What do you get when you take an incredibly large bureaucracy and combine it with a fast-paced environment and unrelenting technological change?
Join Ben Van Buskirk as we explore innovation within large organizations, what he learned during a one-year fellowship with a Silicon Valley tech company, and how we can all apply these lessons in our daily lives.
A career naval officer, U.S. Navy Captain Ben van Buskirk held command of a naval aviation squadron and is now taking the helm at NavalX, the U.S. Navy's innovation lab charged with connecting experts and solutions to workforce needs and challenges.
Living through last week's power outages, water shutoff, gasoline shortages, and 'run' on grocery stores brings to mind just how important it is to ensure resiliency for our nation's critical infrastructure, especially when we can forecast when and how challenges can occur. But what happens when a cyber-attack comes from nowhere to wreck havoc? Will we be prepared? What are the cascading societal effects of such actions?
A shortened episode, we'll resume with a full-length episode next week with Ben van Buskirk as we discuss career diversity and how broadening experiences across a wide variety of industries can turbocharge your innovative potential.
As mentioned in this episode, here are links to my latest book (TOPGUN's Top 10), as well as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter pages. Drop a line!
Few people have had the breadth of experience that Jim Stavridis brings to the table. A retired U.S. Navy 4-star admiral, Jim is an operating executive with the Carlyle Group, a global investment firm, and Chair of the Board of Counselors for McLarty Associates, an international consulting firm. He previously served as Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, is the author of numerous books, and serves as chief international diplomacy and national security analyst for NBC News in New York. His latest book, a novel authored with Elliot Ackerman, is titled 2034.
Join us for a conversation about Jim's many lessons learned, what he views as key tools for finding success in life, and how he views opportunities in 2021 and beyond.
You can reach me at my website, via Twitter @guysnodgrass, and can find my latest book, TOPGUN's Top 10: Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit, at your favorite bookseller (like Amazon and Barnes and Noble).
Join us for a conversation on innovation, cybersecurity, and the information economy with retired U.S. Army Major General John Ferrari. John is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute think tank as well as the Chief Administration Officer for QOMPLX, a cybersecurity firm, both located in Washington, D.C.
Feel free to contact me at guy@guysnodgrass.com with any comments or show recommendations. Additionally, if you haven't already done so, I highly encourage you to check out my latest book, TOPGUN's Top 10: Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit. You can follow me on Twitter @guysnodgrass.
Join for a conversation on artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomy, and what our national security future looks like with noted author and strategist Peter Singer. Peter is a senior fellow at New America and the author of several bestselling books like Wired For War, Burn-In, and Ghost Fleet. The Wall Street Journal described Peter as "the premier futurist in the national- security environment” and he was named by the Smithsonian as one of the nation’s 100 leading innovators. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterwsinger.
This week's episode is a discussion of two important milestones in American history: the inauguration for the 46th President of the United States and the recent SolarWinds cyber attack. The inauguration and our response to it will define the next four years of political discourse in this country, but when we contemplate the long-term, few things are more critical to our "all-digital" national and economy than cybersecurity.
Join retired U.S. Navy Admiral Mike Rogers, the recent National Security Agency director and U.S. Cyber Command commander, for a discussion about America's cyber vulnerabilities, the dangers this poses to our nation, and what we've learned from the recent SolarWinds attack.
No, MacKenzie and I did not participate in yesterday's tragic events on Capitol Hill. Rather, we had a discussion just prior to the election that sounds incredibly prescient given what occurred in our nation's capitol. We dive into issues about the U.S. military and, most importantly with the incoming Biden administration, what is likely to occur with defense budgets and how that can affect national security during the next 3-4 years.
Mackenzie Eaglen is a resident fellow at American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. Mackenzie works on defense strategy, defense budgets, and military readiness. She is also a regular guest lecturer at universities, a member of the board of advisers of the Alexander Hamilton Society, and a member of the steering committee of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security.
My recent book, Holding the Line: Inside Trump's Pentagon with Secretary Mattis, may be of particular interest to you given everything that has occurred in recent days. You can find it online at Amazon, B&N, or at your local bookseller.
As always, please leave a 5-star review and positive comment -- these go a long way. Additionally, you can follow me on Twitter @guysnodgrass or online at www.guysnodgrass.com.
President-elect Biden's nomination of retired U.S. Army General Lloyd Austin to serve as Secretary of Defense was contentious from the start.
Civilian-military scholars decried his nomination as an erosion of civil-military norms, at risk of 'politicizing' the military, and diminishing civilian control of the military. But is this handwringing justified? Should a U.S. President have the latitude to bring in the people he or she desires into this position? Does a prohibition against military members serving as Secretary of Defense--created in very different times in 1947--still have merit today?
Thanks to our longtime listeners for your patience as we took a break while I launched my second book, TOPGUN'S TOP 10: Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit, now available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and local bookstores. It's not too late to grab a copy as a stocking stuffer.
Send me an email if you'd like to offer direct feedback, have ideas for future episodes, or want to strike up a conversation.
Join former National Security Agency director and U.S. Cyber Commander commander Mike Rogers as he discusses the soft digital underbelly of America's technological infrastructure.
Attack vectors. Russian interference in the 2016 election. How to protect your children's digital footprint. Russian penetration of the Pentagon's computer network. It's all here as Admiral Mike Rogers shares with us his perspective as the recently departed director for one of the world's largest intelligence agencies and as a senior leader who was charged with protecting America's digital infrastructure.
