Why a Community Advisory?
by Jer McKoy
It’s a fair question.
The Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is a few things; we are a community, first-and-foremost: a globally-distributed virtuous insurgency. Our story began with people, and being “people focused” remains a core value.
Passionate individuals from all across the national security spectrum, not just the military and intelligence fields, but diplomacy, humanitarian aid, the law, technology, startup enterprises, disaster relief, and beyond, comprise our ranks. Our members look at hard problems every day and then gather, both in person and online, to connect silos and build bridges that create new solutions.
Passionate individuals from all across the national security spectrum, not just the military and intelligence fields, but diplomacy, humanitarian aid, the law, technology, startup enterprises, disaster relief, and beyond, comprise our ranks.
But DEF is also a non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers with limited bandwidth and a need for consistent organization and focus. The folks behind the scenes (the Leadership Team, or LT, as well as the volunteers working on our team of teams) raise their hands to help keep the things that enable and empower the community running, or seek to improve them or find new ways to address our mission.
Our members look at hard problems every day and then gather, both in person and online, to connect silos and build bridges that create new solutions.
As is the case in many places, including government and industry, incentives and processes make a big difference when making decisions; balancing is a constant process, particularly for an organization like DEF that espouses values like “agility”.
The Challenge
In our seven-ish years of existence, we’ve bumped up against this a few times. For example, in trying to determine our future after the first five years, we explored becoming more of a “professional organization”, complete with paid membership requirements, going so far as to launch an actual membership program at DEF2017.
The concept seemed great when viewed from the non-profit perspective (allowing for greater resources to be devoted to our mission through dues), but, unsurprisingly, did not fair so well when examined through the community lens. We quickly pivoted to a more community-minded approach, learning from the experience, but some trust was lost in the process, raising questions about what DEF truly stands for and does.
…incentives and processes make a big difference when making decisions; balancing is a constant process…
Similar types of challenges come up on a routine basis, often from a resource perspective, but also just because of simple “wetware” problems: we tend to think that what we see or know is more important than what we don’t (called availability bias), and, when in groups, we tend to avoid conflict and go with the flow (commonly known as groupthink). The cumulative impact of these factors is predictable: we are less innovative, less adaptive and less effective when we fail to introduce and maintain diversity.
…we are less innovative, less adaptive and less effective when we fail to introduce and maintain diversity.
The Point
“Great story,” you’re probably thinking, “Now I can go drink some warm milk and take a nap knowing all this useless background that means nothing to me.”
You’d be right… except there’s more. (But go ahead and pour a glass of whatever you want as you keep reading.)
Because we recognize (as a non-profit) that there are perverse incentives that naturally impinge upon our fundamental identity as a community, and because we value diversity and talent as a core part of what makes for an innovative culture (which is our mission), we decided to take action.
…we tend to think that what we see or know is more important than what we don’t.
The Community Advisory was envisioned to disrupt the disruptors, bringing in fresh ideas about what is needed in the community and ensuring that those responsible for running the non-profit don’t get too big for their britches (or, in an alternate textile analogy, end up as the unclad Emperor parading about town). It is currently in Beta because we believe in experiments.
Every six months we want six members of the community to come together, identify some issues they think are important for DEF to address while also gathering feedback from the community itself, then craft a plan to develop and implement a solution to at least one of those issues. In other words, it’s a group project (check out the Charter for more details).
The Community Advisory was envisioned to disrupt the disruptors, bringing in fresh ideas about what is needed in the community… it is currently in Beta because we believe in experiments.
In doing so, we hope to provide more opportunities for people who are passionate about DEF to contribute, while also keeping ourselves accountable to the unknowns that abound in such a diverse community.
We expect that there will be some virtuous circles that result, as perhaps some members of a Community Advisory cohort decide to stick around longer, having seen the inner workings of the non-profit side and determined they could help. There’s also the meta issue of experimentation and walking out our own beliefs as a group about human-centered design and feedback and creativity, proving that we’re not just telling others what to do, but we actually do the work ourselves.
In doing all of these things we believe that we are not only pursuing our mission of culture change, but accomplishing it.
In doing all of these things we believe that we are not only pursuing our mission of culture change, but accomplishing it, as culture is driven by individual actions, or, as originated by Seth Godin and espoused by folks like Gaping Void, “People like us do things like this.” This takes the idea of an experimental mindset or learning organization and adds on top a no-lose proposition: regardless of what happens, we’re doing the things we say need to be done, which makes it more likely that others will see and follow and bring the change we hope to see.
The Current State
At this point (the end of 2019), there are around 40 volunteers that routinely gather (through weekly calls) to support the non-profit side of DEF, in addition to the 40–50 Agora leads and co-leads out running their own “mini-DEFs” in local communities around the world. In some ways, that is a lot of people, but when you think about the entirety of our national security community, it’s not enough for this group to be the only voices in the process.
So, there you have it: the Community Advisory is an internal innovation engine, powering DEF into unexplored territory and inciting creative tension in the work we do to inspire, connect and empower a virtuous insurgency focused on culture change.
…the Community Advisory is an internal innovation engine, powering DEF into unexplored territory and inciting creative tension in the work we do…
We hope you will not only support the current cohort as they embark on their journey to make a positive difference, but also consider joining a future group of like-minded people. If you care about the future of DEF, but maybe don’t feel able to co-lead an Agora or volunteer in another position, this may be a perfect opportunity.
Shoot us a note if you want to learn more or have any questions. And if you want to be able to tell the story to others, just remember (hat tip to Think Wrong for the inspiration):
GooglyEyes&BabyOwlz&VirtuousDonuts&TestTubes
The Defense Entrepreneurs Forum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that inspires, connects and empowers people by convening events, forging partnerships and delivering tangible solutions. Our mission is to promote a culture of innovation in the U.S. national security community.
If you are a military member or veteran, government employee, entrepreneur focused on national security, or just find the idea of helping solve tough problems enticing, we’d love to have you join the DEF Community!
