THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111-2496
415 781 5700
rodwelch@pacbell.net


S U M M A R Y


DIARY: July 15, 2003 11:17 AM Tuesday; Rod Welch

Letter to Gary on transformation from IT to KM that enables CFISR.

1...Summary/Objective


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SUBJECTS
SDS Enables CFISR Organizational Memory Intelligence Advance from IT
Command Control CFISR Core Deliverable for Command and Control
Steady-as-she-goes 3-layer Architecture Strategy Build Experience Bas
Attitude Changes When Change from SDS Format for KM to Word Format fo
2nd Act Gary Plans to Meet with Nancy Review SDS Format Intel
Action Item System Gary Assigned to Develop for Project Considering M
Plan Meet with Nancy Demonstrate SDS for Supporting CFISR Enabled by
CFISR Enabled by SDS Command Control Organizational Memory Intelligen
SDS Demonstrates Memory Better than Most, Nancy Bucher Commending and
Gets It For the Moment that Management in 21st Century Requires Dedic

4912 -
4912 -    ..
4913 - Summary/Objective
4914 -
491401 - Follow up ref SDS 6 YJ4F.
491402 -
491403 - Gary submitted planning today for following up to demonstrate SDS to
491404 - Nancy with the US Army, who noted on 030702 that Gary's records on the
491405 - project demonstrate a better memory than most, which enable being
491406 - prepared under requirements for "intelligence" that supports
491407 - situational awareness, called out by CFISR. ref SDS 6 IX8L
491409 -  ..
491410 - Sent Gary a reply letter saying....
491411 -
491412 -    1.  Gary,
491414 -         ..
491415 -        Good analysis in your letter below, adding to our discussion
491416 -        this morning.
491418 -         ..
491419 -    2.  Your approach to visibility of SDS and Com Metrics on the
491420 -        project supports the meeting you plan to have with Nancy on
491421 -        encouraging the US Army to consider SDS for part of the
491422 -        solution to deliver CFISR, i.e., to grasp the benefit of
491423 -        technology that balances the need to be convincing in order to
491424 -        make a sale, with the corollary benefit of deliberation in
491425 -        order to understand and perform on what is sold.  While selling
491426 -        occurs largely in the moment, understanding and follow up are
491427 -        critical to productivity and earnings.  The military generally
491428 -        calls this task "intelligence" and "analysis," and so there may
491429 -        be an audience within the military to support deliberative
491430 -        analysis enabled by SDS to balance their primary focus on
491431 -        getting technology to gather and transmit information using
491432 -        URVs, satellites and operatives on the ground with cell phones
491433 -        and hand held computing devices.
491434 -
491435 -            [On 030804 Gary demonstrated SDS to Nancy showing how
491436 -            flexible structure enables working "intelligently,"
491437 -            essential for CFISR. ref SDS 8 IO9F
491439 -         ..
491440 -    3.  In particular, the arguments you made in our discussion today
491441 -        are supported by the professional event held in Paris some
491442 -        years ago where Gates and Ellison discussed a vision for
491443 -        advancing beyond information technology.  Gates and Ellison did
491444 -        not explain improvements to make this advance, as reported on
491445 -        970222. ref SDS 1 3967  You are creating an SDS record that
491446 -        demonstrates a clear vision and ability to perform that enables
491447 -        immediate progress toward a culture of knowledge, advancing not
491448 -        only the military art, but the whole of civilization.
491450 -         ..
491451 -    4.  Arguing from the words of Gates and Ellison provides a measure
491452 -        of credibility that may open a window for Nancy to see out of
491453 -        the box of IT to discover that CFISR holds the promise of a
491454 -        stronger solution, and that this begins with integrating
491455 -        wordprocessing and spreadsheets to provide a "Spreadsheet for
491456 -        Knowledge" where people have command and control of the record,
491457 -        essential for working intelligently.  Common ground with CFISR
491458 -        should be easy to grasp in this light, but one can never
491459 -        overestimate the immunity of the willfully blind who have been
