By John | January 31, 2009
The following is a “revised and extended” version of my remarks at the PNSR Futures Conference this week in Washington D.C. (PNSR = Project on National Security Reform.)
FINDING: The national security system is not organization, nor even a system of shared purpose. My observations lead me to believe it is better described as an ad [...]
By John | January 24, 2009
In talking about foresight, I’m reminded that this is not an attribute but a process. No one “has” foresight, we look ahead – we envision.
In turbulent times, when we’re reminded of the Black Swan effects and the connected nature of things, we tremble at our inability to predict. Truth is, our ability to predict only occurs when [...]
By John | January 24, 2009
The Obama Adminstration is committed to an open and transparent government, leveraging current technology and principles of business and public sector collaboration that are revolutionizing the way we work and live. This generation is writing their own encyclopedia (Wikipedia.org), spreading information virally (digg.com, twitter.com, blogs), and is constantly connected to their friends and colleagues through [...]
By John | January 23, 2009
Thank you for the opportunity to tell my brief story about the events of 20 January, 2009. With my Purple Ticket to the North Standing Area in hand, I arrived at the intersection of 1st and Louisiana at 0800 to find a line along the fence and up 1st street. This line appeared relatively orderly [...]
By John | January 9, 2009
Soon after I began using Twitter, I thought – this is exactly what my company needs. But, you know, “inside the firewall.” That’s the way we boomers think, in terms of these ancient concepts like “firewalls.” Something like feeling protected against invasion in New York City because there’s a natural moat around the city walls. [...]
By John | January 5, 2009
The title for this post is taken from a 1993 RAND report written by two friends and former colleagues. It is occasionally useful to revisit the first principles when discussing weighty matters such as KM. Or, as was the case for my friends, U.S. Strategic Forces.
A recent conversation on Twitter involved a fairly innocuous blog [...]
By John | January 2, 2009
My son was leaving after his holiday visit, halfway out the door, when the Bride stopped him. He had already been asked if he knew how to get back to New York from Northern Virginia by his sister – “Yes, I have GPS.” The Bride, however, had updated information. ”Don’t trust the GPS to get [...]