1 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:09,480 Speaker 1: On this episode of News World. Corporate leaders and strategists 2 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: constantly face life or death business wars in the battleground 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: of competitive business. There's no better way to win than 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: to learn from victorious frontline commanders. There's a new book 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: by James Farwell, The Corporate Warrior, Successful Strategies from Military 6 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: Leaders to Win Your Business Battles, which details powerful and 7 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: actionable strategies to conquer your competition while winning customer recognition 8 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: and critical support for your brand. Here to talk about 9 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 1: his new book, I'm really pleased to welcome my guest 10 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: and longtime friend, James Farwell. He is a global security 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: expert in information warfare, corporate strategic planning and communication, social 12 00:00:54,200 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: media analytics, political media and strategy, cyber policy, cyber security, 13 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: and cyber strategy. He has advised the US Department of Defense, 14 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: the US Special Operations Command, and the US Strategic Command. 15 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,119 Speaker 1: I also have to be honest that we both went 16 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: to Tulane and we've been personal friends for years. He 17 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: worked on my congressional campaigns starting in nineteen ninety two 18 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: and is a very very creative guy at advertising and 19 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: its strategy. James, first of all, welcome, Thank you NEWDN 20 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: glad to be here. I have to give my usual 21 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 1: disclaimer since you mentioned my government work, with my opinions 22 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: expressed here just my own and not those of the 23 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: US government, and knowing you well you have strong opinions, 24 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: I'm going to ask you about a couple of things 25 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: you've done that do not necessarily relate to the book, 26 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: but that I think are just fascinating because you're one 27 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: of the most interestingly complex people that I know. When 28 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: you want to to lane, you got your bachelor's, then 29 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: you went on to get your law degree, but then 30 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:06,919 Speaker 1: you really became a lot of different things beyond a lawyer. 31 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: One of them was you developed a play which I 32 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: think opened in London, didn't you. I did, and we 33 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: had fun with that. It's actually been redone and it 34 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: will open after an opera that I've written called The Fabulous, 35 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: which is going to open in the West End in London, 36 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,359 Speaker 1: produced by Tony Award winning producer Stephen Levy as soon 37 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 1: as COVID allows audiences to come back. And it is 38 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: a romantic comedy and it's a lot of fun. I've 39 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: known you as a political person, I've known you as 40 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: a media person. I have followed with great interest to 41 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: your writing, and you're thinking on military events and particularly 42 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: an information warfare, and you're also this literary person. How 43 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: do you sort of balance all these different parts of 44 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: your life. Well, like you, I enjoy writing. I think 45 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: people like you and I knew that are impelled to write. 46 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: You and I share so many interests, from national security 47 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: to science fiction, and I just enjoy writing. And the 48 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: funny thing is, though, that for my performing arts writing, 49 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: I've written two movies that are likely to go this year. 50 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: I tend to write comedy and fiction, and of course 51 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: national security is anything but funny, but I enjoy doing it. 52 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: It's entertaining. I've just started on Facebook for anybody who 53 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,679 Speaker 1: wants to follow it. A new column, Episode three I'll 54 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: do today called the IMMO Chronicles is our Labordoodle and 55 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: it's a humor column about my friendship with my dog. 56 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: And I didn't know this until we're getting ready to 57 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: do this conversation. But in addition to your law degree 58 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: from Dulane, you went to Cambridge to Trinity College. What 59 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: was that experience like after an American university? Extraordinary? Cambridge 60 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: is unique. It's hard to explain to people that really 61 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: haven't been there. The level of the students is remarkable. 62 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: It's a very cosmopolitan student body. It's very diverse. You 63 00:03:57,840 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: have two requirements when you first year I got there, 64 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: my tutor summoned me and they said, you will meet 65 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: our academic standards, but you would just as expected to 66 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: contribute to the life of the university and so the 67 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: social life of the university, which is grouped around different 68 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,799 Speaker 1: to societies which are subject matter driven, as the Law Society. 