Preparing Elite Orgs., Breaking Boyd, Good & Bad AI, and More.
Profiles in Preparedness #50
Welcome back to The CP Journal, where we break down what it takes to get left of bang.
Organizations that build and sustain a culture of preparedness are often highlighted as models of what’s possible under strong, forward-thinking leadership. But the inverse isn’t talked about nearly as much.
What happens to an organization when it doesn’t invest in its readiness? What are the consequences, not just operationally, but culturally?
That question was on my mind this week after speaking with a couple of operators from an elite law enforcement tactical team. These were high performers by any definition—smart, seasoned, motivated. But they were also frustrated, a little burned out, and on the edge of becoming fully disenfranchised with their organization.
What stood out to me were the reasons why. It wasn’t the workload, operational stress, or the risks. It was something much simpler and preventable: they felt like they were training hard, but not actually moving forward. It was as if they were stuck in a loop with the same problems, the same limitations, just a different year.
They knew what the gaps were, had flagged the risks, and offered solutions. And then…nothing.
To their credit, they weren’t blaming their leadership. They understand there are budget cycles, political pressures, and competing priorities—complexities they don’t always see. But even with that understanding, the feeling remained. Because when you know a breakdown is coming and know nothing will be done to address it, the frustration becomes corrosive.
I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly throughout my career helping organizations get left of bang. Elite performers don’t accept mediocrity because operationally, they can’t. And when an agency repeatedly allows known issues ot persist, even the most dedicated people begin to pull back. Sometimes they leave. Sometimes they stay, but their initiative, motivation, and discretionary effort leave first.
That is the part we don’t talk about enough. Is preparedness and the pursuit of readiness an operational necessity? Absolutely. But preparedness is also a leadership responsibility.
Organizations often think about retention in terms of keeping people, but retention is also about keeping their drive, their initiative, and their belief that the work matters and that the organization is committed to constant improvement.
In that sense, getting left of bang for operational risks is inseparable from getting left of bang for organizational ones. A culture that prioritizes preparedness not only reduces mission failures, it also prevents the slow, silent erosion of morale and capability that occurs when high performers stop believing progress is possible.
Unreadiness has a cost. Leaders who understand that preparedness pays dividends keep their best people AND get their best from them. But as always, it is a choice.
Sometimes, a lack of readiness is structural. For leaders who know their organization can be better prepared and want a clear, structured path to get there, our Left of Bang Strategic Briefing translates the same principles used to get ahead of threats in the field into an executive framework for strengthening readiness.
This Week‘s Reads
Here are a few standout reads from this week with insights, ideas, and perspectives that caught my attention.
Podcast | Beyond the Loop: Why Everything You Know About OODA May Be Wrong. In this episode of The Debrief with Jon Becker, Jon sits down with
. John Boyd’s OODA “Loop” Sketch is widely referenced, but fundamentally misunderstood, and this episode goes deep into how tactical operators, business executives, and many others can apply the concepts to get ahead of their competition. Having been on both of their podcasts, I’ve developed an appreciation for the approach each of them bring to this conversation, and the two of them together does not disappoint.Article | Think First, AI Second. I think a lot about how AI fits into my work. There is a balance that I need to strike between keeping my cognitive edge and protecting the things that make my work uniquely mine, with a need to stay competitive and get the most out of a tool that can augment my approaches in sometimes unfathomable ways. While I plan to elaborate on what has and hasn’t worked for me this in an our upcoming 2025 Letter to Subscribers, this article offers some insight that matches my personal experience. The sequence of when AI enters the work-stream matters. A lot. In short: think first, AI second.
Article | Why Some People Get Picked Early. If you’ve ever pursued a new job, tried to sell something, were auditioning for a new role, you’ve probably heard that it is a numbers game. If you want one new job, get three job offers. If you want three job offers, interview for 15 different positions. If you want to interview with 15 companies, apply to 945 jobs online. This article challenges that assumption about it being a numbers game and focuses on the signals that we send, and the reputation we set, for how we work, how we think, and what it’s like to work with us. That is what influences decisions. This is very similar to how we talk about getting left of bang - not to threats - but by pre-positioning ourselves for opportunities.
Report | AI, Influence, and the Disassembly of Truth. Are you able to believe what you read? For people following geo-political topics, especially those that focus on Russia and China-based actions , this article summarizing NATO’s Virtual Manipulation Brief 2025 is worth the read. Timed to align with the news coverage of major events, AI agents are able to “almost instantly tailor, schedule, and amplify content” that pushes manipulation faster than defenders can respond. If you’re mostly interested in the trend, start with the article linked above. If you work directly with this risk, here is a link to the full report.
Article | Two Kinds of Useful Specifications. “One kind of spec outlines the solution.” “The other kind of spec outlines the problem.” Both can work when asking others to work on something, but the type of specification determines what you get back. And both provide a degree of clarity that “eliminates mind-reading and guesswork.”
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And if you’re thinking about how to strengthen your organization’s preparedness, that’s what we do. Whether it’s strategy development, assessments, planning, speaking events, or exercises, we help teams build the skills and strategies to stay ahead of the next challenge.