The Right Mix of Centralized and Decentralized Systems Wins

The systems matter......across business, government, academia, venture capital.....will technology save us!!

The dynamics of a decentralized system wins. Government, industry, academia, investors, and civil society are the pillars of the capitalist market system. Each with their own goals, metrics, and accountability. Over the last 50+ years we have seen various partnerships, collaborations and innovation between one, two and maybe three of these pillars. Collaboration across all five pillars with common goals is rare. The aligning power of the five can transform societies, countries, regions and the universe for good and for evil. America was built on these dynamic principles. History tells us it usually takes a significant event to rattle the saber in the people and each of the institutions. These inflection points provide opportunities for global leadership. We are at an inflection point with technology, society and geopolitics.

Each of the pillars have their own way of operating. They certainly come with uniquely branded egos and personalities. Many individuals have spent entire careers in one or two of these areas. Rare are individuals who span expertise across all of the pillars. Each one has their own language. Government acronyms, corporate buzzwords, university synonyms, investor cap tables, and dope street slang. The politics are thick and the NGOs and non-profits influence whatever money can buy. Unrestricted money flows provide open access of good and evil. Technologies speed the process and drugs distort the reality. A strong sense of mission is needed. National interests provide this mission. The mission of aligning the government, education, corporations, private money and talent.

The Individual

Working across government, academia, industry, investors, and communities requires new skill sets from the individuals. Skill sets that may not come naturally. Skill sets that can’t solely be learned in classrooms. Skill sets which are interpersonal in nature and require individuals to expand their knowledge beyond their domain. Your domain is now the foundation. The walls, windows, roof and doors will need to be built with different materials. In order to find and develop these materials, you will need to learn new languages, break bread in foreign locations and find trusting partners who share common values.

The Organization

Leadership matters. Organizations across government, education, private sector, economic development, and communities will need strong leaders who can make the outreach to new people, places and things. In order to do this, they will need metal fortitude, service before self attitudes, and visionary aptitude. Leaders are the connecting points. They are there to ensure the materials are available to the individuals. They set the mission, they set the tone, they own the outcomes.

A few ways we can help accelerate the new model…..

Learn a New Language

What are next generation technologies? How do you map these technologies to solve problems? What does a provost do? What influence do NGOs have with countries, regions and corporations? What are adversary’s C3 systems? What is human machine collaboration? What roles do commissioners play? What is a SBIR?

Build Trust

Across all of these pillars, diversity of thought is endless. Building trust requires personal commitments and alignment of goals. First, you need to speak a similar language. Second, you have to have the curiosity and patience to find common ground. Third, you need adaptability around common goals.

Find Ways to Integrate Centers of Gravity

Universities are filled with endless knowledge and eager minds. Centers of excellence have been built. Find them. The private industries have created endless innovation centers and tech communities. Map them to the problems. The DOD have the missions in spades. Leverage the minds of the universities and the speed of start-ups to unleash the photons. Redirect the private money flows to ventures which solve local and federal problems. Listen to the people doing the work to find out how the bread is buttered.

The Mission

While no one person or country is solely responsible for making magic, it takes leadership to make it all work. Without the leadership of America, life would be very different today for many people. Leadership in the coming years will be defined by how well societies leverage the scale of government, the next generation technology breakthroughs within academia research, the speed and market knowledge of corporations, the money flows of private wealth and the voices of the people on the street.

Tyler