69 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: I was a member of the Cambridge University Conservative Union, 70 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: which was linked to the Conservative Party. The Prince of 71 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: Wales was in footlights when he was there, he was 72 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: at my college. There are any number of different things 73 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 1: and it's really an exhilarating experience and I had a 74 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: wonderful time. I had to come home in the middle 75 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 1: of my second year ago in active duty in the 76 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: Army because I was supposed to be sent to Vietnam. 77 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: They decided at the very last minute not to send 78 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: us because they were throwing all the regular army officers 79 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: out and they decided they wanted to keep them, so 80 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: they got rid of all the reservists. But the time 81 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 1: that either year and a half that I had that 82 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: was wonderful as I understand it. It's both in Cambridge 83 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: and Oxford a routinely waited, two of the top universes 84 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: in the world, but their whole approach to how you 85 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: learn and how you study is dramatically different than the 86 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: American model. How did you adjust to that experience? Well, 87 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: I loved it. The Cambridge model is aimed at inspiring 88 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 1: you how to think, whereas the American model is more 89 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: of a black letter think. They want you to learn 90 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: facts and to learn specific things about, whether it's books 91 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: or law, things like that. Cambridge isn't design that way. 92 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 1: It's designed to teach you to express yourself, both verbally 93 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: and writing, and to just think about problems. Now, you 94 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 1: came back from there and you ended up doing a 95 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 1: lot of different things. You were cited by roll Call 96 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 1: as one of the top political consultants in United States, 97 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: and I know from my own experience with you they're 98 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: amazingly creative, helped enormously in my campaigns. Talk a little 99 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: bit about your political consulting career. How a lot of fun. 100 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 1: None more fun than having the opportunity to work with you. 101 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: I've always enjoyed politics. I've been interested in politics I've 102 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: been interested in basically two things since I was twelve 103 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: years old. One is politics and the other is movies, 104 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 1: in film and writing, and I loved, as you know, 105 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: the give and take with candidates. I enjoyed writing and 106 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: producing television commercials, but I enjoyed the strategic discussions that 107 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: I had. And I'm a Republican and so it was 108 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: a lot of fun to work with you so that 109 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: we could win a Republican majority, which I have every 110 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: confidence that we're going to get back in twenty twenty 111 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,919 Speaker 1: two and strengthened in twenty twenty four. I've also noticed 112 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: that you actually advised heads of state in South Korea, Greece, 113 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: and Bermuda. That's a pretty wide cultural range, it is, 114 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: you know. I'll tell you one funny story about Korea. 115 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: I did Lehi Chase Lejoi Chang's race, who was the 116 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. And the Koreans 117 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: are very full. Everybody wears a dark suit, white shirt, 118 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: dark tie, and they addressed Lee the last name of it. 119 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: They say sleeboy chained the leaves really the last name 120 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: as the chairman. And the meetings we met at nine 121 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: o'clock and at five o'clock every day, and the meetings 122 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: were very formal, and finally I said, you know, we 123 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: cannot do political strategy this way. And they said, well, 124 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: what do you mean, what do you do in America? Said, well, 125 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: let America, everybody takes off their coat, they loosen their tie, 126 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: they roll up their shirts, and it's a real free 127 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: for all discussion. And they said, oh, that's not the 128 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: way we do it in Korea. I said, I understand, 129 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: but that's just the way you have to do strategy 130 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: for it to work. So the next morning we got 131 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: up and they brought us up to the chairman's a 132 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: suite and everybody stood up and bowed in formal reading 133 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: that everybody took off their coats, took off their ties, 134 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: rolled up their sleeves, and for one hour we had 135 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: the kind of discussion you and I would have where 136 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: anything goes. At the end of the hour, everybody stood up, 137 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: rolled down their sleeves, put their ties back on it, 138 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: put their jackets up. We all bowed and that was 139 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: the end of the session. So there are cultural differences 140 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: that really matter. Geese was a lot of fun. We 141 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: had a bipartisan team and that's a Taki's race. His 142 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: son who is now the Prime Minister, as a friend 143 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: of mine and actually wanted me to do his campaign 144 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:15,720 Speaker 1: this time, but it just didn't work out for me 145 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: to be able to do it. I enjoyed working abroad, 146 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 1: but I'll tell you one thing that's interesting is that 147 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: there's a saying that we happy wishes to Paul is 148 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: a Paul as a Paul, And even though there are 149 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 1: cultural differences politicians, I sort of cut from the same cloth. 