| | November 20169CIOReviewFast forward to the Information Age where advances in capabilities happen at the speed of cyber. Digital capabilities are dispersed not amongst the DIB but across a myriad of small- and medium- sized tech firms, startups, and venture capitalists. However, our acquisition processes are still operating as though we are purchasing Cold War capabilities at Cold War speeds. In short, the glacial paces of our current acquisition processes do not keep up with the revolutionary rate of change in IT and Cyber. We cannot acquire IT and Cyber capabilities quickly enough to leverage their benefits. We need more speed. As CIOs we must look for solutions we can implement quickly and effectively across the enterprise.Maneuver, at its core, leverages flexibility in operations to gain asymmetric advantages (over business rivals, competing services, or combat adversaries). Teams must be knowledgeable enough to understand the full spectrum of the capabilities your organization provides, and they must correlate those operational functions with the IT and cyber components they deliver. For CIOs to foster agility across the organization, you need the final component.3) Innovation: While this term does not have a specific military counterpart, it is embedded in military culture. Hannibal Barca-- the Carthaginian general who used elephants to cross the Alps to carry his forces to face the Roman army-- quipped, "If we cannot find a way, we will make one." Typically, innovation will force your organization to think differently. To succeed, your organization must have an innovative mindset, and the CIO is the perfect role to model and promote it.Part of innovation rests in understanding our teams may not have all the answers. Collaborate with others to see problems from a different perspective to gain insights for solving problems in new ways. In my time as CIO, I've made it a priority to meet with CIOs from nearly every industry (large businesses to start ups), experts in academia, and colleagues in military and government to learn from each other: both what works well and what does not. I've gained invaluable insight through meeting these people and discussing challenges and solutions.So how do you promote innovation and innovation within the workplace? Beyond modeling it, you can create space for innovative thought to occur. My staff works in the Pentagon, which traditionally consists of office suites filled with conference rooms, corner offices, and cubicles. With my encouragement, some of my offices have eschewed the boxy environment in favor of collaborative spaces. My staff leverages these areas to hold impromptu think sessions and enable solution teams to tackle my highest priority problems.As CIO of your organization, endeavor to move beyond the traditional CIO roles and lead your organization's success. Use the concepts of vision, agility, and innovation to transform culture chart the path to sustained success. In the Air Force, we are working toward transforming our individualized IT architecture to a Joint Information Environment (JIE) with the other services
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