Blackbeard to the rescue!

Smart Defense means “Doing more with less.” And “doing more with less” means challenging the status quo. It requires a certain tolerance for risk and willingness (even eagerness) to defy convention. The personalities that change industries (Steve Jobs called them pirates) are often characterized by a wonton disregard for authority. As the co.design blog puts it:

“A pirate can function without a bureaucracy. Pirates support one another and support their leader in the accomplishment of a goal. A pirate can stay creative and on task in a difficult or hostile environment. A pirate can act independently and take intelligent risks, but always within the scope of the greater vision and the needs of the greater team. Pirates are more likely to embrace change and challenge convention. “Being aggressive, egocentric, or antisocial makes it easier to ponder ideas in solitude or challenge convention,” says Dean Keith Simonton, a University of California psychology professor and an expert on creativity. “Meanwhile, resistance to change or a willingness to give up easily can derail new initiatives.” So Steve’s message was: if you’re bright, but you prefer the size and structure and traditions of the navy, go join IBM. If you’re bright and think different and are willing to go for it as part of a special, unified, and unconventional team, become a pirate.”

The peculiar problem in the defense industry is that it is too much a reflection of the consumer, and the consumer (i.e. the Department of Defense) has a highly evolved immune system that targets and eliminates disruptive influences. Let’s think about this in terms of Everett Rogers’ seminal work “The Diffusion of Innovations.” This is a gross oversimplification of one of Everett’s key ideas, but his research suggests that proliferating innovations, products, ideas, or whatever is best accomplished between groups that have a shared context (beliefs, value system, etc.). With this in mind, it makes good sense that the most successful defense companies would be the ones that most closely identify with the prevailing defense culture of conservatism.

But looking to these historical centers of gravity for industry-transforming ideas is not a recipe for success. Changing the defense industry means providing a platform for pirates to do their thing – a vehicle where the different ideas that challenge conventional assumptions can be exposed and incubated. The web and social networking sites in particular have the potential to provide just such a platform. A properly structured online community could provide a “pirates’ cove” if you will, a proving ground where ideas that threaten the status quo in the defense industry can germinate prior to deployment.

The good news is that the tools exist to support such an experiment. Someone just needs to take the initiative to get the ball rolling…