Boyd: The Mad Major, The Ghetto Colonel, The Innovator: DeMarco Banter or Who Do You Want to Be Today?

Who do you want to be today?Who do you want to be?Who do you want to be today?Do you want to be just like someone on TV? Oh, boredom is so terrible; it's like a dread diseaseNothing could be worseThan when there's nothing on TVI'd rather be a cowboy than to stare blank at the …

Enabling Factors for Innovating in Hard Structures vs Corporate—Or I Fought The Law and The Law Won: DeMarco Banter

Breakin' rocks in the hot sun I fought the law and the law won. --The Clash (sort of) I had a colleague ask the other day—what’s the story behind innovation in a massive bureaucracy like the US Department of Defense—what are the enabling factors?  That last part had me a bit miffed—what are the enabling …

OFFSET STRATEGY X:  Feed my Frankenstein–Neo-DeMarcoian Thought 

Well, I ain't evil I'm just good lookin' Start a little fire And baby start cookin' I'm a hungry man But I don't want pizza I'll blow down your house And then I'm gonna eat ya —FEED MY FRANKENSTEIN  I've always been fascinated by the evolution of military strategies, specifically the offset strategies employed by …

Ever Heard of This Guy…Pareto? Beyond the 80/20 Rule–Lessons for Leaders, Innovators, and Strategists: DeMarco Banter

For some reason, as of late, I've been hearing a lot of the theories and principles established by the influential Italian economist and sociologist, Vilfredo Pareto. I knew about the 80/20 principle, but it might need to be explored a bit deeper on how it applies in various aspects of life. In that reading I …

War of the Worlds in a System of Systems Strategy: Neo-DeMarcoian Thought

Systems Thinking  My head is on straightMy heart is in peaceMy soul is incrediblyReady to change history It's a good dayTo fight the system, to fight the systemIt's a good, good, good dayYes, a good, good, good day. - Shungudzo, 2021 Systems thinking is an approach to problem-solving that views "systems" - whether they're parts …

The Next George Kennan: Does the World Need One? DeMarco Banter

Gimme a ticket for an aeroplaneAin't got time to take a fast trainLonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' homeMy baby, just a wrote me a letter. --The Boxtops, 1967 Who is the next George Kennan? George Kennan was a prominent American diplomat and historian, best known for his successful advocacy of a "policy of containment" …

Innovation in The Machine: Disrupting, Diffusing , and Accelerating the Silver Bullet

Welcome my sonWelcome to the machineWhere have you been?It's alright we know where you've been You've been in the pipelineFilling in timeProvided with toys and scouting for boysYou brought a guitar to punish your ma And you didn't like schoolAnd you know you're nobody's foolSo welcome to the machine -Pink Floyd, Welcome To The Machine, …

Biding Time with The Assassin’s Mace and China’s Strategy: Neo-DeMarcoian Thought

Do what they say Say what you mean …one thing leads to another You told me something wrong I know I listen too long But then one thing leads to another. —The Fixx, One Thing Leads to Another BIDING TIME AND HIDING CAPABILITIES The "biding time and hiding capabilities" strategy is a phrase attributed to …