Responsibility – got any?

“Responsibility is a unique concept… You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you… If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible.” 

― Hyman G. Rickover

The courtesy of a reply – a replay from last year


I’ve corresponded with some high profile, exceptionally busy professionals over my 30 year career in the Navy.  No one compares to Admiral (Dean) James Stavridis. You can see from his tweet above that he spent the morning hand signing diplomas and writing personal notes of congratulations to hundreds of Fletcher grads.  Who does that?  Men and women who GENUINELY care about the people around them, that’s who! He’s a rare breed. 

Admiral Stavridis is simply in a class all by himself. But there are some just outside his circle – Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld, General Stanley McChrystal, VADM Dave Oliver, and LtGen Smith. Few leaders understand the OVERWHELMING power of a personal note. 

The flip side of the coin are those leaders who can’t/won’t/don’t make the time for such things. One of the busiest men in the country has proven it can be done. He works his time like the instruments of the best symphony or the talents of the best ballet company in the world. He makes it look too simple.

So, a colleague was asking about when she might expect to get a response from a Flag officer regarding a letter she had written some months ago.  I couldn’t remember what the protocol was but told her that as a former Flag Aide, ‘my’ Flag insisted that all correspondence receive a reply within 2 weeks (10 business days).  I went in search of a more precise answer and turned to the Secretary of the Navy Correspondence Manual which governs such things as much as they can be governed.

SECNAV Manual M-5216.5 March 2010 states: “Normally, correspondence should be answered within 10 working days or as prescribed by the immediate superior in command or by the tasking authority for the response.”  The timeline tightens considerably when responding to Congress – only 5 days are allowed to reply.

Knowing the state of affairs in today’s Flag offices, I am more inclined to tell my colleague not to hold her breath while awaiting a response. Breathe easy – the staff is working it.
  

Today we learned all about unicorns – Guest post from a JO

The things that Junior Officers share with me never ceases to astound me.  
Today I learned that their CO provided the first training in months for the wardroom.  The subject of this training was “unicorns”.  Seems odd to me but I am always in the listen and learn mode.  
This particular CO doesn’t spend much time training his wardroom so when it happens, his JOs are all ears.  For a full 45 minutes, CO explained in detail the origin of unicorns, the value of unicorns in today’s Navy and the importance of unicorns to the command’s mission.  
This had to have been a test and I am sure it was.  
But, not a single JO asked the CO what the hell he was talking about.  No matter that unicorns are NOT a part of the command’s mission.  The block was “checked”, the CO had provided training to the wardroom.  Word to the wise, make sure you get your “unicorn training block” checked.

If this seems ridiculous, you are on the right track. Substitute any useless training topic for “unicorn” and you’re getting closer.

Certain Aspects of Our Cryptologic Profession Are Fundamental – They Should Never Change

Rear Admiral James S. McFarland and I carried on a regular correspondence for almost 20 years. He was a great mentor and a conscientious note/letter writer. This last response was just before his death in February 2003. We had been exchanging ideas about the future of cryptology in our Naval profession. He was committed to the idea that some aspects of our profession were fundamental and should never change.

He was deeply proud of the 10,000 or so Sailors that comprised the Cryptologic Community. He, more than most, understood the value of those Sailors to the Navy and its mission. He believed in taking care of his Sailors and his Sailors knew it.

 Rest in peace Admiral.  Rest in peace.

No April fool. The letter that saved the cryptologic community

LCDR Chuck Hall, 2014 Captain Joseph Rochefort Inspirational Leadership award winner wrote this letter to VADM Tighe and the IW community nearly a year ago and we posted it here on 29 May 2015.  Proof that letters and great ideas matter.

An open letter to the IW Community

A few years ago the Cryptologic community made a significant transition as we sought to identify ourselves with the emerging mission area of Information Warfare (IW).  As a part of that transition, which ended quietly a few years later, we shifted the title of our officer corps from “Cryptologic Officer” to “Information Warfare Officer,” or IWO.  At the same time, the title of our enlisted cadre remained Cryptologic Technicians (CT).  Almost all that remains of that transition today is the title IWO.  Meanwhile, the term IW now officially refers to “Irregular Warfare.”

Today, our community is on a clear and steady course.  The Cryptologic Community Foundational Principles was issued with the intent to, “unify the efforts of the Information Warfare (IW) and Cryptologic (CT) Community, as we continue to create value through deliberate development of specialized expertise across our core skills…”  A particularly germane sentence from that document includes direction that we will, “go forward to our roots” and “focus on professionalization within SIGINT, CNO, and EW skill sets.”  The idea that we will “go forward” to our roots, as well as the focus on those three core skills, is especially pertinent to this discussion.  While communications technology has evolved, the very core of our competence remains grounded in the roots established by the likes of Captain Joseph J. Rochefort, Station HYPO, OP-20-G, and the “On the Roof Gang.”  Though the specific means by which we do so continues to evolve, our mandate remains “to create time and effects” for, and as, operational commanders.  As we do just that, it is clear that no single term in the U.S. Military lexicon, to include IW, encapsulates the core skills to which we are clearly committed and have been since that document was signed by each of our community’s Flag Officers and Senior Civilians serving at the time.

The final step of our transition should be to reestablish “Cryptologic Officer” as the official title for our officer cadre.  Information Warfare is no longer valid and the term IWO serves as a distraction from the clear course you continue to set. More importantly, as we “go forward to our roots” this change will make clear that we are a singular Cryptologic Community with both officer and enlisted warfighters who are aligned in name, competence, and vision.  A return to the title Cryptologist is far more than symbolic.  It is a name that represents our rich history, communicates who we are, and will serve to help focus our future.  As with any public change, this one will take time and the messaging is critical.  Should this change occur, it will be our collective responsibility as a community to amplify the message, and help all to understand the intent behind this change.

Sincerely,
C. H. Hall
LCDR, U.S. Navy

Seth Godin’s NEVERs – My ALWAYS

Seth Godin – Delivering on never

I will never miss a deadline
I will never leave a typo
I will never fail to warn you about a possible pitfall
I will never charge you more than the competition
I will never violate a confidence
I will never let you down
I will never be late for a meeting
There are lots of sorts of never you can deliver to a customer. You can’t deliver all of them, of course. Picking your never and sticking with it is a fabulous way to position yourself.

Mike Lambert – Delivering on always

I will always answer the mail.
I will always give my best advice.
I will always deliver on a promise.
I will always give you a second chance.
I will always have your back.  (You know who you are).
I will always remember every Sailor.
I will always try to make it better.
I will always have something to add to this list.
What’s your always?