The Command and
Control culture that is
the military, that is
law enforcement and to a lesser degree that is fire fighting's backbone has severe limitations
when applied to organizations that require innovation and transformation to
thrive or even just to survive. In spite
of what the gurus over at the Harvard Business Review have to say, the Command
and Control culture cannot be layered over the existing culture of an
organization successfully simply because the new CEO/CIO/CFO/COO is from
another organization with a long standing Command and Control culture. It doesn't seem to matter what post graduate
degree they've got tucked under their epaulet regardless of how it was supposed
to compliment the braid and embroidery.
The very notion of a Command and Control culture background fights
innovation and transformation when it is coming from the senior levels of
management. There are lessons to be
learned from the Command and Control world, but when its unyielding dictums are
applied too rigorously to those not already steeped in the culture the
application spawns fear and loathing. By
all means let's find a place for experienced military and paramilitary leaders
in the mainstream of the corporate world, but bear in mind that only a special
few are equipped to take a seat in the C-Suite.