150 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: And it kind of makes me wonder why in national 151 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,839 Speaker 1: security we don't have more former members of Congress of 152 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: the Senate as ambassadors, because they actually would be much 153 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: better suited for dealing with heads of state in other 154 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: countries than foreign service officers would be. They have a 155 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: much better field for politics and for the kinds of 156 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: pressures that motivate the decisions that heads of state have 157 00:08:53,400 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: to make. Hi this is newt We have serious decisions 158 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: to make about the future of our nation. Americans must 159 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: confront big government socialism, which is taken over the modern 160 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: Democratic Party, big business, news, media, entertainment, and academia. In 161 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: my new book, Defeating Big Government Socialism Saving America's Future, 162 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: I offer strategies and insights for everyday citizens to save 163 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 1: America's future and ensure it remains the greatest nation on earth. 164 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: It is a must read for any concerned citizen. Here's 165 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: a special offer for my podcast listeners. You can preorder 166 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: my book Defeating Big Government Socialism right now at gingwish 167 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: free sixty dot com slash book and the book will 168 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: be shipped directly to you when it comes out in 169 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: July twelfth. Don't miss out on this special offer to 170 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: preorder my new book today. Go to gingwish free sixty 171 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: dot com slash book to order your copy now. Orderer 172 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: today at gingwish three sixty dot com slash book. In 173 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,719 Speaker 1: addition to your political background, which is you know, for 174 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: many people that would be a career, but you've really 175 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: gotten deeply involved in information warfare and the whole way 176 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: in which the world has been changing. And I noticed 177 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: that in a recent National Interest article that you wrote 178 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: called Russia should have learned from Napoleon, you argue that 179 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: this is kind of ironic that Putin should have really 180 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: thought about Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia in eighteen twelve 181 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: before he decided to invade Ukraine expand on that, well, 182 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: I think it's really true. Napoleon was a very amazing 183 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 1: figure in many ways, but he had were lust and 184 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,439 Speaker 1: he went through different phases in his life. The Napoleon 185 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: who won the Battle of Australitz, which was an extraordinarily 186 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 1: brilliant exercise in military tactics and strategy, was a very 187 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 1: different person than the Napoleon who decided to invade Russia. 188 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: By eighteen twelve, Napoleon had become fat and lazy, and 189 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: he was sloppy, and he did not have a real 190 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: strategy other than the idea of getting the Moscow. He 191 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: did not provide for the logistical support for what was 192 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: a very large army. He went to Russia with six 193 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: hundred thousand people. All the armies that he commanded where 194 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 1: he won his famous battles, whether it was at Jena 195 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: or Australitz or other places, were relatively small armies. Where 196 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:40,199 Speaker 1: he had seventy roughly one hundred thousand people, and he 197 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: was able to more or less maintain line of sight 198 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: control over what they were doing. And that isn't what 199 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 1: happened in Russia. They just went into Russia and the 200 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 1: thing went wrong from the very beginning. Their logistics were 201 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: an absolute debacle, and that destroyed morale. It cost the 202 00:11:57,679 --> 00:11:59,679 Speaker 1: lives of a lot of the animals that were part 203 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: of the supply train. People got sick and died from illness, 204 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: and by the time they really started to fight, things 205 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: went wrong. Then, in addition to that, he made two 206 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: extraordinary political mistakes. The first was that when he went 207 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 1: there he didn't free the serfs. He should have done 208 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: that and should have embraced them. They