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SMH 2018 and “Cross Functional” Officers
I’ve been distracted by the publication of Learning War and the warm welcome its received, so this follow-up post on the Society of Military History’s Annual Meeting (SMH 2018) is later than I intended. What strikes me as I review my notes from the meeting is how “cross-functional” U.S. naval officers of the early twentieth…
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Strategy from “Inherently Erroneous” Conceptions
A brief review of David G. Morgan-Owen’s The Fear of Invasion: Strategy, Politics, and British War Planning, 1880-1914 (Oxford University Press, 2017) I am very grateful for this book. David G. Morgan-Owen’s narrative provides much-needed clarity on one of the fundamental questions of World War I: How did the Royal Navy, the most dominant naval…
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On the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast
I’m excited to be on a recent episode of Vasco Duarte’s Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast along with Karl Scotland and Henrik Mårtesson. The three of us discussed strategy, doctrine, and decision-making in Agile and business contexts. Karl has some wonderful tools and approaches for what he calls Strategy Deployment (conceptualizing and promulgating a plan throughout an organization).…
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Thoughts from SMH 2018
I attended the Society of Military History’s annual conference in Louisville, KY last week and it was a wonderful time. I enjoyed catching up with old friends, making new ones, and sitting in on some very thought-provoking panels. Learning Across Peace and War The conference’s theme was “Landscapes of War and Peace” so I put…
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Learning War is Coming!
I haven’t written here in some time, but I have been doing plenty of writing. My book on organizational learning in the U.S. Navy of the early twentieth century is being published by the U.S. Naval Institute this June and I’m very excited about it. What’s it About? Learning War: The Evolution of Fighting Doctrine…
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Lean Agile Scotland – Designing the Future
Once again, Lean Agile Scotland was an excellent conference full of thought-provoking ideas and stimulating conversations. It was a pleasure to attend and speak at the event. I gained numerous insights; here are some of the most interesting. Design or Lean Agile? At the start of the second day, Cameron Tonkinwise challenged the audience with his keynote by contrasting…
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2017 McMullen Naval History Symposium
I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the “extraordinary breadth” of scholarship presented at the McMullen Naval History Symposium last week at the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. It was a wonderful conference, and Cdr. B.J. Armstrong deserves a lot of credit for its success. I’m very glad I finally got to meet him. I…
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What is Doctrine Anyway?
Later this year, I’ll be sharing the stage at SDI Miami with Stephen Bungay, whose book, “The Art of Action,” has been influential in the Agile community. He’ll be continuing to expand on his thesis—that the Prussian General Staff identified an effective approach to organizing for collective action in the face of uncertainty—and presenting on…
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Looking Forward to Lean Kanban North America
This post first appeared on Excella Consulting’s Blog. Next month I’ll be speaking at Lean Kanban North America. The last time I attended, in 2015, I was a finalist for the Brickell Key Award. I had been helping distributed teams align their work and increase their situational awareness by using Kanban. Jim Benson and I…
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Becoming an Accredited Kanban Trainer
This post originally appeared on Excella Consulting’s Blog. The Kanban Method is an empowering approach that helps individuals and teams harness their full potential. I’ve experienced its benefits repeatedly, both in my work and personal life. Last month, I increased my knowledge of Kanban by becoming an Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT) through Lean Kanban University…
Trent Hone 