Current national-level strategic documents exhort the need for creativity and innovation as a precondition of America’s continued competitive edge in the international arena. But what does that really mean in terms of personnel, processes, and culture? This paper argues that an overlooked aspect of talent management, that of cognitive diversity, must be considered when retooling military talent management systems. Going one step further, talent management models must incorporate diversity of both skill set and mindset into their calculus. Specifically, the Department of Defense (DOD) needs to recruit, retain, and utilize Servicemembers and civilians with higher than average levels of creativity and a propensity for innovative thinking. It needs “enders.” Read On
Finding Ender authors Dr. Susan Bryant and Mr. Andrew Harrison from their Defense Entrepreneurs Forum 2019 presentation “Identifying and Enabling Innovative Mindsets Inside the DoD” (photo source: Twitter @DEFcommunity)