Thinking to Win
Thread Starter
Dear CAS,
To summarise the views so far:
Please remove your head from your posterior orifice, start talking to your wonderful people in real English rather than wanqueword bolleaux and try to take the RAF back to being led by leaders and commanded by commanders - rather than being managed by "managers", fecked over by "executives" and shafted by "stakeholders".
If this proves to be impossible, perhaps I can recommend the following to your long-suffering servicemen and women:
http://www.heretical.com/miscellx/ww-print.html
To summarise the views so far:
Please remove your head from your posterior orifice, start talking to your wonderful people in real English rather than wanqueword bolleaux and try to take the RAF back to being led by leaders and commanded by commanders - rather than being managed by "managers", fecked over by "executives" and shafted by "stakeholders".
If this proves to be impossible, perhaps I can recommend the following to your long-suffering servicemen and women:
http://www.heretical.com/miscellx/ww-print.html
So an organisation that requires a chain of command and that individuals follow a set of rules and processes is going to encourage free thinking, and deviation from established processes, along with being able to challenge openly and suggest alternatives to decisions made by seniors without fear of retribution?
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me (admittedly I've been out 4 years)
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me (admittedly I've been out 4 years)
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
1. CAS is tourex.
2. The baton has been handed to Air Cdre Harry Atkinson https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harr...n_(RAF_officer)
Anyone remember a certain CAS who mandated the RAF adopt QNH vice QFE? That lasted how long after he left?
2. The baton has been handed to Air Cdre Harry Atkinson https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harr...n_(RAF_officer)
Anyone remember a certain CAS who mandated the RAF adopt QNH vice QFE? That lasted how long after he left?
Last edited by Pontius Navigator; 21st Apr 2016 at 07:26.
It seems nothing changes.
That presentation reminds me of the time the AMP's Liaison Team paid a visit to Scampton to deliver the message from 'on high'. When the Wg Cdr team leader had finished speaking, Jack Parratt, one of our Warrant Officers stood up and said to the Wg Cdr "WTF are they smoking in Main Building?"
After the presentation, one of the occupants of Hand Brake House "suggested" to Jack that he apologise for his comments. As Jack was in his final week at work before retiring, his response came as no surprise to anyone.
That presentation reminds me of the time the AMP's Liaison Team paid a visit to Scampton to deliver the message from 'on high'. When the Wg Cdr team leader had finished speaking, Jack Parratt, one of our Warrant Officers stood up and said to the Wg Cdr "WTF are they smoking in Main Building?"
After the presentation, one of the occupants of Hand Brake House "suggested" to Jack that he apologise for his comments. As Jack was in his final week at work before retiring, his response came as no surprise to anyone.
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,812
Received 137 Likes
on
64 Posts
4mastacker ... those are rare opportunities indeed. Glad Jack made use of the moment 
Oh, and a tidier link than PN's
>>> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harr...n_(RAF_officer)
I particularly likes "he attended the Royal College of Defence Studies for a year-long intervention regarding international relations and strategy.", which sums up the garbage being spoken these days. He's clearly afflicted already, poor sod.
*Other buzzwords also exist in that Wiki
"capstone education" = RCDS = Big Boys' Skool
"strategic narratives" = talked about BIG abstract subjects
"leading tactical delivery" = sqn cdr
Oh, and a tidier link than PN's
>>> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harr...n_(RAF_officer)I particularly likes "he attended the Royal College of Defence Studies for a year-long intervention regarding international relations and strategy.", which sums up the garbage being spoken these days. He's clearly afflicted already, poor sod.
*Other buzzwords also exist in that Wiki
"capstone education" = RCDS = Big Boys' Skool
"strategic narratives" = talked about BIG abstract subjects
"leading tactical delivery" = sqn cdr
I'm afraid whenever I encounter the "vision" word, I select the 6,000 yard stare mode..
What's wrong with having an aim..? FFS!
In what way does the word vision improve upon having an aim..?
What's wrong with having an aim..? FFS!
In what way does the word vision improve upon having an aim..?
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,812
Received 137 Likes
on
64 Posts
You are clearly not a visionary, but merely a gnome who looks straight down the rifle sights.
A visionary would call in CAS, instead of just pulling/squeezing the trigger
A visionary would call in CAS, instead of just pulling/squeezing the trigger
So if we have decided that thinking is good, and that implicit in the suggestion behind the T2W concept that we have expertise up and down the ranks, does that mean we're going to stop the outsourcing of thinking to consultants who seemingly know very little about what we do, but charge us a small fortune to tell us how to do it?
Probably not, but it would be a nice idea wouldn't it?
Probably not, but it would be a nice idea wouldn't it?
Genius strategy.
You have a plan with the laudable aims of encouraging everyone in the RAF to think actively and laterally. You encourage every member to mentally challenge established methods and to suggest appropriate new strategies.
You then deliver this plan using language that is incomprehensible to 75% of the audience. What on earth are they thinking? Are they thinking? Who is advising these VSOs (not that they should need advice on getting a simple message across in plain English). What would this message mean to a 17 year old new recruit from Toxteth say? It will only resonate with the Sqn Ldr/Wg Cdr/Gp Cpt ranks who are already losing touch with reality and speak in this London-centric media babble anyway.
If you cannot communicate your plan to the audience then you should not be in that leadership role; applies to lead of a 4 ship all the way up to CAS.
You have a plan with the laudable aims of encouraging everyone in the RAF to think actively and laterally. You encourage every member to mentally challenge established methods and to suggest appropriate new strategies.
You then deliver this plan using language that is incomprehensible to 75% of the audience. What on earth are they thinking? Are they thinking? Who is advising these VSOs (not that they should need advice on getting a simple message across in plain English). What would this message mean to a 17 year old new recruit from Toxteth say? It will only resonate with the Sqn Ldr/Wg Cdr/Gp Cpt ranks who are already losing touch with reality and speak in this London-centric media babble anyway.
If you cannot communicate your plan to the audience then you should not be in that leadership role; applies to lead of a 4 ship all the way up to CAS.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
So if we have decided that thinking is good, and that implicit in the suggestion behind the T2W concept that we have expertise up and down the ranks, does that mean we're going to stop the outsourcing of thinking to consultants who seemingly know very little about what we do, but charge us a small fortune to tell us how to do it?
Probably not, but it would be a nice idea wouldn't it?
Probably not, but it would be a nice idea wouldn't it?
Your CoC will then require you to work through all this and you will have to correct and convert it back to useable form. Once done it will remain on your bookshelf until you're tourex and it gets thrown out on handover.
You clearly haven't experienced the better class of consultants. They will consist of a team led by a retired Army colonel as figure head and window dressing and a PhD student who will 'thoroughly' research the project by interviewing you and your staff. They will then write a report stating what they think you told them and produce reams of data regurgitated from some JSP you already hold.
Your CoC will then require you to work through all this and you will have to correct and convert it back to useable form. Once done it will remain on your bookshelf until you're tourex and it gets thrown out on handover.
Your CoC will then require you to work through all this and you will have to correct and convert it back to useable form. Once done it will remain on your bookshelf until you're tourex and it gets thrown out on handover.
That doesn't sound too dissimilar to what I am working through at the moment. I was particularly impressed with the work that went into analysing manpower numbers and requirements - they just took a cut of the email global address list based on whoever happened to have my unit's name in their email and the abbreviation for my team. Funny old thing, it bore no relation to reality and they got upset when I kicked it back as a load of tosh.
