“Confronted with a task, and having less information available than is needed to perform that task, an organization may react in either of two ways. One is to increase its information-processing capacity, the other to design the organization, and indeed the task itself, in such a way as to enable it to operate on the basis of less information. These approaches are exhaustive; no others are conceivable. A failure to adopt one or the other will automatically result in a drop in the level of performance.” —Martin van Creveld, Command in War

As this is the last week of the year, many of us are understandably looking back at the past 12 months and discussing what we consider to be the significant events of 2012.

In most cases, such discussions tend to focus on the numerous challenges and upheavals we’ve either watched from afar or witnessed firsthand — from police response to crisis to police officers being ambushed and killed in the line of duty.

“In complex settings in which we have to take the context into account, we can’t codify all the work in a set of procedures. No matter how comprehensive the procedures, people probably will run into something unexpected and will have to use their judgment.” ~Gary Klein

"This facile coup d'oeil of the General, this simple art of forming notions, this personification of the whole action of War, is so entirely and completely the soul of the right method of conducting War, that no other but this broad way is it possible to conceive that freedom of the mind which is indispensable if it is to dominate events, not be overpowered by them." ~Carl von Clausewitz

Raising the Bar: Creating and Nurturing Adaptability to Deal With the Changing Face of War, by Don Vandergriff, is a book anyone who knows me has heard me speak of and highly recommend over the years. The copy I own is highlighted throughout and the information contained in this powerful little book fits right into the law enforcement profession. I was just going back through the book this morning and wanted to share with you a section from the book, How do adaptive leaders think?

Adaptive Leaders has another outstanding conversation. This one is with, Capt Bradley from the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School talks about Col John Boyd ideas, as they apply to rapid decision making and getting inside your adversaries OODA loop, creating friction and slowing down their decision making abilities. Giving you the initiative!

In crisis situations are you closed minded and locked into one specific way of handling situations or are you open minded and adapt tactics to meet the circumstances you find yourself in as you attempt to solve tactical dilemma’s?  Is your chosen method wrapped up in a sole technique you learned or, have you learned to artfully apply tactics based on the foundational principles in realization the the foundation or checklist alone may not help you in reaching sound decisions and the outcomes you seek?  The foundational principles are important but we all to often this is, where w

…Among other things, a balance must be struck between the need for control from above and for initiative from bellow; between