Lean & the Military

By Pascal Dennis

Fine HBR piece by Gretchen Gavitt on Leadership & the Military

My experience suggests that the military teaches important virtues:

• Clarity of purpose
• Focus & commitment
• Attention to detail
• Respect for time
• Teamwork
• Integrity

Military training can also provide a solid foundation in core Lean methodologies like standardized work, Level 1/2/3 checking, and PDCA.

(The US Marines call the latter OODA – Observe, Orient, Decide, Act.)

My many ex-military colleagues are among the most thoughtful and well-read people I know.

A military career entails endless training - and waiting - for trouble that will, hopefully, never materialize.

This gives intelligent, capable people plenty of time to read and reflect.

If you want to understand strategy, read Sun Tsu, Thucydides, Livy, Machiavelli, Jomini, von Clausewitz…

(Avoid the academics unless you’re sleepless.)

To be sure, the military is prone to the large organization’s ever-present dangers: bozos & bureaucracy.

Wise leaders, military & otherwise, support various types of ‘predators’ to keep the ‘2 B’s’ under control.

(Absent predators, bozos multiply, not unlike rabbits in Australia – with similar effects on the ecosystem.)

In closing, here’s a sharp salute to the men & women who serve and sustain this honorable & vital tradition.

Best regards,

Pascal

Pascal Dennis Bio

To Learn Corporate Strategy, Study the Military Masters

By Pascal Dennis

Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Livy, Machiavelli, Clausewitz - magic names.

These Masters of War are still read centuries & millennia later.

Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War was the classical text of choice during the two Iraq wars.

And General Colin Powell, famously, had the following quote from the master framed on his State Department desk:

"Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most."

Sun Tzu, Machiavelli and Clausewitz are no less popular.

Why are these authors still relevant?

Because they wrote beautifully - clear, simple sentences that cut to the heart of the issue.

Because they lived what they wrote about. (All were practitioners, with all respect to many contemporary academics.)

Because human nature does not change.

In our consulting work, I see the same chess positions over and over.

Different board, different style of chess piece -- but the same positions.

The greats understand this, which I suppose is what makes them great.

I have image of these old boys shooting the breeze in a bar, regaling one another with stories, the ideas, opinions and insights coming fast & furious.

(I'd love to be the bartender!)

Best,

Pascal

Poetry for Professionals?

By Pascal Dennis

Splendid piece in HBR - thanks to Holly Simmons for sharing it.

Let me declare my bias in advance.

I was trained in business and engineering - and have been a reader all my life.

(And my latest book comprises stories & poems from the road, www.reflections-of-a-business-nomad.com)

Poetry & literature:

• open the mind,
• help us wrestle with & make sense of complexity,
• help unlock latent creativity, and
• teach empathy.

Not a bad ROI!

In some cultures, it's understood that "professional" means you have a deep understanding & appreciation of Art, as well as, Science.

Professionals, in such cultures, are expected to read & reflect, and this makes them better leaders.

(They are better able to wrestle with complexity, and are more empathetic & creative.)

Is this the norm in our culture?

I'd love to hear YOUR thoughts.

The best leaders I've encountered are tough, reflective, creative READERS - many the product of Military schools.

The Military teaches important virtues, reading & reflection among them.

Best,