PPI is pleased to announce that Christopher L. Fussell and Vice Admiral (Ret.) Mike LeFever will join the panel of distinguished speakers at PPI’s upcoming symposium on December 3rd, 2014 in San Francisco.
“Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) experience: Implementation of decentralized control to combat operations and project delivery.”
Like capital projects, military operations are temporary production systems. They require detailed planning, use of complex logistics / supply networks and have defined short-term objectives. And, like major projects, the context in which military operations take place is dynamic and unpredictable.
Historically, the military has operated based on a command and control model. The shortcomings of this approach became apparent during the last decade of combat, when JSOC was tasked with defeating disparate terrorist networks across Iraq and Afghanistan.
Extremely capable teams and supporting resources were hampered by lack of real-time information and an outdated centralized command and control approach. To address this issue, under the leadership of General Stanley McChrystal, JSOC adopted an agile approach that included the concepts of shared consciousness and empowered execution.
This presentation will describe the use of common near real-time data (shared consciousness) and the tactic of moving decision making close to the point of attack (empowered execution), which were successfully implemented to radically improve field performance and results.
Christopher L. Fussell
Chris Fussell is a partner at McChrystal Group. His military career led him to work with McChrystal Group co-founder General Stanley McChrystal, and gave him first-hand experience with the development of what has become McChrystal Group’s CrossLead framework.
Chris spent 15 years on US Navy SEAL Teams, ultimately leading SEAL elements in combat zones around the globe. From war-torn Kosovo, to counter-terrorism operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, to highly specialized efforts in the troubled areas of the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, Chris experienced the modern evolution of the US military’s Special Operations community.
Chris went on to earn a Master’s in Irregular Warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School, receiving the Pat Tillman Award for highest peer-rated Special Operations Officer in the program. His thesis work focused on the interagency collaboration and intelligence sharing processes that drove effective, cross-silo collaboration. This whole-of-government approach, pioneered by JSOC under General McChrystal’s leadership, has become a cornerstone of operations in the post-9/11 environment.
Vice Admiral (Ret.) Mike LeFever
Vice Admiral (Ret.) Mike LeFever is a senior advisor at McChrystal Group, working with senior executives across industries on leadership, strategy, and change management.
Mike served in the United States Navy for over 38 years, culminating his military career as the Director, Strategic Operational Planning, National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Previously, he served in Pakistan as the Commander, Office of Defense Representative, Pakistan, and as the Commander, Joint Task Force Pakistan from July 2008 to July 2011.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Mike also completed graduate work at the Naval Postgraduate School, the University of North Carolina, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
About McChrystal Group
McChrystal Group draws on and advances the best practices from Special Operations, business, and academia on organizational effectiveness in the 21st Century. Our mission is to take our organizational leadership solution, CrossLead, to industry. McChrystal Group exists to enable beyond optimal performance by partnering with and unlocking the latent talent in organizations. McChrystal Group is headquartered in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. www.mcchrystalgroup.com