(NOTE: This write up is a think tank effort by a number of individuals that contributed both content and peer review: Tom Goldenberg, a close colleague of mine, friend, and Senior Engineer at BCG Platinion; and CPT Zack Ellis, a military and technology leader in US Cyber Command. The overall intent is to frame up the overall Situation and problem sets that we as consultants solve for, as well as the ways in which we can apply military leadership principles to enable success in our civilian careers and commercial sector work.)
(SITUATION) / Task and Purpose:
In technology consulting at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), we are typically exposed to engagements that are by nature high in risk, complexity, and potential impact. These complexities and problems are usually concurrent with personnel challenges: highly strategic technology and digital engagements consistently pair practitioners with colleagues, clients, and vendors where a relationship and trust must be established, in order to collectively solve the problem at hand and achieve mission success.
Critical strategic technology recommendations are made, with critical tactical tasks executed based on those recommendations that must be carried out flawlessly in order to execute the mission, mitigate risk, and manage cost. While lives are not directly at stake, there is so much to learn from the leaders who have wisdom to impart by building teams and leading in combat theater, so that we can better adapt and respond to our own risk factors (e.g. multi-billion-dollar technology decisions, advisory for major military commands and civil agencies). While the domains and competencies couldn’t be further apart, the principles of leadership, decision making, and cohesive team building are synonymous.
As we draw conclusions from military leadership to take to our tech-centered world to advise and enable clients, many of the principles are drawn across two key themes:
(1) Core Military Leadership Principles: A number of resources are available from historical and contemporary leaders with their perspectives on navigating real world conflict, as well as military doctrine detailing the art of leadership (e.g. Military Decision Making Process (MDMP), the Army Values, Armed Forces Leadership)
(2) Military Technology: Principles from the military’s approach to technology and warfare (e.g. US Cyber Command, Signal and Electronic Warfare. The current threat vectors in technology, and the military approaches to combat them, are being replicated across financials services, critical infrastructure and utilities, and more
(MISSION)
In summary, the Task and Purpose of this paper is to better understand the principles of military leadership in order to unlock more value from our engagements by: Enabling Your Counterparts; Establish High-Trust in High-Risk Environments; and Lead From The Front
(EXECUTION)
Enable Your Counterparts: It is critical to enable our counterparts, including internal team members and client stakeholders, for sustained success long after our departure. Our support is not augmentation, but rather an accelerator for our clients to insource their success and own their destiny.
BCG’s Build Operate Transfer (BOT) framework for client enablement focuses on solving complex problems, while developing capabilities within the client organization. In technology implementation projects, this entails a close working relationship with the client’s counterparts in IT, Infrastructure, Security, and Networking. In order for the proper execution of a project, engagement from these counterparts is essential.
In the military, there are numerous constructs and methods for counterpart enablement, such as Joint Forces Command, integrated assets and forces, and “train the trainer.” In the book Extreme Ownership, former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink describes how his specialized unit had to learn the art of enablement with Iraqi forces, at first struggling to team properly but eventually leveraging their unique knowledge:
“Their (Iraqi soldiers) local and cultural knowledge were advantageous in helping us better understand and identify the enemy… A certain base level of camaraderie formed between our SEALs and their Iraqi counterparts through the blood, sweat, and tears of difficult combat operations.”
Establish High Trust in High Risk Environments: Technology consulting offers the opportunity for, but also requires, quick bonding of teams to ensure team and mission success: client travel on site, co-location in short fuse, high-burn engagements. This is necessary for the type of work that technology consulting entails.
Technology strategy consulting teams typically follow team sizes of 5–10 people, in line with Agile principles. The reasons for tight-knit teams apply in Navy SEALs as well, where leadership is dispersed and teams must have strong trust in each other. While both structures have a pyramid structure of responsibility, the nature of the work requires all team members to make decisions, understanding the mission of the team, or “commander’s intent.”
“Human beings are generally not capable of managing more than six to ten people.” (Extreme Ownership)
“SEALs taught me the need to work as a team, to trust and support your teammates, and that a group of individuals working together toward a common purpose is much more powerful than the aggregate of their individual skills.” (Inside SEAL Team Six, Don Mann)
Lead From The Front: True leadership is critical to enable a cohesive team that can successfully operate in an ambiguous environment and execute the critical strategic decisions that are made by leaders.
Due to the high degree of complexity in digital enablement and transformation, it is important that these projects be led carefully and clearly. In both combat and in consulting, the quality of a leader can make or break a team. The book Extreme Ownership highlights this principle via an anecdote:
One part of the Navy SEAL training is a competition between different raft teams. The team that wins gets to rest a round, offering a small relief from the rigorous training. One of the losing team’s captains was overheard complaining about the quality of his team. The officer in charge then placed that captain in charge of the winning team. It turned out the previously losing team became the new winner.
This anecdote how important leadership is in bringing out the best performance of the team. Many core leadership values will pay dividends as you adopt them to commercial and technology consulting life, some literally and others metaphorically (e.g. living the Army Values, “mission first / troops always,” eat last after all of your soldiers, “first in / last out”, counsel in private / praise in public).
“The leader is truly and ultimately responsible for everything.” (Extreme Ownership)
(SUSTAINMENT / COMMAND AND CONTROL) Summary
This example is just one of many aspects where diversity and inclusion bring a unique set of experiences and perspectives to the table for technology consulting. The military, and its veterans, are a foundational value toBCG Veteran’s Network / Diversity and Inclusionnetwork to enable us to analyze problems from a broader perspective and challenge established ways of thinking.
We even have a number of real life stories published via BCG channels, for exampleKristen Sproat who is a Marine officer turned consultant and brings to bear a real world account of applying leadership principles to the consulting world.
In the military domain, there are a number of reservists who serve in both a military capacity and civilian IT realm. From CPT Zach Ellis’s perspective in the 91st Cyber Brigade, “the ever changing technology landscape gives military leaders an unparalleled perspective that directly impacts private industry. By enabling veterans and current reservists, they can draw on their experiences to provide a unique approach to current and future engagements.”
In conclusion, combining the key principles of (1) maintaining top talent to include military experience, (2) leveraging leading military strategy and leadership principles, and (3) the C-suite advisory excellence from BCG Technology Advantage and the technology rigor and depth from BCG Platinion, makes a winning formula for solving both public sector and commercial engagements.
References:
- Diversity and Inclusion at BCG. https://www.bcg.com/en-us/careers/working-at-bcg/diversity-inclusion.aspx
- Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win. By Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. ASIN: B00VE4Y0Z2
- BCG Platinion. https://bcgplatinion.com/northamerica/
- BCG Technology and Digital Solutions: https://www.bcg.com/en-us/capabilities/technology-digital/solutions.aspx