New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World
March 23, 2015
Retired U.S. general McChrystal (My Share of the Task) and his coauthors draw on their respective military and management experience to construct this well-written business book about “what’s different in today’s world and what we must do about it.” There’s some heady stuff in here, including precise descriptions of military procedure, and detailed explorations of the valuable lessons the military has learned recently about collaboration. As McChrystal notes, that change hasn’t been easy for an organization that long prided itself on a strict “command-and-control” flow of power and “need to know” philosophy. The resulting book is a collection of innovations that the modern U.S. Army has embraced—and that most corporations can too. In the new paradigm proposed here, the focus is on “adaptability” instead of “efficiency,” promoting “generalized awareness,” and empowerment. The authors’ abundance of material is made manageable by good organization and some surprisingly strong writing. There are only a few non-military examples (such as GM and Ford’s contrasting organizational approaches), so readers not interested in military strategy may leave this book unfinished; for any other businesspeople, it will get a definite thumbs-up. Agent: Robert Barnett, Williams & Connolly.