| There are many different definitions being bantered about in
government, in Congress and in the public over what specifically
does transformation mean? What is it really all about? What is
the process for getting there? Some say it is about injecting
new technology into the military. Others believe transformation
is about new ways of buying weapon systems. Still others hold
that transformation is about the wholesale change of organizations.
Frankly, I don’t care which one is used so long as any transformation
process contains certain key, immutable elements.
Transformation is foremost a continuing process.
It does not have an end point. Transformation is meant to
create or anticipate the future. Transformation is meant to
deal with the co-evolution of concepts, processes, organizations
and technology. Change in any one of these areas necessitates
change in all. Transformation is meant to create new competitive
areas and new competencies. Transformation is meant to identify,
leverage and even create new underlying principles for the
way things are done. Transformation is meant to identify and
leverage new sources of power. The overall objective of these
changes is simply—sustained American competitive advantage
in warfare.
One lens that might prove helpful in understanding
transformation is through that of a commercial corporate strategy
for innovation. While there are obvious and fundamental differences
between corporations and the Department of Defense, nevertheless
certain basic elements are germane to both types of organizations.
Any good corporate innovation strategy, according to Eric Beinhocker,
at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, has three distinct
parts.
Focus on Core Missions—This
is the bread and butter of any organization and the main point
of any corporate effort. This is where modernization, recapitalization,
and taking care of the capital plant occur. This is basic stuff.
This is the realm of evolutionary changes where an organization
simply tries to get better at what it is already doing. It should
be emphasized that transformation and modernization are not
in competition. They are different things and any organization
must undertake both processes to be successful.
A Series of Small Exploratory Jumps—This
is where an organization pushes out the boundaries of a core
competency and tries to create something new. Changes in this
category are within the existing paradigm. An example of this
is the U.S. Navy pursuing unmanned underwater vehicles for shallow
water mine hunting and antisubmarine warfare. Those missions
are already core competencies for the Navy. But, insofar as
using this technology in new ways makes it possible to do something
that Navy could not do before; it is transformational. Note
that this change will involve doctrine and organization as well
as technology.
Placing a Few Big Bets—These
are big jumps. These are the things that will change a military
service, change the Department of Defense and maybe even change
the world. Some might argue that this is not what the DoD does,
but they are wrong because the organization has already done
this in the past. Global Positioning System satellites are a
prime example. Its advent changed the military, changed the
department and changed civil society. Another is the American
military’s ability, led by the U.S. Army, to “own
the night.” It changed the character of land warfare.
That was a big bet. Yet another example is putting nuclear ballistic
missiles to sea in submarines.
The problem with these examples is they are rearward
looking. The question is what is a possible big bet for today?
There are a few examples that spring forward, but the department
must still see how these play out after they are assessed and
experimented with by the active forces. One is the transition
to speed of light weapons. The development of such weapons could
change the relationship between offense and defense.
Space is another area. Where a new bus iness
strategy combining new technology with new operational concepts
can have profound impact on how information energy can be applied
on the battlefield. This may involve capabilities to generate
very small payloads, very quickly on orbit. Robotics is another
avenue that could prove fruitful, since relocating the human
on the battlefield could change everything.
Transformation is not an impossible task. Given
the leadership and support from Defense Secretary Rumsfeld,
and the service secretaries and military chiefs of staff, significant
progress is being made. When you have that kind of support and
commitment it is truly amazing what can be accomplished. |
