Anticipating Challenges, Not Courting Failure - The Field Grade Leader

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Organizational Leadership in the US Army
Anticipating Challenges, Subscribe to The

Field Grade Leader!
Not Courting Failure
A Guest Post by COL (R) Kevin C.M.
Benson
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Officers entering the field grade ranks, likely since
Caesar made the move, grew up being admonished with
Digital Leadership
the adage “Failure is NOT an option.” The reality is
while failure is not a consciously selected option, it is a Self-Development
possible outcome. The challenge for field grade officers
is to determine how to capitalize on methods designed The Army
to anticipate points of failure and avoiding them while
building flexibility into plans and orders. Leaders must The Profession
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seize every opportunity to learn and get better, this

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includes learning through failure. As Yoda said, “The
greatest teacher failure is.” So, what methods exist to
anticipate failure in planning and execution?
Leader’s Bookshelf
The Military Decision-Making Process
A key assumption check and a pre-mortem check are

two methods easily adapted to the MDMP. These
methods, when incorporated into the process, add value
and do not take up much time. These two methods also
encourage other voices to speak up, and more
importantly, be heard and considered. (See the
University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies Red
Team Handbook. Key Assumptions Check is on p. 163
and Pre-Mortem on p. 173.)
The key assumptions check is most useful at the

beginning of MDMP, step I, receipt of mission or step
II, mission analysis. We all know the pain of developing
assumptions and the relief felt once the commander
approves the assumptions. When have we ever gone
back to question approved assumptions? A team can
spend an hour or two articulating and reviewing the key
assumptions. Rechecking assumptions also can be
valuable at any time prior to finalizing judgments, to
ensure that the assessment does not rest on flawed
premises. Identifying hidden assumptions can be one of
the most difficult challenges a plans team faces, as they
are ideas held—often unconsciously—to be true and,

therefore, are seldom examined and almost never
challenged. At a minimum ask and answer the
question, “What happens to the plan if this
assumption does not become a fact.?”
The following questions assist in guiding the conduct of

the method.
How much confidence exists that this

assumption is correct?
What explains the degree of confidence in the

assumption?
What circumstances or information might

undermine this assumption?
Is a key assumption more likely a key uncertainty

or key factor?
Could the assumption have been true in the past

but less so now?
If the assumption proves to be wrong, would it

significantly alter the plan? How?
Has this process identified new factors that need

further analysis?
Conducting a key assumption check at the start of

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MDMP broadens the context and base of understanding
for the entire team and results in a better overall plan.
The pre-mortem is an equally useful method for

enhancing MDMP. The purpose of a Pre-Mortem is to
identify key vulnerabilities in a plan and this method is
useful at any point during the conduct of MDMP and
The SAMS Work-Life
execution. I suggest using this method prior to MDMP Graduate Integration

step IV, COA Analysis. At step IV, you and the plans Field Grade
team have likely settled on one COA or the teams are Experience
convinced their COA is best. I prefer conducting a pre-
mortem prior to war gaming. The result is a richer
discourse during the action-reaction-counteraction
method of war gaming. This method help decision
makers and planners anticipate problems.
There are four steps to the Pre-Mortem exercise: How to Fail Meetings
as a Major Meetings
Step 1. Preparation. All members should be Meetings
familiar with the base plan, at a minimum.
Assume the plan was approved and executed.
Step 2. Imagine a fiasco. Assume the plan failed.

Ask, why did this happen? What could have
caused this? Specifically, ask what are the reasons
the fiasco occurred? The Eight Field Grade
Essential Profile –
Characteristics COL Matt
Step 3. Generate the reasons for failure.
of Shatzkin
Participants individually spend no more than 15
Officership
minutes writing down all the possible reasons for
failure. It is important to do this individually first,
so that the insights and experience of each
participant are brought to bear. Take no more
than 15 minutes to think and write.
Step 4. Consolidate the lists. Go around the room

and solicit input from all members of the team,
one at a time. Record the ideas on a whiteboard or
poster paper. Continue until all ideas are
exhausted. Keep the list and periodically review it
during execution of the operation or training
event.
Incorporating these two methods into your MDMP, for

training events or combat operations, will ensure you
hear more thoughts from the team (avoiding
groupthink) and encourage critical thinking by all team
members. As the field grade leader, you must also
communicate to the commander how you are enhancing
the MDMP and educating the staff in critical thinking.
Give the commander the list and tell him/her how the
staff is using it to generate indications and warnings to
avoid failure and while also developing branch and
sequel plans to take advantage of the opportunities
problems may afford. You should also share the list with
subordinate commanders as a means of building the
trust necessary to sustain mission command.
Applying these critical thinking methods is not courting

or encouraging failure. These are methods intended to
anticipate points of failure and encourage all team
members to think and contribute to the process. These
methods also encourage team members to continue
thinking during execution, reinforcing the conduct of
the staff (and commander’s) running estimate. Does the
use of these methods require courage, YES. Do these
methods guarantee success, NO. But applying these
methods does bring nuance to your planning and
establishes conditions for thoughtful execution as well
as building an atmosphere of trust. These methods work
and I hope you consider incorporating them into your
planning process.
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Col. (R) Kevin C.M. Benson, PhD, had the privilege of

commanding 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry from April
1998 to May 2000. He served as the Director, School of

Advanced Military Studies and as the Assistant Chief of
Staff, C5 (Plans), Combined Forces Land Component
Command/Third US Army during Operation Iraqi
Freedom. He served in Armor and Cavalry units in the
United States and Germany. He also served as the
Chief of Plans for the XVIII Airborne Corps. He is a
graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff
College and the School of Advanced Military Studies
and was a War College Fellow at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
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Anticipating Challenges, Not Courting Failure - The Field Grade Leader 3/17/19, 18)41

Start Here Contact Us Article Submissions

The Field Grade Leader

Anticipating Challenges, Subscribe to The

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Felicia Jagdatt

seize every opportunity to learn and get better, this

A key assumption check and a pre-mortem check are

The key assumptions check is most useful at the

are ideas held—often unconsciously—to be true and,

The following questions assist in guiding the conduct of

How much confidence exists that this

What explains the degree of confidence in the

What circumstances or information might

Is a key assumption more likely a key uncertainty

Could the assumption have been true in the past

If the assumption proves to be wrong, would it

Has this process identified new factors that need

Conducting a key assumption check at the start of

The pre-mortem is an equally useful method for

execution. I suggest using this method prior to MDMP Graduate Integration

Step 2. Imagine a fiasco. Assume the plan failed.

Step 4. Consolidate the lists. Go around the room

Incorporating these two methods into your MDMP, for

Applying these critical thinking methods is not courting

Subscribe to The Field Grade Leader!

Col. (R) Kevin C.M. Benson, PhD, had the privilege of

1998 to May 2000. He served as the Director, School of

 Post Views: 910

Categories: The Army, The Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2019

When Failure Means Too Other People’s Failures: Making...

Much Rather Than...

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