Posted on Jan 21, 2024
Sunday Firesides: There Are No Trade-Off-Free Options
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Posted 11 mo ago
Responses: 2
Every decision requires weighing the options and the costs....too often we forget that making one choice impacts another...
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Some great truth in that statement.
As a Battalion Commander, I once described (in the middle of a QTB to my Brigade Commander) my role as someone who manages failure. Between mission requirements, training requirements, educational requirements, and other administrative or operational requirements, there were so many commitments on my Soldiers and unit that it was up to me which ones weren't going to be accomplished even though they were 'required'.
Much like the no free trade-off, many times it's a subjective evaluation of which option has the least downsides of what you consider important. The real problem is when you fail to consider the impact of those downsides because you focus on the upsides too much.
As a Battalion Commander, I once described (in the middle of a QTB to my Brigade Commander) my role as someone who manages failure. Between mission requirements, training requirements, educational requirements, and other administrative or operational requirements, there were so many commitments on my Soldiers and unit that it was up to me which ones weren't going to be accomplished even though they were 'required'.
Much like the no free trade-off, many times it's a subjective evaluation of which option has the least downsides of what you consider important. The real problem is when you fail to consider the impact of those downsides because you focus on the upsides too much.
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SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA
I remember hearing a while back that there was more mandatory annual training (not even directly related to combat, as I understand it) than could possibly be done in a year, even if all the actually important things were disregarded.
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