might very well 209 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: have joined him. They had no particular love for the czar. 210 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: And the second thing was a matter of statecraft. He 211 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,959 Speaker 1: had the opportunity to ensure that Poland had its independence 212 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,320 Speaker 1: and had their support, and he didn't do that, and 213 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: so he didn't have anything going for him. And so 214 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: finally when he went into battle, he went into battle 215 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: with troops that were demoralized, they were hungry, they were 216 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: fighting disease, and his strategic impulses just really weren't that good. Kutusov, 217 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: who was the Russian commander, was not Julius Caesar, not 218 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: Alexander the Great, but he was a very confident commander 219 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,319 Speaker 1: who understood Russian and just backed up and gave these 220 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 1: people's face. It was the converse of what we have 221 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: seen in Kraine, where Boutin and his Secretary General of 222 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: the Armed Forces, Valerie Jurassimov, and a few other people 223 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 1: devised a very bad strategy, completely misjudged their opponents and 224 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:14,959 Speaker 1: have just dug in. And I think that Ukraine is 225 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,240 Speaker 1: likely to win this, providing we get sufficient military support 226 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 1: to the Ukrainians and we do so fast enough. I 227 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 1: respect Senator brand Paul, but he should not have interposed 228 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: an objection to getting supplies to the Ukrainians. Time really 229 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: matters in that war. But the funny thing about it 230 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:35,320 Speaker 1: is I think that Ukraine is likely to win it. 231 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 1: The Russian army isn't much better than Saddam's army. Was 232 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: all the generals that I've talked to, and there was 233 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: a group of us that I'm printed with, and also 234 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: that I interviewed from my book, like Mark Kimmitt and 235 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 1: Frank Kearney and Spider Marks and Jim Scrividis and people 236 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:52,960 Speaker 1: like that, all of whom are top shop generals. All 237 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: of us thought that Ukraine would be unable to resist 238 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 1: the Russian army, and we gave it about three or 239 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,680 Speaker 1: four weeks. And I think by the way, in fairness 240 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:04,079 Speaker 1: to Biden, who I think has done some good things 241 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: and some bad things in handling this war. One of 242 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,199 Speaker 1: the reasons they held back is they didn't expect them 243 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 1: to be able to resist the Russians either. I think 244 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 1: the second after say three or four weeks, it became 245 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:16,559 Speaker 1: clear that they were going to be able to do it. 246 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: I would like to have seen us expedite the kinds 247 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 1: of arm supplies that we're now giving to the Ukrainians, 248 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 1: and I think that would have made a difference. Are 249 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:32,119 Speaker 1: you surprised at the decisive imbalance between these modern systems 250 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: of javelins and drones and things that on a cost 251 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,680 Speaker 1: exchange basis are so inexpensive compared to the vehicles they're 252 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 1: taking out that it seems to me may be changing 253 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: the whole equation of how you think about armored warfare. 254 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: It is changing the equation about what's going on, and 255 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: that change is going to accelerate, especially as we think 256 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: about preparing ourselves to deal with China, which has a 257 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: sophisticated army and sophisticated armament. The problem with the Russian 258 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: army is it's trying to refight World War two we're 259 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: fighting in nineteen forty four army with two twenty two weapons, 260 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 1: and there's an enormous imbalance in that. We're seeing reports, 261 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: for example, of Russian planes that have been shot down 262 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: that have GPS is taped to the front dios of 263 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: the airplane. The artillery shells are what we call dumb shells. 264 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: The just fire the shells and hope they hit. Our 265 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 1: shells can be smart weapons. We can guide these things. 266 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: The javelins and the stingers have completely changed the utility 267 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 1: of tanks, which are confidence for people in modern warfare. 268 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,120 Speaker 1: If you gave me a choice between having an army 269 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: of drones and an army of tanks, I'll take the 270 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:48,200 Speaker 1: drones any day. And that's a genuine revolution and capabilities. Yeah, 271 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: and wait until we go to the next stage of 272 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: air wars, where we've got to shift away from fixed 273 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 1: platforms that are very expensive, whether you consider them aircraft 274 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: carriers or a base in Guam, and we begin using 275 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: unmanned vehicles that are not expensive to produce. We can 276 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: produce them in mass quantities. They're animated by artificial intelligence, 277 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: and you can force China to have to disperse its 278 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: forces rather than to use the mass that it has, 279 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: which would be a strategic advantage if you let them happen. 