A colleague and I had the unique opportunity to sit down with Dr Robert Laird to discuss logistics in the Pacific. The interview and video is at the link below. The interview is about military strategy in the Pacific, but the takeaway leadership lessons are all about strategy.
Leaders should be the ones looking at the horizon, and drawing lessons from history. For the strategic leader, decisions about the direction of the organization are all about context. Knowing where you’re going, and where you’ve been, are keys to good strategy.
Here’s what I had to say about the link between World War II and present day:
General Hap Arnold, in preparing the after action report for World War II, highlighted the centrality of logistics and combat support for Air Force operations. He wrote, “Modern war is a war for air bases, the bulldozer must accompany the plane,” and of course the fuel truck and warehouse and the ships and all the specifics that go with supporting a forward deployed air force.
The key terrain during and prior to World War II and the key terrain during the Vietnam and Korea conflicts and all the other conflicts we’ve had in the Pacific is still the same key terrain today. And we have the same allies, many of the same partners, the same friends, and the same places that are important to us.
The key areas are still important for different reasons, but they’re still key terrain to enable our strategy.