Krulak’s Law states that the future of an organization is in the hands of the privates in the field, not the generals back home (Krulak was a famous Marines general, son of another nicknamed the ‘Brute’). Seth Godin in his post ‘The $50,000 an hour gate agent‘ gives a perfect example in daily life.
What I find interesting here is the statement that it is the increased complexity of war that requires more initiative and decision-making to be done at a lower level (‘the strategic corporal’). And hence the deployment of a vastly different approach in military organization and training.
This observation about the changes in military organization created by increased complexity are probably transferable to any kind of human organization in today’s world. It shows that the old-fashioned top-down management is doomed; and that front-line employees need to be given initiative and sufficient competency to take the right decisions at the right moment, because they are the ones that are faced with the actual issues.
It is not certain that this idea has permeated many of the larger corporate organizations, and changing the manner those organizations work and consider their personnel will take time. However, increased complexity coupled with easier communication will necessarily force the transformation.
Be proactive in applying Krulak’s law. Today it is the front-line agents and supervisors that win the battles. Not any more the generals and corporate executives.