280 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: The nature warfare is changing. You also have things that 281 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: you could never have predicted, like Elon must deciding to 282 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: basically give Ukraine an Internet based system from space, which 283 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: I'm sure the Russians were just stunned by. Let's right, 284 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: and you know, the funny thing is the Russians are 285 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 1: just using their cell phones. They're encrypted. System didn't work. 286 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: The Ukrainians are inside their system, which is one of 287 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: the reasons they're able to target and take out the 288 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: generals and the kernels. I mean, they have a system 289 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 1: that depends upon top down command and all their commanders 290 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 1: are being killed. The targeting of generals is unlike anything 291 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: I can remember ever seeing. There's nothing like it. It's 292 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,680 Speaker 1: unprecedented warfare. This war is changing the rules of warfare, 293 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: and information warfare plays a critical role, by the way, 294 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 1: in what's going on. It's not just about on conflict. 295 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:29,120 Speaker 1: Your new book, The Corporate Warrior, is the fifth book 296 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,159 Speaker 1: you've authored, and if you go back, a lot of 297 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: what you've written about has been on strategic communication, and 298 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: you wrote Persuasion and Power, The Art of strategic communication. 299 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,639 Speaker 1: In twenty twelve, you wrote The Architecture of cyber Security, 300 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: How General council executives and Boards of Directors can protect 301 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: their information assets. In two seventeen you wrote Information Warfare 302 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: Forging communication Strategies for twenty first century operational environments. So 303 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:02,880 Speaker 1: The Corporate Warrior comes really on top of a decade 304 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,359 Speaker 1: of really working and thinking about the nature of the 305 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:11,400 Speaker 1: modern battlefield, the nature of communications. And you then went 306 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,639 Speaker 1: out with the extraordinary range of contacts you have and 307 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: talked to a whole range of retired admirals and generals 308 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: and senior officers about what they thought the lessons were 309 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,640 Speaker 1: and how it applied to Who are some of the 310 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: military leaders you interviewed for this new book, The Corporal Warrior. Well, 311 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,440 Speaker 1: I had the good fortune to know and be friends 312 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,399 Speaker 1: with some of the best generals and admirals that we've had. 313 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 1: Admiral Jim ster Vitis was the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe. 314 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: He is an amazingly talented people. All of these people, 315 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: by the way, had distinguished military careers and had now 316 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: going into business, so they were well qualified to talk 317 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: about the application of military strategy, precepts and views of 318 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: leadership to the business world. Jim ster Vitis, who wrote 319 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: the introduction to the book, was great Spider Marks, whom 320 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: you see on CNN talking about Ukraine. General Mark Kimmett, 321 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,360 Speaker 1: who was the deputy commander of the Coalition in a rock. 322 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: He's the person who brilliantly handled the aftermath of the 323 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:14,959 Speaker 1: ABU Grade debacle. Just an incredible individual. Admiral Bobby Inman, 324 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 1: who was the legendary head of the National Security Agency. 325 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,880 Speaker 1: It's funny he didn't really want to give an interview. 326 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: And another one of my friends who we interviewed, Greg Treverton, 327 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: who was the chairman of the National Intelligence Council, which 328 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,679 Speaker 1: is the CIAH think tank, persuaded him to do it. 329 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 1: We had a blast. He was very entertaining, and I 330 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: think he won't mind my telling you one story that 331 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 1: you may not know, but I think tells us more 332 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:43,440 Speaker 1: about Ronald Reagan than almost anything I can imagine. He said. 333 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 1: One day he and Frank Carlucci, who was the Secretary 334 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,679 Speaker 1: of Defense, got a call to please go over to 335 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: the White House and talk to the President. So they 336 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 1: showed up and Reagan very fairly brief Meg and Reagan said, 337 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: you know, I've been thinking about this, and I think 338 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 1: this nation's security requires the very best intelligence apparatus that 339 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 1: anybody can think of. So he looked at Admiral Edman 340 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: and he said, Admiral, I want you to figure out 341 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: what we need. If we did everything possible, when did 342 