{"id":42083,"date":"2020-07-27T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/07\/27\/we-know-why-innovation-is-important-heres-how-to-do-it\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:31:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:31:27","slug":"we-know-why-innovation-is-important-heres-how-to-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2020\/07\/27\/we-know-why-innovation-is-important-heres-how-to-do-it\/","title":{"rendered":"We know why innovation is important. Here\u2019s how to do it."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Joy Duer, a student in Duke University’s Hacking for Defense course, sits inside an F-15E Strike Eagle prior to takeoff on Nov. 15, 2019, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. (Tech. Sgt. Vernon Young Jr.\/U.S. Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This month, thousands of units across all branches of the U.S. military will execute a change of command. New commanders will seek to set priorities for their command and leave their mark. However, commanders are asked to do something new: innovate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the National Defense Strategy<\/a> to the Army Operating Concept<\/a> that states innovation \u201cis critical\u201d and defined as \u201cthe result of critical and creative thinking and the conversion of new ideas into valued outcomes,\u201d why the military must innovate is doctrine. Yet, there is no playbook for how to innovate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past two years, an Air Force wing built an innovation playbook \u2014 leadership<\/a>, buy-in, experimentation and speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2018, Col. Donn Yates took command of the 4th Fighter Wing. An intellectual and warrior, he wanted, and was directed, to be more innovative. He knew that the challenges he and the Air Force would face in the future \u2014 from fighting when satellite communications capabilities were down, to using data to predict parts failure, to using social media to communicate during a hurricane \u2014 were new, with no available checklist and playbook. He set out to develop one and make innovation a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few weeks after taking command, he hosted me to discuss innovation. As the southeast regional director for the Defense Department\u2019s National Security Innovation Network<\/a>, I helped lead the department\u2019s innovation efforts across the region. NSIN\u2019s mission is to help commanders innovate by tapping into new networks of innovators in the venture technology and academic space to deliver solutions. As a former Green Beret, venture-backed startup CEO and professor at Duke University, I speak the languages of these three different communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\t