I'm also excited to announce the upcoming release of my second book, TOPGUN'S TOP 10: Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit, now available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers!
Send me an email if you'd like to offer direct feedback, have ideas for future episodes, or want to strike up a conversation.
Join cyber expert and historian Mark Hagerott for a riveting discussion regarding the numerous threats facing America in the digital realm, including the vulnerabilities of our ever-expanding digital domain, the dangers of moving too fast into automation, and the critical nature of our electoral system.
Mark Hagerott is currently the Chancellor for the North Dakota University System. Previously, he held numerous academic leadership roles at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, including as deputy director for the Center for Cyber Security Studies. Chancellor Hagerott’s research and writing are focused on the evolution of technology, education, and changes in technical career paths, and he is the author of multiple articles and book chapters, with a recent emphasis on unmanned systems.
I'm excited to announce my second book, TOPGUN'S TOP 10: Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit, is now available here!
Send me an email if you'd like to offer direct feedback, ideas for future episodes, or to strike up a conversation.
Join guests Ward Carroll and Brett Odom as we discuss the behind-the-scenes issues at play during the firing of Captain Brett Crozier, the former commanding officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt. More importantly, we openly discuss the outcomes, current-day realities, and leadership lessons important for leaders in any organization, not just the U.S. military.
Ward Carroll is a retired U.S. Navy commander and naval aviator who currently serves as the director of outreach and engagements for the U.S. Naval Institute. Brett Odom is a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot, Harvard business school graduate, and managing director of Azimuth, a management consulting firm located in Arlington, Virginia.
Follow Ward on Twitter @wardcarroll.
Send me an email if you'd like to offer direct feedback, ideas for future episodes, or to strike up a conversation.
Join Guy Snodgrass and guest co-host Mark Solomons as they discuss adversarial AI with Russian experts Mike Kofman and Sam Bendett.
Adversarial AI is incredibly important, as nations competing with America seek to overtake our technological capabilities or hinder our ability to use AI in military applications. In this episode, Mike and Sam walk us through Russia's current AI program, how Russians view the world, and the current state of U.S.-Russian-Chinese competition.
Mike Kofman is Director of the Russian Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Sam Bendett is also with CNA was an advisor on the Russian military and decision-making calculus during military crises.
Join Holding the Line for a discussion on the U.S. Navy's decision to reverse course yet again on Captain Brett Crozier, the former commanding officer of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Admiral Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, decided on Friday to uphold the firing of Captain Crozier. Mark and I discuss his press conference and the report released by the U.S. Navy to elaborate on the reasons for his removal from command. Was the Navy's decision the right one? Tune in to find out.
We also discuss Amb. John Bolton's memoir, The Room Where It Happened, and whether or not he should have written the book in the first place.
What is innovation? How can organizations harness its transformational power to accelerate success? Why do innovators run a risk to their careers and what can leaders do to protect those who innovate?
Join us as we speak with Ben Kohlmann, a serial entrepreneur, former U.S. Navy pilot, and current McKinsey consultant for a discuss about innovation. A member of the CNO's Rapid Innovation Cell and co-founder of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, Ben has studied--and implemented--innovation across multiple disciplines. If you're an innovator, listen in to determine ways to thrive in an organization without being pushed to the side.
Join hosts Guy Snodgrass and Mark Solomons as they discuss operationalizing AI--where the rubber meets the road with artificial intelligence--with Joe Larson. Joe was recently the deputy director for the Pentagon's Project MAVEN and has years of experience introducing AI to large, diverse organizations.
Listen in to hear about the lessons ANY organization can benefit from when seeking to explore AI's advantages... and the potential pitfalls you'll want to avoid. At the end of the day, Mark is concerned about one thing: is AI coming for his job?
Join us as we discuss former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis's decision to release a scathing statement about President Trump's leadership. Was it the right move, an opportunistic grab for attention, or needlessly partisan? Does it help or hurt civil-military relationships?
Join Joe Larson as we discuss the national security strategy behind the Department of Defense's pursuit of artificial intelligence.
Joe is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Reserve lieutenant colonel who served as deputy director for Project MAVEN, an intelligence program using AI to rapidly categorize video imagery. Joe has years of experience with artificial intelligence and in this episode he walks us through the "why" behind many of today's AI-related issues.
Join us for part 1 of a three-part series on artificial intelligence (AI).
Steve Escaravage (Booz Allen Hamilton SVP for Analytics and Artificial Intelligence) joins us as our guide as we explore the brave new world of artificial intelligence. What IS artificial intelligence? What can it do? What are the common myths and perceptions? How should organizations avoid common pitfalls while seeking to implement AI-based solutions?
Two AI references cited in this episode are Booz Allen's Primer on Artificial Intelligence (link) and Mike Kanaan's new book, T-Minus AI (link).
Join hosts Guy Snodgrass and Mark Solomons as they discuss the Trump Administration's decision to relax Coronavirus restrictions to fire up the U.S. economy. What are the likely outcomes? How will America's competitors (China, in particular) seek to take advantage of the situation? To answer these questions, Guy and Mark explore the impacts of COVID-19 using the "DIME" construct, discussing America's diplomatic, information, military, and economic sources of strength.
Join host Guy Snodgrass and co-host Mark Solomons as they catch up on the latest "news of note," including North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's return from the dead, the latest on the U.S. Navy and Captain Brett Crozier saga, concern over possible degradation of GPS, and the national security implications of the 2020 election.