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 1: it right? And then he turned to Carluccini said, mister secretary, 343 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: your job is not only to get him the money, 344 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: but then to hide it so that Congress can't take 345 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,920 Speaker 1: it away from it. And that's what they did, and 346 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 1: it takes a Ronald Reagan to do that. I often 347 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: think about how the Ukraine War might have turned out, 348 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,159 Speaker 1: or how it might have been conducted at Reagan i've 349 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: been the president right now. I think it would have 350 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 1: been very different. I actually do not think that we 351 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: would have had a war. I think that Reagan would 352 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: have been able to work this out in a way 353 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,720 Speaker 1: that would have intimidated the Russians and at the same 354 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:48,200 Speaker 1: time probably satisfied the security interests of both the West 355 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: end Russia, which could have been done in my opinion, 356 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: what led you to decide that the corporate warrior was 357 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: your next big assignment. I was interested in how the 358 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:02,159 Speaker 1: military's precepts of strategy leadership could be applied to the 359 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:06,720 Speaker 1: business world, as you know, commercial advertising things in terms 360 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: of creative images and creating a feeling about a product 361 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 1: to motivate you to buy it. That has really very 362 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,359 Speaker 1: little place in the way that we think about strategy 363 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: for the military, and so I was interested in doing 364 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: a study to see how you could apply one to 365 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: the other and what difference that it would make. In 366 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: the book consists of a series of stories to show 367 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:31,160 Speaker 1: how a lot of startup entrepreneurs like Jeff Reid who 368 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 1: started Harry's Raisers, or the founder of under Armor, or 369 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 1: a lot of the other unicorns thought about their problems 370 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,320 Speaker 1: and how they overcame them. And I also was very 371 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:45,920 Speaker 1: interested in how people who had standing, like Steve Jobs, 372 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: dealt with real crises. They were about to go bankrupt 373 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,880 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty four. This is a great story, and 374 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,199 Speaker 1: he commissioned this television commercial which is famous. It's a 375 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,919 Speaker 1: takeoff on the book nineteen eighty four, and he commissioned 376 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 1: Ridley Scott, the Academy Award winning film director, to make 377 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,679 Speaker 1: the ad across one million dollars in nineteen eighty four, 378 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: and he brought it over to a marketing company to test, 379 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:12,800 Speaker 1: and he went over to get the results and they 380 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: looked at him with long faces and they said, gee, 381 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 1: mister Jobs, we don't know how to say this, but 382 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:20,719 Speaker 1: this ad bombed with all of our focus group testing, 383 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 1: and we think that if you air this ad, you're 384 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: going to be wasting your money. He was going to 385 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,439 Speaker 1: air it on Super Bowl. Of course, that did not 386 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: amuse Jobs. So Job said, Lena, what I'll do. I'll 387 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: go get support from my board, calls a board meeting, 388 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,400 Speaker 1: shows him the ad, waits for the standing ovation silence, 389 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,600 Speaker 1: and finally somebody says, Steven, have you lost your mind? 390 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:43,200 Speaker 1: If you run this ad, you'll spend millions of our dollars. 391 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:45,440 Speaker 1: We're going to go bankrupt. This is going to be 392 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 1: a disaster. Jobs had the vision and the strength of 393 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,879 Speaker 1: purpose to stare them all down and say no, I 394 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,960 Speaker 1: think what I'm doing is right and we're going to 395 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:59,440 Speaker 1: do it. And he did it. Within one week, McIntosh 396 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,359 Speaker 1: had sold a quarter of a million computers and the 397 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,640 Speaker 1: ad itself changed the way people looked at advertising. That's 398 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: what leadership is really all about. It's about building a 399 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,440 Speaker 1: culture that's rooted in strong values of integrity and hard 400 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 1: work and discipline and loyalty and excellence. And so you 401 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: have to put together a strong culture, a strategy that 402 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 1: develops a vision of what success looks like. And then 403 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 1: you have to put together a strategic plan that you 404 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,880 Speaker 1: then execute in a very disciplined way. And that's generally speaking, 405 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,480 Speaker 1: not what a lot of people in business do. When 406 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: you started thinking this through, was there anything that particularly 407 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: surprised you? I think that the thing that interested me 408 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,360 Speaker 1: was how you could start with nothing, as a lot 409 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:48,959 Speaker 1: of the Unicorn companies did, and apply imagination and energy, 410 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: and without a lot of capital to spend on advertising, 411 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,400 Speaker 1: come up with resourceful ways to get the word out 412 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: about what you were selling, and to turn a company 413 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: that had basic no value into a billion dollar company. 