From the Yellow Footprints to DISA: Why Strategy Requires Agility

When I was 23, I found myself standing on yellow footprints in San Diego, California. I had left behind a potential career in pharmacy, where I could have made over $110,000 a year, and a stint as an HVAC tech, because I was searching for something money could not buy. I was searching for purpose. The Marine Corps gave me that purpose, along with autonomy and a devotion to master my craft.

Today, serving as a Strategy Director for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), I often look back on that transition. It taught me that while frameworks and data are essential, the ability to adapt is what actually ensures success.

The Comfort of Control

Early in my analytical journey, I found comfort in rigid structures. I loved the precision of an np Chart, which measures nonconforming items in a consistent sample size. I liked looking for special causes in the data, those specific points where a process spiked or drifted, because I believed that if I could identify the anomaly, I could fix the problem.

I approached strategy like a controlled experiment. If I accounted for every variable, such as road conditions in a tire-wear test or the specific type of car being driven, I could predict the outcome with perfect accuracy.

However, leading strategy at a high level has taught me that the real world rarely fits neatly into a control chart. Variables change. People are not consistent data points. I realized that a strategy that cannot adapt to the human element is destined to fail.

The Carrot and Stick is Broken

The most significant strategic pivot I made was moving away from the old carrot-and-stick approach to motivation.

In large organizations, we often try to force alignment through bonuses or penalties. Yet, as I learned from Dan Pink's work, this operating system is outdated. External rewards might work for simple tasks, but they do not drive long-term strategic success.

Instead, I started building my strategies around the three pillars that drove me during my service:

• Autonomy: I found that people yearn for independence and the freedom to make their own decisions about how to accomplish their work.
• Mastery: This is the desire to get better and better at something that matters. It is the difference between doing a job and honing a craft.
• Purpose: This is the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.

Strategy is a Behavior

Integrating these concepts transformed how I view my role as a Director. I no longer look for statistical variations or stability in a process. I look for the motivation behind the metrics.

The Marine Corps instilled in me a leadership principle that has become my ultimate strategic framework: Know yourself and seek self-improvement. This requires a level of honesty and adaptability that no spreadsheet can provide. It means admitting when a plan is not working. It means understanding that the people executing the strategy matter more than the data used to build it.

Proper strategy is not about creating a perfect plan that never changes. It is about creating a culture agile enough to adapt as the world inevitably shifts.