Decisive action amid the chaos of crisis

The pandemic has led to a total lockdown taking away our freedom of movement & assembly. It threatens our lives and is destroying our economies. The military with its hierarchy and experience in working under uncertainty and great time pressure taking multiple decisions with heavy consequences could be a source of leadership to provide directions in this fluid and uncertain condition.

The military command structure that has evolved over generations is explicitly suited to handle crisis and take quick decisions.

The current pandemic requires some unique decisions to be taken quickly and at the same time plan for structural changes in many industries.

3 main insights from military

• A command structure that eliminates confusion, is clear, enabling quick decisions
• An integrated crisis management plan across all time horizons to reduce chaos.
• An age-old principle that keeps you focussed and motivated.

many companies have taken corrective action to manage the present. Simultaneously they need to plan for an extended period of uncertainty.

Military structure focusses on who does what and who makes which decisions. the objective is to ensure that in fluid situations it is necessary to focus on what a person does best and demarcates their work very clearly.

Normally there are for different focus areas;

• Insights team: finding the truth, analysing internal and external conditions.
• Operations team: Focus on delivering results by co-ordinating the urgent activities and drive the execution.
• Plan-ahead team: Create scenarios and recommend strategies, analyse, debate and make decisions for the operations team to execute.
• Communication team: provide timely information to both internal and external stakeholders coherently.

When dealing with uncertainty, the military develops plans across horizons and separate thinking from doing.

Their decision-making structure is very flat. The chief sets a direction and relies on his subordinates to make the right judgements based on available information. Some decisions may go wrong but acting is less risky than inertia.

The type and frequency of reporting must be in an agile way.

Understand what information is relevant and that place a big role in winning the battle.

the structure is modular and scalable. When new issues come up, fresh teams join to deal with the same. Each team uses their cross-functional expertise to test out solutions and is dissolved once the task is completed. This structure provides effective distribution of labour and clear accountability. It is lean with a basis for action, conducting analysis rapidly, investing time to provide regular updates with top leaders.

Eisenhower said plans are useless but planning is indispensable.

When dealing with uncertainty, the military develops plans across different timespans and separate thinking from doing. there is a clear demarcation between current operations and planning future ones.

Strategic principles

• To achieve an objective in a complex situation you need a goal simple and clear enough for everybody to understand. Activities that do not promote the goals should be paused.
• maintain resilience as the crisis unfolds. Balance losses against accomplishing critical objectives. protect high-value assets and focus resources on achievable goals.
• take a vigorous approach to make use of opportunities.
• Inject elements of surprise and innovation. think of new ways of mitigating the crisis.
• Concentration on the main effort would demand the economy elsewhere.
• Conserve effort to sustain the fight. 

leadership principles:

• Maintain morale - this is crucial to success characterised by courage, confidence and sustained hope.
• retain flexibility - encourage people to think creatively and be resourceful. 
• Foster cooperation - mutual trust and goodwill, a common aim, divide responsibilities.

Business leaders should empower their organisations to rise to the occasion collectively. Plan ahead with some of the senior and most experienced staff. 

By adopting the lessons of military command they can ensure that the organisation weathers the storm and comes out better prepared for the future.

Lessons from the generals: Decisive action amid the chaos of crisis

by Yuval Atsmon, David Chinn, Martin Hirt, and Sven Smit