414 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: And how these entrepreneurs do that is fascinating. I think 415 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: the other thing that was interesting too, and I talk 416 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:12,119 Speaker 1: about this is the importance of asking the right questions. 417 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: We didn't do that when the Eagle Claw Iranian prisoner 418 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:20,440 Speaker 1: rescue expedition came up, and NASA didn't do that properly 419 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:24,199 Speaker 1: when the Challenger disaster happen. You have to ask the 420 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,679 Speaker 1: right questions to get the right answers, and very often 421 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:31,119 Speaker 1: that doesn't happen. Do you think it doesn't happen because 422 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: they don't think of the right questions or because they're 423 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,400 Speaker 1: afraid of the answers. More often they just don't think 424 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:41,119 Speaker 1: of the right questions. Preparation is everything, and you have 425 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: to really think that. Strategy requires thinking. You have to 426 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:49,080 Speaker 1: figure out again, what is it that you want to accomplish, 427 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: and what strategies will get you there, What tactics or 428 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: operations will get you there, what metrics will enable you 429 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,680 Speaker 1: to determine whether or not you've been successful. Unique take 430 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 1: in The Corporate Warrior in arguing that the Taliban's quick 431 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:09,439 Speaker 1: defeat of the Afghan government after the US departure from 432 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: Afghanistan in twenty twenty one, I'm quoting here with the 433 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: product of cutting edge information warfare that capitalized on social 434 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: media and every other form of communication. I don't think 435 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:23,880 Speaker 1: I've seen anybody else take this approach and think about 436 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: it this way. What do you really mean by what 437 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 1: is it that the Taliban was doing right? They understood 438 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: that the government of Afghanistan did not have any legitimacy, 439 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 1: It wasn't popular, it was a centralized government, and a 440 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:41,920 Speaker 1: culture that historically had been devolved down to a provincial 441 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: in a village level, and the government was never able 442 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: to provide security to the people, so there was no 443 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,439 Speaker 1: popular support for the government. And then Ghani, who was 444 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,680 Speaker 1: the president, made the strategic mistake of splitting up all 445 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: of its forces so that the army, although that numerically 446 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,880 Speaker 1: were a lot of people, they were basically stationed at 447 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:07,200 Speaker 1: checkpoints and at small posts throughout the country, so they 448 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: had no real strength. And the Taliban use social media 449 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:12,439 Speaker 1: to communicate with them, and they said we have you 450 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,359 Speaker 1: Outgune and o numbered. Your government is falling in Either 451 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,720 Speaker 1: you can live and have safety with your families, or 452 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 1: we'll kill you, and by the way, we'll also kill 453 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:27,040 Speaker 1: your families. They also targeted Air Force pilots and assassinated 454 00:26:27,119 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: them to send the message that nobody was safe and 455 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,879 Speaker 1: that the Air Force couldn't save you, and then they 456 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:36,439 Speaker 1: infiltrated Kabul so that they were in a position to 457 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: again send a message on the streets to people that 458 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 1: fighting there would be a useless endeavor, and it all worked. 459 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,439 Speaker 1: Gani fled the country unlike Zelinsky in Ukraine, and the 460 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,320 Speaker 1: army caved, but the other thing too, I think that's important. 461 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,400 Speaker 1: It's a lesson for this country is that we trained 462 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:58,240 Speaker 1: the Appian army to fight like the American army, and 463 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 1: our military depends upon combined arms of warfare with a 464 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: heavy emphasis on being able to use air power to 465 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 1: support ground operations. That was not a war that the 466 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,040 Speaker 1: Afghan Army had any possibility of executing once we left. 467 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:17,200 Speaker 1: So everything we did and everything the government of Afghanistan 468 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:21,880 Speaker 1: did failed, and virtually everything that the Taliban did, particularly 469 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:26,439 Speaker 1: in using information warfare work. They basically use sun sus idea, 470 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:28,439 Speaker 1: which is that if you know yourself and you know 471 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 1: your enemy, you can win without fighting, and to win 472 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,399 Speaker 1: without fighting as the supreme art in a warfare, and 