Don't forget multiple builds for dramatic effect leading to a decision!
I once had a young author tell me --after I had taken his PPT show and turned it into a coherent article--that "power point" was "his canvas" and that he could not "work" in mere Word.
Personally I believe CPOF and Google Earth have had similar effects on planning, assessments, and situational understanding but hey, I am a dinosaur. I still think one should be able to read a map and use a compass.
Tom
That reminds me of the GPS Nav system our family bought about six months ago. I've noticed it made me lazy and dumb about how to get to different places since I didn't have to think about it, just follow along like a lemming (kind of like how my cell phone has made me lazy about remembering phone numbers). Now I only use the GPS on road trips to estimate time-of-arrival and to find specific stores/restaurants in unfamiliar terrain.Originally Posted by Tom Odom
Don't forget multiple builds for dramatic effect leading to a decision!
I once had a young author tell me --after I had taken his PPT show and turned it into a coherent article--that "power point" was "his canvas" and that he could not "work" in mere Word.
Personally I believe CPOF and Google Earth have had similar effects on planning, assessments, and situational understanding but hey, I am a dinosaur. I still think one should be able to read a map and use a compass.
Tom
It's all been said but not everybody's said it
In the spirit of not repeating what has all been said, the one hammer statement is on point. However, I am seeing the other Office tools be used in similar fashion. Access Databases and Excel files are being created because we have failed to keep systems up with the enemies pace. Excel is being used for funding because we don't know how to make work compute formulas. Microsoft designed each tool for a purpose, and the DoD has taken each and whored it to the maximum extent possible.
The most important thing we could do is demonstrate to commanders how Office could work effectively, and then enforce it. Imagine - read aheads in Word, briefings in PowerPoint, and computations in Excel - Incredible.
Last edited by Jason Port; 07-13-2009 at 03:32 PM. Reason: typo in subject
"New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become."
- Kurt Vonnegut
No kidding! Down at the ROTC level I've seen our staff meeting explode from a 2 page agenda under a previous commander (and that was for a meeting held roughly every 2-3 weeks) to a 37(!) slide "presentation" for a WEEKLY meeting. Of those 37 slides, at least half are repeats of information presented on another slide (often the one right before). We're at the point now where we have almost one slide for each cadet in the program (.74 slides for each cadet). Some weeks more time gets spent updating those slides than is spent planning or executing programs for the cadets....
What we've seen is a tool morphing into a process. Ppt no longer supports decisions in some cases, it BECOMES the decision as folks opt for the flashier presentation over actual content and substance. Then it turns into a game of who can cram the most bells and whistles into a ppt slide as opposed to using the slide to support actual discussion and comment. God forbid anyone actually thinks when the lights go down and the slides flash on the screen....
Last edited by Steve Blair; 07-13-2009 at 02:42 PM. Reason: added stuff...
"On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
Another dangerous side effect of PowerPoint - not only are decisions being made from slides, units are sometimes expected to execute tasks from slides instead of receiving actual orders. I've seen this at the higher echelon staff level, and unfortunately participated in it myself.
Yes!
I have seen METLs done in Excel
A sure indicator that the METL process has overtaken the reality of what it's supposed to do. GEN Chiarelli's article told folks but my suspicion is that Excel will continue to be used.
That's just wrong. No unit needs that much specificity...
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