The Downfall of Adaptive Planning: Finding a New Approach after a Failed Revolution

Abstract

The dream that was adaptive planning (AP) is slowly dying. Despite great fanfare during its launch more than six years ago, this strategic transformation initiative within the Department of Defense (DOD)--intended to revolutionize the approach to war planning of the world's largest bureaucracy--has failed by almost any measure. Ironically, this failure is not the result of budget cuts or wartime distractions; rather, it is a casualty of its own institutional culture. Fixated on the virtues of planning, the military could not see that the desired outcomes depended on a revolution in strategic thinking, not strategic planning. Although planning will remain a cornerstone of military culture, today's environment demands more focus on the application and development of adaptive thinking as our primary discipline. Only then will we position ourselves to realize the dream of AP.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA563520

Entities

People

  • John F. Price Jr.

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Communities
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Department Of Defense
  • Education
  • Guidance
  • Military Education
  • Military Planning
  • Military Science
  • Personality
  • Personnel Management
  • Revolutions
  • Thinking
  • Training
  • Transportation
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States
  • Word Processors

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Systems Analysis and Design