passed on to the Germans.
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The Germans decided to act on the intel, and shifted their troops to Greece and Sardinia. But the allies attacked neither Greece nor Sardinia.
Instead, the Allies attacked and easily took unguarded Sicily, which was their plan all along. The taking of Sicily in turn opened the door to mainland Italy… which led to the overthrow of Mussolini… which fractured the Axis… which shifted the balance of World War II.
As you might have guessed, Operation Mincemeat was a fakeout all along.
The corpse of “Captain William Morris” was really that of Glyndwr Michael, a London tramp who had died some days earlier by eating rat poison.
Michael’s corpse was transported by submarine to the waters off southern Spain, dressed up in a Royal Marines uniform, and left to float. The documents in the briefcase chained to the corpse were all forged by British military intelligence to make the Germans think they had stumbled onto something real.
I’m sharing this with you because 1) it’s curious and was new to me, so maybe it’s new to you too, and 2) because it’s applicable in your business as well, even if you don’t have a corpse at hand and even if you’re not engaged in a historic struggle with the Nazis.
In fact, this story ties in great to a lead magnet I have devised to go with my new 10 Commandments book, which is an extra, apocryphal 11th Commandment I’ll be giving new readers who sign up to my list. (If you’re an existing reader, you’ll be able to get it too.)
Some of the early reviewers of my book have gotten back to me. I’m eagerly integrating their feedback into the final draft of the book. I’m both excited and relieved to hear that, in spite of niggles here and there, the overall impression of the book has been very positive so far.
And so, it looks like, after a years-long and grueling struggle with this book, the balance has shifted. May 2025 will finally see the publication of this new book, full title:
10 Commandments of Con Men, Pickup Artists, Magicians, Door-to-Door Salesmen, Hypnotists, Copywriters, Professional Negotiators, Political Propagandists, Stand Up Comedians, and Oscar-Winning Screenwriters
Speaking of, I have an offer to make you, or maybe a favor to ask.
Do you have an audience of your own? A newsletter, an online community, a local book club or bingo group?
What I want is for you to promote my book when it comes out. Of course, that means nothing to you and does nothing for you. I don’t know what I can offer you to make it worth your while to promote my book when it comes out, but I am open to all kinds of ideas, from straightforward to outlandish.
If you are open to it as well, at least in theory, hit reply. Let’s talk, and maybe we can figure something out that works for both of us.