473 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,640 Speaker 1: they proved it was true when you look at both 474 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: Vietnam and Afghanistan. I mean, we were in Afghanistan for 475 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:47,720 Speaker 1: twenty years. Why were we so unable to design a 476 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:52,320 Speaker 1: winning strategy. I don't think that Afghanistan, in the way 477 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: that we conducted it was a winnable war. The culture 478 00:27:55,320 --> 00:28:00,679 Speaker 1: of Afghanistan was hostile to foreign troops of warlock that 479 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: inevitably was going to kill a lot of civilians, which 480 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:08,360 Speaker 1: was going to alienate the population. We supported a centralized 481 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 1: government when the culture, even under the king, was devolved 482 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:16,399 Speaker 1: down to a local level, and there just was nothing 483 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:21,480 Speaker 1: backing up the government of Afghanistan. What amazes me is 484 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: that the US government, through one president after another, never 485 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: seemed to do that. I mean, we went into Afghanistan, 486 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,040 Speaker 1: remember to get bin Laden. We had civil relations with 487 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: the Taliban in say two thousand, before nine to eleven. 488 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:37,960 Speaker 1: We didn't like the government, they didn't have our values, 489 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: but we weren't hostile to them, and they weren't hostile 490 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: to us. The mission changed, and that goes to the 491 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:47,040 Speaker 1: heart of understanding what it is you want to accomplish 492 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 1: when you go into a situation, and then how are 493 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: you going to get out of it? And we never 494 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: saw that kind of thinking from anybody, you know. And 495 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,719 Speaker 1: I think that's a good piece of advice for the 496 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 1: corporate warrior that you're reaching out to with your book, 497 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: and that is, Benny, don't understand what they're trying to accomplish. 498 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: They need to understand the limitations of the world they're 499 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,960 Speaker 1: operating in, and they need to be flexible and learned. 500 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 1: The world's bigger than we are. You know, there's a 501 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,760 Speaker 1: theory about business called a blue ocean strategy, which is 502 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 1: that if you're going into an industry. Kevin flected this 503 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: with under Armor, you see who the competition is. You 504 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 1: see what space within an industry doesn't have any competition. Well, 505 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: Nike and others were selling shoes and had one part 506 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: of that industry, but there was another part for the 507 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,200 Speaker 1: kinds of sweatshirts that he was selling for which there 508 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: was no competition, and so he did what Special Operations did. 509 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 1: He was adaptable, flexible, and agile, and so he moved 510 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 1: right into, as it were, the blue ocean space of 511 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:49,200 Speaker 1: that and was able to capitalize in it. Warbie Parker 512 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 1: has done the same thing with eyeglasses. There's a lot 513 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: of eyeglass companies that you get advertisements from us that 514 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 1: have done the same things. There's just one company after 515 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: another that has understood that. And that's strategy that's not 516 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: coming up with neat advertise. But I want to thank 517 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: you for joining me, and I want to let our 518 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 1: listeners know we're gonna have a link to your new book, 519 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 1: The Corporal Warrior. Successful Strategies from Military Leaders to win 520 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,680 Speaker 1: your business battles on the showpage at newsworld dot com. 521 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 1: I think somewhere between your opera, your play, and your movies, 522 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:22,760 Speaker 1: you're gonna have to come back left to have a 523 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:27,160 Speaker 1: totally different conversation someday just about James Farwell in the 524 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,520 Speaker 1: cultural world. I'd love to thank you so much, James, 525 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: my pleasure, thank you. I want to thank my guest, 526 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,360 Speaker 1: James Farwell. You can get a link to the Corporal 527 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: Warrior on our showpage at newsworld dot com. News World 528 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: is produced by gingwid Sweet sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive 529 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:55,400 Speaker 1: producer is Garnsey Slum, Our producer is Rebecca Howell, and 530 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:59,720 Speaker 1: our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork for the show 531 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: was created by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the team 532 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: at Gingwidge three sixty. If you've been enjoying news World, 533 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 1: I hope you'll go to Apple Podcast and both rate 534 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,760 Speaker 1: us with five stars and give us a review so 535 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 1: others can learn what it's all about. Right now, listeners 536 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: of news World consigner from my three free weekly columns 537 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:27,240 Speaker 1: at Gingwidge three sixty dot com slash newsletter. I'm new Gingwidge. 538 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 1: This is news World