I found this over at DOD Buzz and it grabbed my attention. Anything to do with strategy grabs my attention, and especially the lack there of within today’s military leadership. But the real juice of this article, is the discussion of how do you find ‘good strategists’ and what are the qualities of a skilled strategists, besides the obvious trait of achieving victories? I love stuff like that, because this guy goes beyond the standard report, and tries to infuse a little science into the deal. Cool report, and check it out. –Matt
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Finding Strategists
By Barry Watts
Do most U.S. political leaders have the cognitive skills and talents to craft and implement effective long-term strategies? Do most senior American military leaders — even those who have demonstrated tactical competence in combat — have those skills and talents? Historical evidence, as well as leading-edge research into human cognition, suggest that the answer to both questions is: no.
There is considerable evidence that strategic performance is an area in which U.S. political and military leaders have shown declining overall competence in recent decades. True, as the outcome of the Cold War and the turn-around in Iraq testify, American strategies have not been uniformly poor. Still, a case can be made that, on the whole, American strategic competence has been declining since the Vietnam War and continues to do so today. Given the recent financial crisis and economic down-turn, can the United States afford another decade of declining strategic competence? Or is it time to begin finding good strategists and put strategy in their hands?