What’s the proper role of the Chief of Naval Operations?
Here is a good piece on the organizational design of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations from Admiral Hyman Rickover’s 1974 speech, The […]
organizational design
GMU Playbook: Make market research a core and continuous organizational capability
In this week’s blog post on our acquisition playbook study, we discuss a recommendation to make market research a core and continuous organizational capability. No […]
Why I push back on the “colorless” appropriation for software
One of the hot topics in defense reform is the new Budget Activity 6.8 (or just 8), a “colorless” appropriation for Software and Digital Technology […]
The Functionalist Takeover and the problem of organizational design in the DoD
[Secretary of Defense Neil McElroy] told the Senate Committee on Armed Services that the present assistant secretary could not “give orders.” McElroy proposed a civilian […]
Have we reached peak “Chief …… Officer” in the DOD?
DoD leadership should focus on establishing business-reform objectives for each major DoD organization, and then holding leaders of these respective organizations accountable to the achievement […]
Centralization was wrong for atomic power, the case of Britain and the US
The development of atomic power for the generation of electricity provides a useful illustration. In the mid-fifties major technical decisions had to be made with […]
Loose cultures, tight cultures, and the USD(AT&L) break up
Loose cultures have a great benefit in terms of creating ideas but they’re not necessarily great at implementing them. So you think of innovation, it […]
Staffs set up a hierarchy within a hierarchy, creating built-in resistance from line officers
… there seems to be an inherent conflict between line and staff activities. In the first place, their functions largely overlap. The only way “doing” […]
The SDA accountable, but not responsible, for space architecture
In August, 2018, the department put forward this report to Congress[that] … laid out these eight capabilities. … The Space Development Agency was set up […]
Rickover’s concept of accountability differs from GAO
The Defense Department does not recognize the need for continuity in important jobs. It rotates officer every few years both at headquarters and in the […]
More on how gov’t can best support AI research
Here is an excerpt from my recent War on the Rocks article, responding the call for ideas from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence […]
Why the zero-based budget is not effective
Following in the steps of the Army, which did a “night court” deep-dive look at its budget to identify about $25 billion in savings to apply towards […]
The Defense Department was never intended to innovate?
Innovation leaders often cite Eastman-Kodak as an example of an enterprise that was too dim-witted to see the writing on the wall and so fell from its […]
What worked in Germany’s WWII Air Force?
Here is Admiral Rickover providing insight into innovative organizations: Admiral RICKOVER. This group is responsible for the design, the development, and the construction and operation […]
Loonshots, moonshots, and management
Sufi Bahcall has a new book out called Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries. He was […]