Member-only story
What is design and why might militaries require ‘systemic design’?
This comes from a systemic design lecture I provide to various military PME programs in academic year 2022; select graphics and the ‘notes page’ that corresponds with roughly what I discuss are provided below. I will upload groups of slides and speaking points in upcoming Medium posts for subscribers and those that follow me on social media.
In contemporary practice, militaries using modern decision-making methodologies are increasingly frustrated, confused, or defeated due to complex security contexts not conforming to such methodological form and function. The defense community of practice, with the emergence of systemic design for military contexts over the last two decades, is now perhaps primed to examine beyond the superficial or process-oriented (hence performance of individuals) of institutional convergence and reinforcement of deeply held beliefs and practices.
Recognition of one’s own institutionalized war frame is paramount so that an organization can shift toward innovation and break through institutional barriers that otherwise will compel operators to continue the rain dances unwittingly (or even unwillingly). This illuminates an institutional shift toward what military forces are seeking organizationally and behaviorally next that liberates them from thinking about warfare in limited, linear…
