In the pages that follow this introduction you will find book chapters and articles addressing ways leaders can establish an environment where innovation has a chance to succeed; examples of adaptation successes and failures; and some creative ideas that could shape the Navy of the future. This Wheel Book is divided into four parts:
PART I: The Innovation Imperative, where we review some general thoughts about the impact that innovation and disruptive technology can have on operations in the maritime realm, and how change can be embraced and channeled for future success.
PART II: The Unmanned Revolution, in which we consider the impact that unmanned and robotic systems are having now and will likely have in greater measure in the near future. Many of these systems represent the types of disruptive technologies described by Harvard’s Clayton Christenson: “Products based on disruptive technologies are typically cheaper, smaller, simpler, and frequently, more convenient to use.”9 The first generation of military robotics has already demonstrated that they meet many of these characteristics.
PART III: CYBER, the Most Disruptive Technology, wherein various authors reflect on the all-encompassing threats and opportunities represented by modern society’s dependence on computer-controlled and cyber-linked networks.
PART IV: Thoughts on Possible Futures, where a few specific “outside-the-box” technologies are identified and briefly discussed.
The choice of the articles and chapters reproduced here was extremely difficult, and more than 180 articles published since the year 2000 were initially chosen for consideration. This volume of information speaks to the quality and breadth of discourse that takes place under Naval Institute auspices every year. While no anthology can be exhaustive on any given topic, we hope this compilation is comprehensive enough to engender thoughtful consideration of the subject and that it will spark the intellectual curiosity of the reader.
Change is in your future; how you deal with it is up to you!
Notes
1. Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (New York: New American Library, 1952), 49–50.
2. John Hattendorf, Sailors and Scholars (Newport, RI: Naval War College Press, 1984), 8.
3. Strategic Leadership Primer, 3rd Edition (Carlisle, PA: United States Army War College, 2010), 11–12.
4. B. H. Liddell Hart, Thoughts on War (Gloucestershire, UK: Spellmount Publishers, LTD, 1944), 42.
5. Willliamson Murray, Military Adaptation in War (Alexandria, VA: Institute for Defense Analysis, Paper number P-4452, Chapter 8, 2009), 16.
6. Ibid., 26.
7. Ibid., 16.
8. Ibid., 4.
9. Clayton Christenson, The Innovator’s Dilemma (New York: Harper’s Business Review Press, 2013), xviii.
1 “INNOVATION: THE FATHER OF ALL NECESSITY”
(Selection from chapter 13 of The Accidental Admiral: A Sailor Takes Command at NATO)
ADM James Stavridis, USN (Ret.)
Admiral James Stavridis, USN, is widely recognized as one of the brightest military officers of his generation. He is an operator, a thinker, and a writer who has found ways to express his ideas in print throughout his extremely successful naval career. His reputation for trying new ideas and adapting old ones to meet the requirements of evolving situations are legendary. In this chapter from his recent book, Admiral Stavridis discusses the need for innovation, and some ways in which change can be accommodated within military organizations.
“INNOVATION: THE FATHER OF ALL NECESSITY”
(Selection from chapter 13 of The Accidental Admiral: A Sailor Takes Command at NATO) by ADM James Stavridis, USN (Ret.) (Naval Institute Press, 2014): 156–66.
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.—Abraham Lincoln
During my years as the supreme allied commander at NATO I kept a sign on my desk visible to everyone who walked into the room. It was another quote from Lincoln: “Nearly all men can stand adversity; if you would test a man’s character, give him power.” This is a truism that applies not just in the military or politics but in every aspect of civil society, and indeed in our families.
I like that quote for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it reminded me every day that jobs steeped in power come with a built-in responsibility to exercise it in responsible, honest, and transparent ways. Second, and more subtly, the quote conveyed to me the ever-present need to overcome the day-to-day challenges—the adversities of the moment that constantly press in on a leader in any truly significant job. And frankly, while most men (and women) can stand adversity, it takes a lot of iron in your soul to step up and actually overcome the challenges and succeed at accomplishing the tasks at hand. It has been my good fortune to work with a lot of men and women who did overcome the adversity. A central lesson I took away is the value of innovation in success; whether in the military, government, or business, there are valuable lessons here. Let me explain how I arrived at that conclusion.
The central question for any leader, whatever the size or shape of his or her organization, is how to overcome adversity. What are the leadership and management tools that matter the most? There are many candidates: teamwork, drive, determination, civility, alignment, presentational skills, and strategic communications, to name a few; the list of useful tools and skills goes on and on. All are important. But at the top of my list is innovation. This was not a sudden epiphany that came upon me like enlightenment came to Paul on the road to Tarsus. Indeed, I came to the view that innovation is the critical ingredient in overall organizational achievement relatively slowly over the course of a couple of decades.
As you start out in the military, there is an enormous and obvious premium placed on repetitive training in order to improve. If a military organization wants to “up its game,” the normal prescription is lots and lots of practice, drills, and exercises. And of course this makes sense. To use a sports analogy, if you want a better jump shot, go out and shoot jump shots—thousands and thousands and thousands of them. Think of Larry Bird as a boy in his backyard in Indiana spending hour after hour shooting baskets. It works. Slowly. In that sense, many organizations—particularly military ones, with a predisposition for uniformity and conservative approaches, but also civilian and governmental enterprises—are seduced into regimes that focus almost entirely on repetitive training to improve.
But what if you added innovation to repetition?
Back to Larry Bird. How about new technology? Suppose he had been given a pair of brand-new, spring-loaded, light-yet-tough Nike Air Jordans. Would they have given the aspiring ballplayer that extra bounce, that modicum of support that could help improve his shots? You bet.
Or how about technique? What about a change in procedure, breaking the wrist in a more pronounced way, applying more backspin to the ball and a slightly higher arc, taking advantage of a “larger” target by a sharper angle of descent to the rim? Would that innovation in technique have a positive effect? Clearly it would.
The problem, of course, is that most organizations don’t devote enough resources to the innovation part of their games, especially