We were having a discussion about reforming the military acquisition system around the watercooler today, and the subject came up: what kind of lens should we use to look at the problem? Engineering? Political? Scientific? Metaphorical? As we circled around the politics of reform I observed: “…If acquisition is a political process (and it should […]
Category: Creativity
Time management: benefitting from the commute
a good friend asked for some advice on how to best use her 30 minutes of mass transit commute time: reading vs meditating vs podcasting etc. I recommend podcasting and/or audio books, because they come in bite size chunks, and there are plenty of them avail for free at the library (i have a ton […]
Hearing the voiceless
a friend of mine is starting a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project inquiring into an entreprenurial curriculum that has both enabled and disabled students in her classroom. From an email, she said: I met with the students who are disabled, and we had a discussion on their feelings toward working with their counterparts who are […]
Reflecting on unbridled competition: a relic from the Pleistocene?
One of my fellow students posed the following question to me after reviewing some comments I made in the chapter we are co-editting re: socialism and unbridled competition: Ken, Your argument on unbridled competition looks solid, but some may disagree that it is THE cause for disharmony and mutual survival. I not sure if you […]
Transformational Leadership through Action Research
I have been convening groups of faculty and students to consider the future of our professional education in our college, and relating it to the larger issue of learning organizations and sustainability in the world. As part of this I have been considering the TRADOC white papers on Commander’s Appreciation and Campaign Design (CACD) and […]
Asking good questions vs :”knowing where you want to go” in participatory action research (PAR)
In the very beginning of a PAR (participatory action research) project, I would draw a distinction between asking good questions and “knowing where you want to go”. Going into the PAR with a preconceived notion of a certain outcome or of a preferred method of proceeding, particularly as a researcher, can lead to advocacy. It may […]
Challenges for education in the network age
I am taking a close look at a school of thought on modern network-based education called “Connectivism”. It aligns very closely to my primitive and naive thoughts as expressed in this short video i made in 2005 as i was making my first efforts in moving my department from an Industrial Age curriculum and paradigm […]
Trading Lesson transcript: the importance of self talk
Trading Lesson: 12/30/2008 Summary: a review of some 5DD and 5DDC setups, and an inquiry into self talk ========================================================== The Trader: COP has a nice chart today. Had my eye on it after you put it on your list of 5DD. Got distracted after it went down a 6th day. Should have watched it […]
Profitable ETF Trading Strategies: Sector Contrarian
There is a new conventional wisdom beginning to emerge from the stock market these days and it says that there’s no way you can make money in a bear market unless you have the good fortune to be an expert market timer and bet against the recovery of the broad market. While it is true […]
Wired magazine on: networks and the future of warfare
In a thoughtful article about technology and modern warfare, Wired magazine traces the birth of network warfare, its promise and its reality, which from their perspective was a near failure in OIF/OEF in the nation building phase because of technology’s inability to engage thesocial networks that are crucial to stability operations. The article contributes to the […]