Quote Originally Posted by flagg View Post
I’m afraid you are correct.

I’ve been writing on this specific topic for about 6 months:

https://www.cove.org.au/trenchline/a...v-twin-effect/
https://www.cove.org.au/author/chriselles/

I’m a big fan of Steve Blank(who has written blog post articles here):
https://steveblank.com/category/hacking-for-defense/

He has worked closely with Pete Newell(Rapid Equipping Force) and Joe Felter(now Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia) to develop the Hacking4Defense program(I had the chance to go thru their H4D Educators Course).

I’m also a fan of Stan McChrystal’s and Chris Fussell’s books Team of Teams and One Mission.

I think the(or “a”) answer may be found in a mashup of the two.

An innovation platform and pipeline along the lines of H4D built on top of a hybrid organisational network that values and balances not just hierarchical power but referent/reputational influence.

I believe we need to develop a high level of deployment focused innovation capacity and capability organic to the defence force.

I’m just a Reserve NCO, but I’m trying to take a stab at something I call Innovation Art(publishing next week) to describe how and where innovation integrates with Operational Art and informs Strategy.

I even reference Clausewitz. Not his trinity, but friction.

Continuous decisive advantage can be found in continuous cumulative innovation.
Flagg,

Thanks for sharing those links, both sites look interesting. To clarify my intent, I only mentioned Clausewitz to challenge the prevailing view on the enduring nature of war. His concept of friction will most likely endure indefinitely; however, if the trinity is no longer in play, then the U.S. military definition on the enduring nature of war will need to be re-examined. I worked for a senior officer who said too many officers throw Clausewitz into their articles and papers, because they feel it gives them legitimacy. I agree, as long as we cling to a 19th Century description on the nature of war, our ability to adapt will be hindered.

As much as it frustrates me to point to a former Air Force officer as someone who gets it, and can explain the strategic environment in 21st terms, John Robb at Global Guerrillas is probably the best I have seen. He comes across as a bit flippant in his writing style, which is why he isn't taken seriously in some circles, but his concept of global guerrillas, global bazars, and open source war, etc. provide a framework for understanding that others do not provide.

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/

Look forward to seeing how you suggest we integrate innovation into operational art. Failure to do so will result in innovation for innovation's sake, versus solving real problems and then applying that innovation.