I thought this was interesting. I have benefited and lifted as much as possible from thinking at DOD on network-centric strategy. It is amazing to see the folks in very different fields struggling with the same questions and same resistance to change ideas. The questions he asks and the measures Cebrowski ask are not that different from questions raised here or on World Changing, Movement as Network or lots of other interesting blogs.
1. Given the challenges and change we need to make today in policy, behavior and the economy...how relevant are the big nonprofits?
2. Where do peace groups, social change and advocacy movement need to innovate to create a different future?
It is also out of respect for the contribution "network-centric and self-synchronization" ideas will ultimately have on broader progressive social change movement that it is worth noting his passing.
The advice to leaders is worth a read.
Link: www.GovExec.com - Parting Wisdom (3/22/06).
He was naturally drawn to Cebrowski, a 37-year Navy veteran who headed up the Pentagon's Office of Force Transformation from 2001 through 2005, until cancer forced him to retire. Cebrowski pushed military leaders and civilian Defense Department execs to rethink how they organize the armed forces, arguing for a transformation from an industrial-age, hierarchical military to an information-age, networked force....pieces of advice to leaders:
Be bold. "Don't try to do it unless it looks impossible. You have to pick up the things that look really hard. Other people will have done everything else."
Be fast. "No transformational leader ever looks back and regrets moving too fast."
Be specific. "If you lack specificity, your subordinates will be able to change your message to suit their own purposes."
