In 2014, Frank Kendall, then Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Technology and Logistics, advised the military services to “start looking at how to get quantities and lower risks,” replacing what he saw as ill-advised focus “on a small number of expensive objects.” [1] 

We hear a lot about “disruptive technology,” but what does that really mean? It is one thing to put together a trend piece or identify the next big thing. Understanding it and planning for the disruption is another challenge altogether.

Revitalizing workforce agility is urgent; it is a priority that must be satisfied if business leaders are to achieve transformation or modernization goals amidst an ever-changing landscape.

The future of work and workforce agility is uncertain, but not unknowable. Preparing for the future starts with understanding what is creating it. We have identified five drivers shaping the future of organizations and individuals.

Smart city technologies include the internet of Things (IoT), hyper-connected citizens, and data-driven public solutions among other things. These innovations are indeed disruptive individually, but in aggregate promise incredible opportunity for our metro areas. They also have the potential to create major hurdles for those tasked with putting these new resources to work. How do you transform an uncertain future into a platform for competitive advantage?

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The following recommendations were designed to provide DHS S&T with clear steps to increase reach, impact, innovation, and resilience. Our hope is that you will also be able to use the basis of our study as a starting point to understand the implications these changes mean to you and how to prepare and plan for the future.

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In his best-selling study of post-Cold War international relations, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Samuel Huntington studies geopolitical conflicts, looking particularly at their causes. His intentional spotlighting of the word ‘clash’ reveals the heart of the story – the points at which individuals and groups come up against belief systems antithetical to their own become forces working against one another for dominance, rather than compromise.

Strategy is overcomplicated. Government and commercial executives get so wrapped up in working to figure out all the details of a complex task or objective that they lose sight of the plan.

This simple four-step strategy approach helps to identify the path you need to take, which informs the strategy you need to build. Each step in the process below should have a clear answer that involves stakeholders from inside and outside the organization.

As a whole, modern society is more multifaceted, divisive, connected, and vocal than ever before in history. Two major forces enable this current reality – a rapid rate of change and massive personalization of products and services. The confluence of these two factors is evidence of the Knowledge Era.  Change is happening constantly, yet governments, industries, companies, and people embrace (and adapt to) change at varying rates.

The organizational structure that characterizes most modern government agencies and many commercial environments was built as an early 20^th Century Industrial Era paradigm. Hierarchical, efficient and mechanized; this structure was designed less for creative problem solving and innovation, and more for rapid mass production. The historical context in which this model emerged demanded quantity, standardization and price minimization. Low cost, mass-produced goods propelled the consumer economy. Major global events like WWII required the rapid, consistent, and widespread mobilization of funds, people, natural resources, and military equipment.

Over the past couple of years, the focus of my work has been helping organizations wrestle with the promise and challenge of disruptive technologies. I’ve participated in, led, and observed countless presentations about viable emerging technologies and disruptive companies. As part of the discussions, we have examined potential threats and risks, and constructed scenarios and preparations. I’ve worked with clients to determine the investment and portfolio compositions necessary for robust, sustainable growth. I’ve helped to build and prepare teams to brief boards of directors, interviewed more than 300 leaders across industries, and done hundreds of hours of research. Through this work, I’ve come to a single, clear realization: we’re doing it wrong.