In January 2007, an analyst from the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) embedded at Fort Drum, N.Y., noticed soldiers welding hooks onto the doors of military vehicles — an ad hoc solution for extracting people from vehicles hit by roadside bombs. This innovation, the analyst realized, could be useful in all sorts of attacks and could be fabricated anywhere. Working with the Fort Drum team, the analyst put together a series of instructions for designing and installing the hooks, complete with photographs, and circulated the digital blueprint over a vast information network that links bases and installations worldwide. Within 48 hours, the equipment modification had been adopted at numerous U.S. Army facilities.
That the information for this simple solution to a life-threatening problem benefited so many people so quickly represents an important success story. The Army’s bureaucracy has taken hits over the years for impeding the ability to communicate essential knowledge quickly throughout the organization. To address that concern, the Army developed the CALL network in 2006, a surprisingly supple Web-based collaboration system through which new bottom-up concepts like the Fort Drum door hooks are disseminated instantly to those who can benefit from them. In its first year of operation, the network shared more than 15,000 lessons from combat operations. Of these, more than 4,000 led directly to improvements in unit preparation and training for deployment.
The Army’s success should serve as a lesson to the private sector. Most companies are awash in insights and ideas that emerge from specific situations but that could apply broadly across the organization to solve problems, promote efficiency, and even generate revenue. The trouble is that these valuable ideas get stuck in the silos of their origination and are never used to their full potential. As Peter Aiken, professor of information systems at Virginia Commonwealth University, puts it: “Most corporate organizations have no function or formalized processes in place devoted to learning lessons from what’s happened.”
Technology can do much to disseminate vital information to the people who need it most. For example, under the CALL system, which runs on Microsoft SharePoint, soldiers and analysts subscribe to topics in their areas of interest and expertise. When an analyst posts content to a topic site, subscribers automatically receive an alert with a link to the material. Information is categorized and stored within searchable archives. Network users who need assistance can call on a staff of knowledgeable technicians. CALL also enables analysts to “push” appropriate products, such as handbooks and newsletters, into the organization.
As the Army discovered, however, implementing such a system must begin by addressing two challenges: identifying the right people and processes to serve as the foundation of the network, and, on a larger scale, working around deep-rooted behaviors and sensitivities while slowly changing the culture.
People and Processes. Knowledge systems fail when individuals in the organization are not motivated to read current content or post it to the network. To address this, the Army established a trusted team of 200 analysts — many of whom are retired commissioned and noncommissioned officers — to embed in units at home and abroad, at training locations and schools, and at offices responsible for organizational change. Their primary tasks are to gather, analyze, and disseminate knowledge on the CALL network. All of the analysts have extensive experience in the inner workings of the Army, a deep grasp of the Army’s vision, and an understanding of the organization’s intricacies. These qualifications not only ensure that the analysts’ postings are valuable to enlisted men and women but are also credible to senior leaders. Indeed, because top Army officers are less likely to regularly scan CALL content, analysts also send out “big issues” lists to commanders to focus their attention on critical posts, such as a recent report on new enemy sniper techniques. That observation led to instant alerts to soldiers on the ground and immediate changes in seven training courses for units about to deploy.