Paul,

I'm not laying our problems entirely at the Centre by any means; as you say, there is ownership everywhere. I think the problem runs deeper and wider, insofar as heresy held anywhere against shibboleths like DSG05, FRES, FIS, FAS etc is met with isolation, and the path to advancement is to deliver savings. We have a frightened chain of command who in the absence of a national strategy err toward caution or familiar pain. Genuinely creative thought is not encouraged, and the culture of the Yes Man thrives.
Of course its not everybody. But there are enough damaged goods in sufficiently senior positions to prevent the confident functional approach to problem solving that we need in todays world.
When was the last time you ever saw a C2 Estimate conducted before an operation was launched from PJHQ?