2020 Vision: Increasing Interactions with Each Other and Our Data for Deep Work

In a recent article, Tim Herrera (2019) called my favorite tip for being personally productive “deep work,” which he defined as “focusing without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It describes, in other words, when you’re really locked into doing something hard with your mind.” 

Beyond a good personal tip for productivity, as leaders we surely have an obligation to figure out how best to enable our talented workers to do individual deep work. And although that’s important for individuals, what about “deep work” for teams?  

Recently we conducted a design sprint on understanding data flows and mission dependencies within our organization’s data ecosystem: How we move fast from collecting joint sensor data to a command decision (the “doing”) and the vulnerabilities within that important cyber terrain.

Thanks to Bill Waynick and his human-centered designers at Air Force CyberWorx, we brought together about 25 military/government and 11 industry data experts from big and small companies to collaborate forward on implementing a planned solution for continuous analyses–moving us away from hand-jammed databases and powerpoints of yester-decades that don’t really tell warfighters what is going on right now and won’t be relevant to #cyber and other modern threats, such as Russia’s reported, recently operational hypersonic weapons (see Isachenkov, 2019).

Seeing such team solutions “snap” together during a sprint after a few days of green field white-boarding and storming through daunting data challenges is heartening. The deeper relationships built between diverse organizations, people, and the better, shared understanding of the whole mission ecosystem makes worthwhile the investment of 3-days in a design studio away from chatterbox emails and meetings, anathema to deep work. 

Getting out of the office and collaborating is not easy, however important strategically for our vision.

But let’s face it, getting out of the office and collaborating is not easy, however important strategically as our decisions in geekdom affect so many lives within our businesses and through our missions (e.g. our ability to defend the homeland).

In his foreword to Brad Smith and Carol Ann Browne’s (2019) book, Tools and Weapons, Bill Gates reflects on his time at Microsoft and balancing company self-interest with larger considerations. Gates writes, “Although there would be times when we would need to go it alone, there would be many others—for example when artificial intelligence, facial recognition, and cybersecurity are involved—when we all have much more to gain from working with one another” (p. x).

We can argue over beers about how well (or not) Gates applied this while he was in command at Microsoft, but hindsight is always valuable. How might we foster more deep work interactions and collaborations?

This week I offer you an article by Airman First Class Jonathan Whitely (2019) about a recently launched organization providing opportunities for diverse perspectives toward mission assurance, similar to the Security Operations Centers (SOCs) you’ll find in industry-leading companies.* 

Whitely’s news release on the recent formal opening of the cyber defense correlation cell for space (CDCC-S) covers a lot of ground quickly. From Major General Stephen Whiting the reader learns how the center is intended to provide a “bird’s eye view” and help reveal “cyber weaknesses” potentially affecting space missions and joint warfighting (para. 7). From the center’s new director, echoing Gates’ foreword, we learn about the partnerships needed between people and organizations for successful, layered cyber defenses and data-based vulnerability and risk assessments (para. 18).

Questioning Forward

What “deep work” collaborative opportunities does the CDCC-S afford that didn’t exist prior to its standup? How might such efforts help organizations from a mission and, also, from a data ecosystem and health standpoint? Driving forward from a one-off visioning offsite (maybe at your most recent company “retreat”) toward a more routine collaborative and data environment (like in a SOC, whether physical or virtual), what lessons might be drawn from the CDCC-S and the @SANSInstitute survey results?

This idea of improving “deep work” collaborations toward customer outcomes brings together several of the “leadership principles” articulated by DOD’s Roland Feghali (2019) following his Cyber IT Exchange Program fellowship with industry. Feghali spent time at Amazon and writes about what he saw as the application of the leadership principles and the value to mission of a “stable and supportive infrastructure environment” (para. 7) and of leveraging state-of-the-art “technology as a service” (para. 8).

Do you agree with Feghali on these points? How might partnering with other organizations help enable such foundational values for your organization’s missions? Would standing up a SOC afford more routine interactions? Why or why not? What other steps should leaders be considering in 2020 for enabling interactions with people and data, so talent can achieve “deep work” focus? If you have time, skim Feghali’s ideas on the commitments needed for workforce education (the bullet list at bottom of page 2). What do you think?

* The @SANSInstitute provides useful 2019 survey results and analyst commentary on SOC impacts: What’s working, what needs improved, and how to shape the investments of resources to make the effort worth it.

References

Crowley, C. and Pescatore, J. (2019, July 9). "Common and Best Practices for Security Operations Centers: Results of the 2019 SOC Survey." SANS Institute. Available at https://bit.ly/37hmuUi

Feghali, R. (2019). “The ‘micro-servicing’ of culture,” Dept. of Navy IT Magazine. Washington, DC. Available at https://bit.ly/39tiLF2 (Sincere thanks Mac McKinley for the pointer!)

Gates, B. (2019). Foreword. In B. Smith & C. A. Browne, Tools and Weapons: The Promise and Peril of the Digital Age (pp. iix-xii). New York: Penguin Press.

Herrera, T. (2019, December 24). “6 Tips to Getting Things Done in 2020,” New York Times. Available at https://nyti.ms/2ESSYYC

Isachenkov, V. (2019, December 27). “New Russian weapon can travel 27 times the speed of sound,” AP News. Available at https://bit.ly/39qK42I

Whitely, J. (2019, October 22). “Cyber Defense Correlation Cell for Space stands up,” Space Observer. Colorado Springs, CO. Available at https://bit.ly/39qWjwd

?Jeff Collins (PhD, Carnegie Mellon University) works to protect the homeland as the Chief Technology Innovation Officer at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a former commander, Pentagon strategist, and the founding director of Air Force CyberWorx, a public-private research and design center located at the Air Force Academy, focused on cyber capabilities and disruptive technologies. You can follow Jeff on LinkedIn or on Twitter at @JeffCollinZ. The views here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. Govenment, Department of Defense or the United States Air Force.