A Thinking Culture Accelerates the Rate of Change: John Boyd, David Marquet, and the Future of United States Military

This article explores how a group from Aviano Air Base, Italy, accelerated the rate of change by transforming a stagnant bureaucracy into a culture of empowered Airmen strategically aligned with organizational priorities. The group relied on incremental changes to create a culture of scientific thinking echoing the motto of “we learn” embraced by the crew on the Santa Fe, detailed by CAPT David Marquet in his book Turn the Ship Around. The article also identifies how two large Navy organizations (Navy Personnel Command and Southwest Regional Maintenance Center) utilized similar principles to transform their cultures. The article concludes with specific recommendations to help the AF Accelerate the Rate of Change by fostering a learning culture. Failing to accelerate change will jeopardize national security.