Words From USMC General Tony Zinni (Ret.)
Aug 28th, 2009 by Alex
I found Tom Clancy’s Battle Ready to be an interesting portrait of USMC General Tony Zinni (now retired) and how he progressed in his career through some rather tumultuous engagements.
A lot of the book is set in Zinni’s own words, with minimal narration and filling in by Clancy. This is a good thing, since Zinni’s writing is crisp and clear. There were many passage that I thought really captured some universal ideas, whose impact pervades much farther than the subject matter of the book.
You also have to keep in mind the structural barrier to getting anything [...] done in Washington. In Washington, there is no one place, agency, or force that directs interagency cooperation. The only such cooperation is on an ad hoc person-to-person or group-to-group basis.
Though in reference to “drum[ming] up interest in a post-Saddam Iraq,” such is the case around Washington at most every agency I’ve visited or worked for. Barriers exist everywhere at every turn, layered in bureaucracy. Some of the best solutions I’ve seen have come together as a result of people coming together from disparate organizations, just trying to create something useful. Such ad hoc groups should be encouraged by management if we’re ever to get anything accomplished.
True, the United States is now in a situation that is historically unprecedented. No nation has ever wielded such physical power, and the capability to project that power quickly anywhere in the world.
Yet, also true, no great power has ever before exited in such interdependence with so many other nations. No nation today can go it alone–economically, politically, diplomatically, culturally, or religiously.
Just food for thought, here. We are a scary and fierce nation, for sure. This is a much larger issue than I can grasp all at once, but I can see evidence of interdependence in a lot of places.
I learned long ago that finding new angles in peacemaking really matters, because — paradoxically — each peacemaking situation is unique. Now matter how much experience you have, each conflict brings it own unique requirements. You have to develop a process distinctive to it. Sure, you can maybe call on or modify previous experiences, but there are no models, formulas, or formats that will necessarily help you reach your goals.
A lot of people think you can know exactly how to go about the process and become predictive. I learned you can’t. You can’t take some model off the shelf and hammer it to fit. It doesn’t work that way. What happens is this: Gaining more experiences builds up your experience base and your understanding on the possibility, and that shows you how to combine, mix-match, developer, and modify from past experiences to fit the unique situation you’re in. Experience doesn’t give you any big answers. It shows you how to be creative.
I find this so true, whether it’s troubleshooting computers, networks, or writing code. Every problem is different, yet there are a lot of people out there that think a packaged solution is going to cut it. Or worse, believe that a solution to one problem (which worked perfectly) must work for a different problem.
Formal training can help people’s creative juices flowing, but there are many cases — especially when working complex problems or integrating technologies — where time on the ground is more valuable than coursework or advanced degrees.
Public diplomacy and transparency are a good thing. But these don’t work well in some places, under some circumstances, and with some issues. Often a process hits critical moments when private negotiations are necessary to work through sensitive issues or proposals. If these are made public ever inch of the way, they can make it impossible for the parties to explore and developer possibilities.
With all the hubbub and scandals surrounding the actions of our government (and even private industry to some extent), I thought this was well put. Ever the optimist, I believe in transparency. But ever the realist, there are times when it just doesn’t work. There are many who dedicate their service to a public that doesn’t understand or appreciate their efforts. The details of which won’t see the light of day for decades (if ever). We know you’re there and appreciate your sacrifice.
