Bleeding Talent How the U.S. Military Attracts, Trains, and Mismanages Great Leaders

1. Bleeding TalentHow the U.S. Military Attracts, Trains, and Mismanages Great Leaders Tim Kane, Ph.D. The Kauffman Foundation February 2011

2. Overview • Atlantic magazine essay (January 2011) • Why focus on the U.S. Army? Because I think it is the most important branch, the most affected by the problem, and the most innovative. • Survey of 250 West Point grads • The straw man debate • A small vision for reform

3. Why The U.S. Military Is Getting Dumber P.80 Provocative, but misleading title. It reminds me of the joke about military intelligence which, yes, I have heard before … Well, authors do not write titles or blurbs. Editors do. It got attention, but set back the discussion.

4. Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving Why are so many of the most talented officers now abandoning military life for the private sector? Increasingly, the military is creating a command structure that rewards conformism and ignores merit. As a result, it’s losing its vaunted ability to cultivate entrepreneurs in uniform.

5. What is the Army Doing Right? • Recruiting superior talent (officers and enlistees) • Evaluations ACOM, BCOM • Cutting-edge war-games & simulations • Training adaptable leadership (entrepreneurship) • Real responsibility for young leaders • Supporting innovation at the tactical level • Fostering entrepreneurial sub-orgs (e.g. Rangers) • Many more things than I can know or list … People are great, culture is great, structure is bad.

6. What is the Army Doing Wrong? • Merit is ignored in favor of seniority, box-checking. • Performance evaluationis politically correct, not detailed, not useful for feedback. • Promotions are strictly gated: one narrow path. • Up or out framework discourages entrepreneurship, talent development. No lateral entry. • Job-matching is a disaster. Meant to be objective, instead there is a “black book” network. Inefficient and morale crushing. But none of this should be a surprise, because the core culture of the military is Spartan, a.k.a. egalitarian. Operationalized through central planning.

7. Survey of 250 West Point Grads “93 percent believed that half or more of ‘the best officers leave the military early rather than serving a full career.’ Among active- duty respondents, 82 percent believed that half or more of the best are leaving.”

8. Survey of 250 West Point Grads “But the talent crisis persisted for a simple reason: the problem isn’t cultural. The military’s problem is a deeply anti-entrepreneurial personnel structure.”

9. Survey of 250 West Point Grads • SSI: “Since the late 1980s … prospects for the Officer Corps’ future have been darkened by … plummeting company-grade officer retention rates. • Significantly, this leakage includes a large share of high-performing officers.”

10. Survey of 250 West Point Grads Does the current exit rate of the military's best young officers harm national security? [M]y main worry: How can the Army can break-up the institutional concrete, its bureaucratic rigidity in its assign-mentsand promotion processes, in order to retain, challenge, and inspire its best, brightest, and most-battled tested young officers to lead the service in the future?  - Robert M Gates, Secretary of Defense

11. Survey of 250 West Point Grads Does the current exit rate of the military's best young officers lead to a less competent General Officers Corps?

12. Survey of 250 West Point Grads Which of the following statements do you agree with? (check all that apply). The current military personnel system ...

13. Straw Man Debate • Best and Brightest vs. Dummies • Quitters vs. Patriots • West Point Elites vs. ROTC The retention crisis is a symptom, but it is the lesser form of talent bleeding. Internal bleeding is the real danger.

14. Evolution of the U.S. Military "In the course of [Gen. Westmoreland's] testimony, he made the statement that he did not want to command an army of mercenaries. I stopped him and said, 'General, would you rather command an army of slaves?' He drew himself up and said, 'I don't like to hear our patriotic draftees referred to as slaves.' I replied, 'I don't like to hear our patriotic volunteers referred to as mercenaries.’” - Milton Friedman Freedom rather than coercion. Not: slave or mercenary. Professionals should not be coerced.

15. Evolution of the U.S. Military Freedom rather than coercion. Not: slave or mercenary. Professionals should not be coerced.

16. Questions about Talent • Why is the top engineering graduate not able to apply for an engineering position? Wrong AFSC • What is the difference between a 14-year and a 16-year officer? Different Year Groups • Why can’t commanders select their own officers? Central Planning says “Needs of the Army” • Why can’t ex-officers return to the ranks? Because they lack experience!

17. HRC(Personnel Command) Commanders: Tens of thousands of job openings at various units around the military. HRC tries to manage careers, fill jobs, forecast needs. Officers apply to locations, not jobs. Boards meet to review and promote officers. Commanders have little say in who is assigned to them.

18. All Free Force(an economist’s framework) Each commander is responsible for hiring personnel in his unit. Trust individuals to do what is best for their own career. Use market forces to meet needs of the military, not coercion. Boards still meet to authorize, not award promotions. Each commander has an HR officer for hiring, mentoring.

19. Bleeding TalentHow the U.S. Military Attracts, Trains, and Mismanages Great Leaders Tim Kane, Ph.D. tkane@kauffman.org www.growthology.org