4. Strategy is…
“… deliberate search for continuing advantage…”
“… an emergent property...”
“It determines the means, establishes the boundaries,
and provides the goals…”
What is Strategy?
5. What is Doctrine?
4
Doctrine is…
“… the set of implicit and explicit assumptions
that govern the behavior of an organization.”
“It is what we fall back on when precise instructions are
unavailable.”
6. Insight…?
Strategy and doctrine are synergistic
Effective strategy triggers the emergence of better doctrines
Better doctrines create the opportunity for more effective strategy
5
7. • OODA Loop
• Col. John Boyd, USAF
How do Strategy and Doctrine Evolve?
6
Observe
Orient
Decide
ActPhoto by:
Tim Felce
8. • Fractal
• Applies broadly:
• to Strategy
• to Doctrine
• to …
OODA Loop
7
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
Image by: Wolfgang Beyer
16. • Startup
• Developed tracking
(and tracing) solutions
• Small, “agile” team
(hardware, firmware, software)
• Poor focus
TracerNET’s Early Days
15
Photo by:
Thomas R Machnitzki
18. Make the top 5
Ready-Mix
producers in
North America
our customers!
The New Strategic Goal
17
Photo by:
McNeilus Concrete
19. • Focus increased
significantly
• We worked harder
• We realized we lacked
important capabilities
Strategy Transformed Our Work
18
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
Photo by: http://cdn.heavyequipmentguide.ca/
21. • Balanced Exploration and Exploitation
• Fleet Problems and tactical exercises
• Variability within the fleet
• No defined approach – little codified “doctrine”
• Learning was integral to the Navy’s approach
Prewar Learning System
20
25. • Commanders overwhelmed
• Too much data
• Too little actionable information
• Formations need to be more stable
• ”Minor Tactics” need more emphasis
Lessons
24
28. • PAC-10: Current Tactical Orders and
Doctrine, Pacific Fleet
• Effective plans for “Minor Tactics”
• Enabled interchangeability of ships and
task groups
• Transformed fleet tactics
New Doctrines Emerge
28
31. ?
• Co-located team
• Small batches
• Limited number of changes
at one time
• No process constraints –
free to define our doctrine
TracerNET was “agile” not Agile
31
32. • Scalability for centralized
dispatch
• Oracle support for
distributed companies
Two Crucial Challenges
32
33. • Lessons integrated
• Doctrine evolves:
Standardize customer installs
• Application changes rapidly
• Multithreading
• Centralized dispatch support
• Multiple database support
• Defined interfaces for integration
We Learn Rapidly
33
34. • 3 of top 5 producers were
TracerNET customers
• Winning the 4th
• We transformed the
landscape
• And then it changed again…
We Achieve Strategic Success
34
36. U.S. Navy
• Take the offensive
• Win in the Solomon Islands
• Transform naval combat
Strategy Frames the Opportunity
36
TracerNET
• Create focus
• Dominate Ready-Mix Market
• Get acquired
39. … but doctrine informs tactics
Doctrine is not Tactics
39
• Doctrine is a frame for “how”
• Strategy is a frame for “what”
40. What Can You Do?
40
• Use strategy to frame the space – “active” OODA
• Become aware of doctrine
• Develop feedback loops between them
• Seek opportunities to evolve your doctrine
USS SAN FRANCISCO, CA-38 at Mare Island, CA. Circles show battle damage.
Rear Admiral Norman Scott
Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan
USS WASHINGTON, BB-56
Rear Admiral Willis A. Lee
USS MINNEAPOLIS, CA-36
USS ST. LOUIS
USS DENVER, CL-58
Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill, (left) working with a maneuvering board on USS Montpelier (CL-57), during operations in the Solomon Islands, 23 December 1943. Captain W.D. Brown is also present.
Destroyer CHARLES AUSBURNE, DD-570
Captain Arleigh A. Burke, Commander Destroyer Squadron 23, during operations in the Solomon Islands, circa 1943.
Old “flush-deck” destroyers during the interwar period.
Use strategy to frame the space – “active” OODA
Become aware of doctrine
Synergistic with strategy
Create the “what”
Allow doctrine to inform the ”how”
Develop feedback loops between them
Seek opportunities to evolve your doctrine; otherwise
Tactics will lag
Strategy will unravel