Air Force and Decision Superiority

1
Air Force and Decision Superiority

• Creating an Air Force Designed to Decide

2
Introduction

• Air Force Strategic Intent
• Based on FASOC CAF Commanders Intent
• Agency brief
• Scope
• An imperative for change?
• AF SLT (DCAF represented by GPCAPT Forestier)
• What is decision superiority?
• APDC (represented by SQNLDR Loch)
• What are we doing about decision superiority?
• AFHQ (represented by WGCDR Di Pietro)

3
An imperative for change?

• Five key ideas to think about along the away
• Foundational component of Air Forces strategic
  intent
• FASOC, Commanders Intent, Air Force of
  Influence, assimilating a DCP founded on a fully
  networked force
• Whole of Force ? partnering issue
• Decision making around Operational and
  Organisational dimensions ? considered design and
  implementation ? practical Air Force enterprise
  model resolving the ? between the organisation in
  theory and the organisation in practice
• Clarifying what we value ? ? culture ? ?
  recognition and reward
• Part of a parallel transition with Air Force
  fromtechnical ? professional masterytactical ?
  strategic air force

4
What is decision superiority?

• SQNLDR Andrew Loch - APDC

5
Decision superiority is not

• Silver bullet
• A rehash of the OODA loop
• Mathematical formulae
• Risk management

6
Decisions What are they?

• Essentially distilled thought
• Rational, irrational, intuitive, emotionally
  derived, subliminal or any combination of these
• Made by rational or irrational actors
• A human cognitive process
• That comprise acts of will lead to determined
  courses of action (including deciding not to act)

7
What is a Good Decision?

• Needed to be made
• Appropriate
• Considered (inc consequences, cost risk)
• Consultation
• Factually based
• Consistent with intent values
• Proactive
• Justifiable

8
Decision Superiority Encompasses

• Entails the acquisition of knowledge
• Is performed by individuals
• Is derived from the individual collective
  attributes of its members
• Is derived from organisational design structure
• Manifested in all we do including operations

9
Working Definition

• Decision superiority is the degree of dominance
  in the cognitive domain an organisation achieves
  through its decision-making processes that
  enables it to acquire and maintain an advantage
  over its competitors

10
Domains

• Human
• Acquisition of knowledge
• Resultant decision
• Enhanced through education, training, exercises,
  assessment rewards
• Organisational
• Appropriate structure is essential
• Communication pathways (both electronic
  personal)
• Appropriately resourced, authorised accountable
• Culture that values superior decision-making
• Encourages institutional learning
• Operational
• Shapes how a force is commanded employed

11
How can it be implemented?

• Personnel
• Culture that values effective decision-making
• Effective education training systems geared to
  career-long learning
• Personal qualities. These individuals
• Can work in ambiguous circumstances
• Recognise that their own ideas are not infallible
• Accept that they are not always right are
  prepared to learn from their mistakes
• Allow others to be wrong or make mistakes
• Have an ingrained habit of thoughtful self
  reflection
• Change the reward mechanism

12
How can it be implemented?

• Organisation
• Structure
• Re-align education practices
• Enhance internal external communications
• Develop the institutional capacity for adaptivity
  decision superiority
• Continuous improvement

13
How can it be implemented?

• Operations
• Systematically develop strategic commanders
• Emphasis on flexibility devolved
  decision-making
• Develop personal electronic networks and
  networkers

14
How will we know when we have it?

• Simplistic
• Better decisions made faster leading to dominance
  of the contested decision-space
• Relative construct
• Work continuously to maintain it

15
How will we know when we have it?

• More likely to prevail organisationally
  operationally
• Model emulated
• Learning organisation
• Adaptive
• Consistently systematically produce first-class
  leaders, thinkers statesmen
• Conduct decisive operations

16
Risks

• Personnel
• Education may come at the expense of technical
  competency
• May revert to training at the expense of
  education
• Organisational
• Unrealistic expectations
• Workforce diversity
• Workplace stress due to more organisation reform
• Operational
• More networks more data, interdependencies
  seams more risk

17
A Decisive Air Force

• Personnel are trained educated in the concept
• The organisation has made the structural changes
  required to accommodate the concept shifted its
  culture so that decision-making adaptivity is
  valued
• The physical systems that facilitate
  decision-making are in place fully operational
• Continue to use air power to produce a broad
  range of effects to meet Governments intent

18
Summary

• Decision superiority, may be
• an individual quality
• an organisational attribute
• an outcome
• Decision superiority is found in organisations
  designed, structured, trained exercised to make
  superior decisions, in a time fashion of their
  choosing, at every organisational level

19
SO WHAT ?

• WGCDR Antonio Di Pietro

20
RESHAPE Three phase ten year () strategy
Redesign
2007
2017
Regenerate
Process, Workforce structures, Organisations
Re-engineer
Implement redesign, Develop new and improved
management processes
Grow into a sustainable Air Force, Operate
the sustainable Air Force
CAF 1
CAF 2
CAF 3
21
(No Transcript)
22
DS - Encompasses

• Decision superiority
• Entails the acquisition of knowledge through the
  timely delivery of correct, quality information
  in context to the appropriate level
• Is the agile APPLICATION of knowledge using
  reasoning, intuition and perception (cognitive
  processes) based on solid mental models
• Is derived ORGANISATIONALLY from the individual
  collective attributes of its members
• Is performed by individuals and
• Is enabled through dynamic organisational
  learning

23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
(No Transcript)
26
Conclusion

• What is the imperative for change?
• Foundational component of Air Forces strategic
  intent
• To determine a future of our fashioning
• What is decision superiority?
• Decision superiority is the degree of dominance
  in the cognitive domain an organisation achieves
  through its decision-making processes that
  enables it to acquire and maintain an advantage
  over its competitors
• What is Air Force doing about decision
  superiority?
• Redesign - process, workforce structures,
  organisations
• Reengineering - Implement redesign
• Regenerate growing operating a sustainable
  Air Force
• Delivering an air force designed to decide

27
Questions?

• DS Pathfinder available out the front
• APDC Concept paper will be distributed late next
  week
• www.raaf.gov.au/airpower
• Copy of this presentation
• CAF Commanders Intent
• FASOC
• APDC Strategic Air Forces Paper (No 24)
• APDC Decision Superiority Paper (No 28)
• APDC Pathfinder on Decision Superiority (No 100)