If war is an inherently human phenomenon, the discussion of the human aspects of war is as timeless as the discussion of war itself. One prudent starting point for any discussion on military issues is the philosophy of war described by the 19th-century theorist Carl Von Clausewitz. In Clausewitz, we have a life-long soldier explaining what it takes to reach the highest strata of the weapons profession; we would be wise to listen to what he has to say.
Nevertheless, digitization is not just about technology. Only exposure to the best technology does not guarantee digital performance. More traditional companies must have the best mix of talent to drive to make a successful transition. Companies will blend internal expertise expected to be "digitally equipped" with chosen, externally attracted, "born-digital" talent from pure-play Web 4.0 or "Internet of Things" organizations, or from traditional companies more experienced in digital approaches.
There is a big hurdle: highly experienced digital talent either capable of transforming or having the characteristics and skills to be technologically ready in the near future, is rare and in high demand. Leaders with "digital" or "internet" in their names are currently hot commodities. Compounding the problem: Leaders who are likely to succeed in leading a digital transition in a conventional company may have a markedly different profile from those who usually flourish in a pure-play, native-digital enterprise. Some research shows, born-to-digital executives may be more likely to rise through the expert ranks of pure-to-play work firms; they are often narrowly focused on one key area. On the other side, managers who excel in traditional companies appear to be largely based on their experience and abilities, including their ability to read people and inspire teams. As this analogy indicates, digital performance is not a' one-size-fits-all' skill proposition.
5. LEADERSHIP
“If your actions inspire others to dream more,
learn more, do more and become more, you are a
leader.” -Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't
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6. LEADERSHIP
“The majority of people are timid by nature, and that is why
they constantly exaggerate danger. All influences on the military
leader, therefore, combine to give him a false impression of his
opponent’s strength, and from this arises a new source of
indecision.” – On War (1832) Carl von Clausewitz
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8. (July 1, 1780 – November 16, 1831) was
a Prussian soldier who wrote
about war and the military.
CARLVONCLAUSEWITZ
"War is the continuation of politics by other means."
On War
In his book, On War, Clausewitz wrote
how to win a war, how to build an army,
and what war is.
He did not think war was an art or
a science. Instead, war was
about people, money, and land.
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11. COURAGE
"War is the province of danger, and therefore courage above all
things is the first quality of a warrior.Courage is of two kinds;
first, physical courage, or courage in presence of danger to the
person: and next, moral courage, or courage before responsibility;
whether it be before the judgment-seat of external authority, or
of the inner power, the conscience.”
– On War (1832) Carl von Clausewitz
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12. Don’t let the noise of others’
opinions drown out your own
inner voice. And most
important, have the courage to
follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow know what you
truly want to become."
- Steve Jobs
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13. INSANOCORPORESANO
"War is the realm of physical exertion and suffering. . . . Birth
or training must provide us with a certain strength of body and
soul." – On War (1832) Carl von Clausewitz
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14. "Stress and business go hand-
in-hand, and that’s not a bad
thing; high pressure situations
can certainly be motivating, but
too much pressure can be
emotionally and physically
damaging.”
- Richard Bronson
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15. INTELLECTUALCAPACITY
"This subject, like any other that does not surpass man’s
intellectual capacity, can be elucidated by an inquiring mind,
and its internal structure can to some degree be
revealed. That alone is enough to turn the concept of theory
into reality." - On War (1832) Carl von Clausewitz
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16. "Capitalism as we have known
it, & as Milton Friedman defined
it as being purely shareholder-
based is dead. We are seeing the
emergence of a new capitalism
based on stakeholders where it’s
as important to have a
stakeholder-return as a
shareholder-return.”
- Marc Benioff
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17. COUPD’OEIL
"Continual change and the need to respond to it compels the
commander to carry the whole intellectual apparatus of his
knowledge within him. . . . By total assimilation with his mind
and life, the commander's knowledge must be transformed into a
genuine capability" – On War (1832) Carl von Clausewitz
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18. "Listen to Your Intuition"
- Jack Ma
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20. DETERMINATION
“Some may bring the keenest brains to the most formidable
problems, and may possess the courage to accept serious
responsibilities, but when faced with a difficult situation they
still find themselves unable to reach a decision. Their courage
and their intellect work in separate compartments, not together;
determination, therefore, does not result.”
– On War (1832) Carl von Clausewitz
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21. “What we need to do is always
lean into the future; when the
world changes around you and
when it changes against you –
what used to be a tail wind is
now a head wind – you have to
lean into that and figure out
what to do because complaining
isn’t a strategy.” – Jeff Bezos
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22. KNOWINGTHENATURE
OFTHETERRAIN
"War is not merely a political act, but also a political
instrument, a continuation of political relations, a carrying out of
the same by other means."– On War (1832) Carl von
Clausewitz
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23. “A leader must see the external
opportunities and the internal
capability and culture—and all
of the connections among them
—and respond to them before
they become obvious parts of
the conventional wisdom.”
― Satya Nadella
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24. CURIOSITY
“Circumstances vary so enormously in war, and are so indefinable,
that a vast array of factors has to be appreciated... The man [the
leader] responsible for evaluating the whole must bring to his task
the quality of intuition that perceives truth at every point." - On
War (1832) Carl von Clausewitz
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25. "I think it's very important to
have a feedback loop, where
you're constantly thinking about
what you've done and how you
could be doing it better."
- Elon Musk
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26. The context of the world in which he lived, his life experiences and his talents,
shaped his account of the nature of war. Although it is quite a heresy to call into
question the writing of the master in some circles, when looking at the external
validity of the description, he has provided only one data point as one looks at the
human phenomena of war throughout history.
This in no way degrades the quality or value of his research or minimizes its
effect on military thought. Ultimately, as an experienced soldier-scholar, his
definition of military genius maintains a high degree of authenticity for those who
consider aspects of the human nature in contemporary times.
CONCLUSION
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29. The book transposes Clausewitz's most common
principles of leadership and strategy to help today's
digital transformation.This book does not answer
whether or not you should advertise on Facebook or
spend in virtual reality. It's not trying to unravel a
silver bullet to make digital investments a sure thing.
It's a step back from the hype, arguing that whatever
digital means for your company, if you don't create a
digital culture, you're more likely to fail, or at least fall
short of what you want to accomplish.
DECODINGDISRUPTION
—You can sign up for the book release in Spring 2020
on naullynicolas.ch/decoding-disruption