Will Over Weapons, Again

The final price tag for the 20-year war in Afghanistan seems to be around $2 trillion.  The $2 trillion did not buy a victory, freedom, human rights or a democracy, rather it bought a lesson.  A lesson that we have unfortunately already purchased several times in the past, but failed to learn.  What is this multi-trillion dollar lesson?  Will wins over weapons.

The renowned military strategist John Boyd taught that the ultimate objective of a warrior is not to kill more enemy on the battlefield, but rather to create mental chaos, disorder, ambiguity, confusion, distrust and morale collapse in the mind of an enemy.  If an organization suffers from these it cannot stand or resist.

Boyd emphasized that warfare is won or lost in the mind.  The victor will be the one with a stronger will and moral position.  The weight of mental will and moral fortitude shifted to the Taliban when the US supported Afghan government failed its people and purpose by engaging in corruption and collusion.  Several decades ago Boyd prophetically wrote, "Failing to achieve moral victory may result in strategic defeat even if an army is victorious in all of their tactical, physical battles."

Many believe there are commonalities between why we failed in Vietnam, and why the nation-building mission failed in Afghanistan.  Kevin Boylan, in an article in the New York Times wrote,  "The corrupt, undemocratic and faction-riven South Vietnamese government...proved incapable of providing its people and armed forces a cause worth fighting for."  Resistance from Afghan military forces melted away just weeks after the US forces began their final draw down.  It is obvious now that despite sophisticated equipment and training the Afghan forces had little will, and found little cause (either mental or moral), worth fighting for.

Each of us are also experiencing attacks on our minds daily in our own communities.  Daily, political opponents and pundits produce outrageous conspiracies, claims, falsehoods and headlines for the purpose of creating pandemonium, chaos and disorder, while social media sites amplify confusion, distrust and mental turmoil.  We must understand what these attacks do to our collective minds, and then try to learn the multi-trillion dollar lesson this time.

I have a soft spot in my heart for those struggling mentally in these painful, lonely and challenging times.  Life is hard enough without our own communities purposely attacking our minds.

Read more here on the Future of Information, Truth and Influence.

************************************************************************

Kevin Benedict

Partner | Futurist at TCS

View my profile on LinkedIn

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Linkedin Group Digital Intelligence

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Transparency and Swarming are Both Good and Bad for Businesses

Sleepy communities are suddenly overrun with people moving in from out of town.  Roads and traffic signals designed to accommodate low volumes of traffic are suddenly insufficient.  Hidden fishing holes are now surrounded by cars, families, dogs and campers.  Trail systems are overrun.  Birders swarm a quiet neighborhood causing traffic congestion and concern.  All of these swarming scenarios unfold so quickly they surprise us.  

What has caused these "sudden" swarms.  I am sure there are many different possibilities, but instant communication, search engines, social media, online and real-time data analytics and market transparency, plus our increasing desire for new and better experiences, wealth, and our ability to work from home anywhere all play a role.  Because of all these reasons and more we all are swarming more often.  

We swarm to new TV shows.  We swarm to new music.  We swarm to picturesque mountain villages.  We swarm to newly Instagram "discovered" trails, rivers, beaches, restaurants, mountains, neighborhoods and resorts.   Swarming can cause chaos.  It can upend communities overnight.  Housing prices can skyrocket.  Labor, materials and other resources can all suddenly become more expensive as a result of unexpectedly swarming-caused high demand.

Swarming seems to be a byproduct of the internet and social media platforms.  We are all connected on platforms that aggregate and centralize information, both true or false, at speeds never before imagined.  We swarm to grab toilet paper, some swarm to march on the capital, others swarm to a Frye Festival.

Swarming can have both good and bad effects on businesses.   If your organization represents something inspiring and positive, consumers may swarm to purchase your products leaving you without enough product.  If your company or leaders gain a reputation for mistreating humans, animals or for destructive environmental practices then customers may suddenly disappear leaving warehouses full of unsold products.

Swarming happens because of visibility to information, and in today's world nothing remains hidden for long.  We live in a transparent world where information, the internet, smartphone photos, social media and search engines, and data breaches all guarantee the "transparency effect" will also impact our world and our businesses.  Even the most secretive organizations like the NSA experience data breaches.

Transparency and swarming can cause chaos in a business.  The most well thought out plans and strategies can be turned upside down by one Twitter post showing how your supply chain includes a third tier supplier using child labor in a remote factory.  Transparency can be a very good motivator to not only promote your purpose-driven ambitions, but to actually become a practitioning purpose-driven organization.

In this article, I argue that as a result of both the "transparency effect" and the "swarming effect," companies today require a Chief Values Officer to ensure that the business and the leaders of the business follow admirable practices that align with their public statements, and that the "transparency effect" and the "swarm effects" will benefit the business, not destroy it. 

************************************************************************

Kevin Benedict

Partner | Futurist at TCS

View my profile on LinkedIn

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Linkedin Group Digital Intelligence

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.