Image via Wikipedia The Volunteer Army concept allows our citizens to offload the risk to certain economic classes and remove personal interest in the effects of foreign policy. Intuitively, I’d guess that those who rise to positions of policy making are least likely to have served in the military and lack a visceral connection to […]
Tag: Military
Military Acquisition: a political process?
Image via Wikipedia If acquisition is a political process (and it should be since the military is subordinate to the civilian, AND is in support of the values of the political system), then effectiveness is probably more important than efficiency. Effectiveness is may have to be defined as the “best” political compromise, ie one in […]
The simplicity of the Lewin change model
Image via Wikipedia I find that the Lewin three stage model briefs very well to organizational members who have been assigned to a change management project. It doesn’t take very much to communicate the essential ideas of his process. I wonder sometimes if it is too simple and assumes away too much complexity to be […]
Models of consulting vs organizational politics
Image via Wikipedia If you have had an opportunity to observe organizational politics and a number of different settings in your work experience, I’d be interested in knowing your thoughts: Which of the three change models (expert, doctor-patient; process consultation)do you think best reflects the reality of organizational politics based on your work experiences? In […]
A military application of Appreciative Intelligence
Image via Wikipedia a short follow-up on previous postings about Appreciative Intelligence two of the fathers of my players have been selected for battalion command and we had a discussion this weekend after the game about the use of appreciative inquiry and positive coaching when it comes to team building. I have a lot of […]
A reflection on charismatic leadership
Image via Wikipedia I am naturally skeptical about charismatic leaders, but I have seen its power in action. Just before GEN Petraeus left our college to take command in Iraq he gathered faculty and students in our large auditorium, which seats 2500. He spoke in a very relaxed manner, hardly the tone you might expect […]
Reflecting on self-directed leadership in a military college environment (an action research approach)
Image via Wikipedia The purpose of this assignment is reflect upon my learning through this course and to describe what I am doing to provide for the development of leadership capabilities in those who look to me for direction and guidance. My professional work centers on preparing Army organizational leaders for a world of complexity […]
culture and climate
Image via Wikipedia I thought Hunt did an excellent job of synthesizing the literature on culture and climate in chapter 10. The difference between culture and climate as he articulated it, is a common frame of reference for the Army. We consider culture to be the deep-seated and slowly changing values and norms that we […]
a reflection on critical pluralism, pragmatism, & politics
Image by zenonline via Flickr my take on critical pluralism is that it is a form of scholarly pragmatism, in the following sense: Pragmatism could be a shortcut around doing “due diligence” if it becomes a habit to satisfice, and avoid doing deep analysis and comparisons between perspectives , solutions, methods. there are some situations […]
PC triumphant!
Image via Wikipedia The report finds that PC inhibited our military’s ability to remove this clown from the force, and yet can’t name the devil itself, What’s changed? Nothing, we actually have reinforced PC behavior in this investigation. The U.S. military‘s just-released report into the Fort Hood shootings spends 86 pages detailing various slipups by […]