Design, Mission Command and the Network: Enabling Organizational Adaptation (Land Warfare Paper No. 97, August 2013)

Transcription

1 Design, Mission Command and the Network: Enabling Organizational Adaptation (Land Warfare Paper No. 97, August 2013) By Todd A. Schmidt, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Agenda Introduction The Evolution of Ideas The 1990s as a Case Study & Lessons Learned Recommendations for the Future DISCLAIMER: This paper represents the opinions of the author and should not be taken to represent the views of his boss, his wife, his parents, his siblings, his friends, his Commanding General, Fort Sill, the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense or any other governmental agency, the United States Government, the Institute of Land Warfare or the Association of the United States Army or its members, the United Nations or any foreign governments, foreign agencies, foreign corporations, foreign individuals, or any other-worldly / extra-terrestrial entity.

2 1. Greater speed, quantity, and reach of human interaction and increased access to military capabilities make the operational environment more unpredictable and complex, driving the likelihood and consequence of disorder 2. Future information technology will greatly increase the volume, accuracy and speed of battlefield information available to commanders. 3. The pace of development is so great that it renders current material management and acquisition systems inadequate. 4. Future enemies of the U.S. will take advantage of the information environment and emerging technological capabilities to avoid what they perceive as U.S. military strengths. 5. The rapid diffusion of information, enabled by these technological advances, challenges the relevance of traditional organizational and management principles. 6. The increasing speed at which the effects of conflict appear in the operational environment will continue to challenge commanders. Technological innovations will increase the reach of an adversary, and cultural shifts will further complicate interactions between people and societies.

3 Ideas behind Army Design to understand and define the functions and processes of systems that have goals and that participate in circular, causal chains that move from action to sensing to comparison with desired goal, and again to action. "cybernetics has relatively little to do with computer-aided, internet-mediated machinery and institutions. It has everything to do with thought-aided, purpose-directed, history-illuminated, feedback-dependent, and future-affirming governance.

4 Understanding Mission Command (2013) Understanding Mission Command (1806) Auftragstaktik (Fuhren mit Auftrag) vs Normaltaktiker (Befehlstaktik) Focusing on accomplishing the mission vs Focusing on executing set orders

5 Understanding The Network Network: Telecommunications links that allow computers to exchange data either via cable or wirelessly. Two devices are said to be networked when a device is able to exchange information with another device. Intranet: A set of networks under the control of a single entity. Extranet: A network under the control of an entity, but supports a connection to a specific external network. Internet: The global system of interconnected (government, academic, corporate, public, and private) Cyberspace: The online world of computer networks and especially the Internet (Webster) or a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding. Exploiting The Network - Human/Social, Business, Communications, Financial, Property/Assets, Transportation/Logistics

6 The 1990s as a Case Study Déjà Vu - Budget Cuts, Restructuring, New Doctrine The Implications of Investments - Technology vs Human Capital Army War College Study - Dr. James Pierce, 2010 GEN Schoomaker s intellectual transformation initiatives Avoiding Pitfalls from the Past Developing an Adaptive Organization requires Developing Adaptive Leaders

7 Recommendations for the Future Building the Bench of Strategic Leadership Changing Organization vs Changing Culture Predicting vs Preparing for the Future QUESTIONS???