Time To End ‘Don’t Ask’, (Washington Post)…Editorial July 11, 2008, Pg. 16
The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that continues the ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the U.S. military was wrong when President Clinton signed it into law in 1993, and it’s wrong today. The only difference between then and now is that more people are now coming around to that conclusion.
Changing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy would be considered a fundamental change to the system.
Reverent Returns For Our Fallen Soldiers
(USA Today)…Madeleine Tavares, July 11, 2008 Pg.9
… Our tour of the facility included a stop in the morgue area. A stack of body armor vests and helmets caught my eye. Rodriguez told us that they belonged to military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. She said they perform autopsies on all those killed after they arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Her team also examines the body armor and suggests improvements.
Rodriguez wanted me to know how respectfully those returning home were treated, and that each body was accompanied throughout the process by a servicemember. She wanted me to know about “the big old sergeant” who carefully presses the white T-shirts worn under the uniform jacket and how he meticulously tailors each jacket to fit the remains. “He wants them to look as good as they possibly can when they are returned home to their families,” she said.
Cost of Poor Quality includes the costs to prevent, find (appraise) and resolve failure. War is a failure cost, e.g., not being able to apply the other elements of power (diplomatic/political, economic, informational) to resolve the conflict. Examining the body armor (see above) to identify improvements represents a cost of prevention.
However, the most important costs are unknown and unknowable — how do you put a price on all the effects associated with losing a loved one?
ARTICLE: Quality and The Three Conversations, by Roberto Saco, ASQ President, Quality Progress Magazine, July 8.
Instead of taking on an operational definition of quality, Saco took a more indirect approach in describing three categorizations of quality he referred to as Big Q, little q and Really big Q … “Think of it as a progression from the quality of products and services to the quality of management, and now to the quality of life itself.”
The Really Big Q is a needed direction for ASQ. When I first joined ASQ in 1991, quality was thought of as just relating to manufacturing areas only. The quality Leadership Paradigm and Framework represents one of the better approaches for supporting “Really Big Q.”
… little q has to do with the problems of production and the tactical tools that lead to control and improvement. Big Q was Juran’s way of describing quality in a management setting: more strategic, more comprehensive and systemwide—in other words, quality management. It was in Juran’s genius to recognize that these are two different conversations. That they apply different languages, in different domains: the shop floor and the board room. And the two conversations, little q and big Q, are indeed complementary. You need both to make quality real, to make quality stick.
… What is really big Q? Beyond quality control and quality management, we need a better, more coherent conversation around sustainability and responsibility, and we need to do so at a higher level than just the organization or the firm. This is quality at the level of entire social systems, where issues like global warming, business ethics, sustainable economies, ecology and reciprocity are addressed. These are the issues of today.
ARTICLE: Six Sigma and more: David Schwinn ruminates about power. PQ Systems, July 2008 eline.
Thought provoking article on three types of power:
Power over — probably the most common application that results in compliance and not committment.
Power to — expand power by delegating the decision-making power of subordinates while intensively coaching the subordinates in the thinking process that the manager uses.
Power with — is power of love that results in performance far beyond what is generally expected
If Obama Wins, (Army Times)…Rick Maze, July 2, 2008
Candidate cites need to earn troops’ trust, touts his judgment over McCain’s, holds civilians accountable for missteps in Iraq.
The Truth Commission
(New York Times)…Nicholas D. Kristof, July 6, 2008
When a distinguished American military commander accuses the United States of committing war crimes in its handling of detainees, you know that we need a new way forward.
Annals of National Security: Preparing the Battlefield, The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran, by Seymour M. Hersh, New Yorker, July 7, 2008
Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran ..
These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding
Under federal law, a Presidential Finding, which is highly classified, must be issued when a covert intelligence operation gets under way and, at a minimum, must be made known to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and the Senate and to the ranking members of their respective intelligence committees—the so-called Gang of Eight. Money for the operation can then be reprogrammed from previous appropriations, as needed, by the relevant congressional committees, which also can be briefed.
The Pentagon consultant said, “Fallon went down because, in his own way, he was trying to prevent a war with Iran, and you have to admire him for that.”
OPINION: Liars’ Round-Up, On Security, Facts Matter, New York Post, By Ralph Peters, June 28, 2008, Pg. 19
Whopper No. 1: America is less safe today than it was on Sept. 10, 2001.
Whopper No. 2: Al Qaeda is stronger than ever.
Whopper No. 3: Success in Iraq is an illusion – the surge failed.
Whopper No. 4: Iran is stronger than ever.
Whopper No. 5: The US-European relationship is a disaster.
Whopper No. 6: As president, Barack Obama would bring positive change to our foreign policy – and John McCain’s too old to get it.
Whopper No. 7: Our troops are all coming home as psychos victimized by their participation in military atrocities.
Political systems usually result in sub-optimal outcomes, e.g. somebody wins, somebody loses. The long-term outcomes generally result in sustaining the status quo.
Breaking the cycle to achieve more optimum outcomes requires agreement on facts, ideals and common causes. Interpretation of the facts that range from the conservative (see Whoppers above) to liberal, should be recognized and overcome.
"Transformation" from the old paradigm to new requires Quality Leaders who can successfully manage and reduce variation.
Scientists Find ‘Law Of War’ That Predicts Attacks
(London Daily Telegraph)…Roger Highfield
…The European Consortium For Mathematics in Industry was told today that an international team has developed a physics-based theory describing the dynamics of insurgent group formation and attacks, which neatly explains the universal patterns observed in all modern wars and terrorism. The team is advising the United Nations, the Pentagon and Iraq.
The team told the meeting in University College London how it has taken advantage of the rise in amount of information available on conflicts, by filtering hundreds of online news sources and Government reports, and an emerging field, called complexity science.
"We use advanced computer simulations and mathematical models to create a plausible microscopic mechanism to explain the collective behaviour observed in a wide range of human conflict situations – from ongoing insurgent wars and terrorism, through to street-gangs and even online games," said Dr Gourley.
Added this post to a new "Top 10" category. For context, see my weblog pages on leadership paradigm, complexity, prediction markets, and references to variation.
Mullen: Flexibility Crucial As World Changes Quickly
(Mideast Stars and Stripes)…Charlie Coon, June 28, 2008
…Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael G. Mullen invoked "change" dozens of times Thursday while speaking at the new U.S. Africa Command, itself a harbinger of potential new military thinking.
Change how the government and military work together. Change how funding works so it moves more efficiently. Change how people are recruited into the military, retained and promoted.
Reinforces the need for government and non-government organizations to adopt a new approach in helping to resolve old problems. See: Leadership Paradigm & Framework
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