The Army Learning Concept for 2015

Engineering needs a new breed of strategic thinker.  Leaders that can find ways to be both adaptive and innovative when facing a complex and unpredictable world.  We need to think harder about the knowledge, skills, and attributes that a strategic engineering leader needs in the world today.

The U.S. Army is thinking about this same issue - - looking at a radical overhaul in all the army training programs.  This new approach to the development of strategic thinkers is detailed in the excellent - - The Army Learning Concept 2015.  The opening paragraph sets the stage for change - - all organizations must understand the ambiguous nature of strategic leadership in this century.  We must work to develop a more competitive learning model for strategic thinking and strategic leadership.

The opening paragraph - -

"The U.S. Army's competitive advantage directly relates to its capacity to learn faster and adapt more quickly than its adversaries.  The current pace of technological change increases the Army's challenge to maintain the edge over potential adversaries.  In the highly competitive global learning environment where technology provides all players nearly ubiquitous access to information, the Army cannot risk failure through complacency, lack of imagination, or resistance to change."

Institutional anxiety and comfort with the status quo impact all organizations in the context of change and developing a new type of strategic thinker.  The worst thing that can happen to an organization is to lose the instinct for strategic leadership - - where things like being inquisitive, creative, and innovative stop being the lifeblood of an organization.