491460 -        inocculated against improvement by the glow of success.
491462 -         ..
491463 -    5.  Of course, Nancy may well hit on the idea of hiring IBM who now
491464 -        owns Lotus Notes.  Remembering that Lotus once made a good
491465 -        spreadsheet, there is hope and expectation that Lotus can make
491466 -        the leap from information to knowledge.  Since IBM tried this
491467 -        and failed, the Army needs to study what works, rather than
491468 -        place their bets on tools that have proven to fail, as reported
491469 -        on 001130, showing that KM is a secret of SDS. ref SDS 2 F26K
491471 -         ..
491472 -    6.  After offering support for the notion of advancing beyond IT,
491473 -        consideration might be given to the need for solving the
491474 -        problem Nancy cited the other day on 030702, noting that nobody
491475 -        has time for understanding the details of meetings, ref SDS 6
491476 -        1D46, by noting further that loss of "understanding" has
491477 -        devastating consequences for productivity in business and for
491478 -        life and death on the battle field, which CFISR aims to remedy,
491479 -        and is illustrated for application in management and meetings
491480 -        by Roy Roebuck's analysis in the record on 020217 showing how
491481 -        people working at DOD, as elsewhere, desperately need command
491482 -        and control of the record for meetings, just like CFISR is
491483 -        critical for the battlefield of the future. ref SDS 4 9360
491484 -
491485 -            [On 030729 letter to Gary encourages demonstrating to Nancy
491486 -            how flexible structure of SDS enables working
491487 -            "intelligently," essential for CFISR. ref SDS 7 TN92
491489 -         ..
491490 -    7.  This record provides a common basis for understanding the need
491491 -        and the opportunity that Gates and Ellison had in mind in 1997.
491493 -         ..
491494 -    8.  Then, note how Roebuck found that the SDS design provides a
491495 -        spreadsheet for knowledge which solves the problem DOD has
491496 -        making meetings productive, and which concerned Nancy in her
491497 -        recent email to you. ref SDS 4 3105
491499 -         ..
491500 -    9.  It would be great if Roy was still at DOD, but since he is not,
491501 -        we'll just do the best we can with what we do have, which is a
491502 -        record of his analysis.
491504 -         ..
491505 -   10.  Finally, metaphors are sometimes helpful sales aids.  The
491506 -        record on 010517 meeting with Pat Lincoln at SRI describes the
491507 -        challenge the military faces in achieving effectiveness for
491508 -        CFISR, where the core design for converting information into
491509 -        knowledge is counterintuitive.  By definition, when the answer
491510 -        is not obvious, people have a hard time "getting it," but as
491511 -        with Columbus who sales West to discover the riches of the
491512 -        East, sometimes when the need is very great the military will
491513 -        look beyond the obvious and embrace fundamental advance.
491514 -        ref SDS 3 TL6I
491516 -         ..
491517 -   11.  Naturally, you will encounter a lot of flack and heavy seas
491518 -        from Aerospace company's internal efforts to sell its approach to KM to
491519 -        the Army for combat.  Review shows that Aerospace company's efforts are
491520 -        totally unrelated to SDS support, with the result that these
491521 -        are not competitors, so Aerospace company need not feel threatened.  Of
491522 -        course this happy scenario will not likely occur, based on
491523 -        experience with Aerospace company reported on 030624, ref SDS 5 FL88, but
491524 -        with a little luck, Aerospace company could get swept along and wind up
491525 -        learning to produce useful tools as part of development effort
491526 -        on SDS, and this would benefit them, along with everyone else,
491527 -        which is the main reason why it probably won't happen.  But,
491528 -        again, if don't try then the whole thing will wind up as
491529 -        another boondoggle, at least on the CFISR angle.
491531 -         ..
491532 -        Happy sailing with your meeting.
491534 -         ..
491535 -        Rod
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4916 -