This is funny, but it is also just weird. This is merchandise that is being sold with the intent of showing support for the assassination that happened in Dubai. Hell, even the eyeglasses that a few of the team members were wearing are selling. –Matt
——————————————————————
Buy the stuff here.
Outstanding book, and I give it two thumbs up. I don’t get a chance to read many books these days, and this was a book that I wanted to get my hands on and read ever since it came out. No disappointments either. So let me do a run down of what inspired me, and how this book relates to our industry.
I also want to mention that I realize that the US has given aid to Israel. So you could easily say that their economy and war machine has benefited from that infusion of aid. But the return on investment in Israel, has been phenomenal for the amount of patents, inventions, and business innovation that has come out of that small country. How is it that Israel– a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources– produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK? How can anyone look at how much has come out of Israel, and not be inspired or curious as to the ‘why’? With that said, lets get started.
If I was to sum up the theme of this book, it would be the Hebrew word ‘Davka‘, or ‘to succeed in spite of’. The Israelis are surrounded by people and countries that hate them and want nothing more than to destroy them. In turn, the Israelis have to be smart to survive and they have to have a strong military that can deal with multiple threats. Do to such a small population, everyone must serve in the military too. They also need a vibrant economy to pay for it all. And like Dan Senor and Saul Singer have so eloquently spelled out in their book, the Israelis know exactly what it takes to survive.
It is a country filled with entrepreneurs who are not afraid to fail, and they all have gained valuable leadership and innovation experience at an early age while in the military. The companies in Israel are extremely innovative and are resilient in the face of war, because of this military infusion in their culture. It’s not because they want to be a militaristic society, it’s because they have to be, do to a shortage on manpower. It is that dynamic, that has helped produce such highly resilient economy filled with entrepreneurs.
So let me cover some points as a teaser that really stood out for me. The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, actually invested in an Israeli firm, and that was something he promised he would never do. At face value, investing in a company located in such a volatile part of the world, doesn’t make sense. But because the companies in Israel are driven by Davka and have a supreme dedication to the customer and delivering on their promises, that during times of war, production levels actually increased.
During the Gulf War 1, the Israeli economy persevered, because the thinking was that Saddam would not get the best of Israel or impact it’s economy negatively. The production levels increased during that war, just because they wanted to succeed in spite of the attacks. The same thing happened during the Second Lebanon war, and production levels increased.
These companies were also run by reservists or former IDF, and that battlefield resolve translated into economic resolve in the face of crisis. Buffet recognized this, and that is why he invested there. Cisco has bought nine companies in Israel, and the list goes on. Everyone knows that the Israelis produce the most innovative stuff, and they are extremely resilient in the face of crisis. Investors love that stuff.
Israel also has a culture in which the military veteran is highly regarded, and business recognizes the value of that veteran. It is much like how after WW 2 in America, where if you were applying for a job and ‘weren’t a veteran’, you were an oddball. In today’s America, it is the other way around. We have one half of the society that has never served in the military, and really doesn’t understand the benefits behind hiring veterans, and then we have the other half of society, that does serve or has served, and understands those benefits clearly. We are not taking full advantage of this leadership resource. Today’s business is also missing out on the innovation capabilities of this abundant resource, and continue to think that they will get better leaders out of ‘universities that produce book smart kids’, but certainly fall short in the leadership manufacturing department.
“We’re trying to get to unmanned vehicles everywhere on the battlefield for each platoon in the field,” says Lt. Col. Oren Berebbi, head of the Israel Defense Forces’ technology branch. “We can do more and more missions without putting a soldier at risk.”
*****
Hmmmm. A UAV per platoon huh? Sounds like drone archer material if you ask me, and it is usually the Israelis that push the envelope on this stuff. I also posted a small deal on Scout Helicopter pilots being replaced by UAV’s for really dangerous missions. You know, the ones where they try to draw fire in order to locate the enemy. The Hummingbird, Fire Scout, or even the AH 6X Little Bird UAV would all be good choices for such a mission. –Matt
—————————————————————–
Israeli Robots Remake Battlefield
Nation Forges Ahead in Deploying Unmanned Military Vehicles by Air, Sea and Land
January 12, 2010
By CHARLES LEVINSON
TEL AVIV, Israel – Israel is developing an army of robotic fighting machines that offers a window onto the potential future of warfare.
Sixty years of near-constant war, a low tolerance for enduring casualties in conflict, and its high-tech industry have long made Israel one of the world’s leading innovators of military robotics.
“We’re trying to get to unmanned vehicles everywhere on the battlefield for each platoon in the field,” says Lt. Col. Oren Berebbi, head of the Israel Defense Forces’ technology branch. “We can do more and more missions without putting a soldier at risk.”
In 10 to 15 years, one-third of Israel’s military machines will be unmanned, predicts Giora Katz, vice president of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., one of Israel’s leading weapons manufacturers.
“We are moving into the robotic era,” says Mr. Katz.
Over 40 countries have military-robotics programs today. The U.S. and much of the rest of the world is betting big on the role of aerial drones: Even Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite guerrilla force in Lebanon, flew four Iranian-made drones against Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War.
When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, it had just a handful of drones. Today, U.S. forces have around 7,000 unmanned vehicles in the air and an additional 12,000 on the ground, used for tasks including reconnaissance, airstrikes and bomb disposal.
Powered by WordPress