What automakers can learn from Colin Powell - Industrial College of the Armed Forces program; includes related article on Lieutenant General Richard Chilcoat

Automotive Industries, Sept, 1998 by Marjorie Sorge

Engineers, managers can learn a lot from the General's alma mater, the National Defense University, that will advance their careers.

Chet Huber wasn't exactly sure what a Navy SEAL was, but there was one sitting next to him in his class at the Army Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF). When he asked a buddy from the Army what it meant, the answer was a bit ominous. His friend carefully explained that a SEAL is someone "who knows 50 ways to stop your heart without using a weapon."

Huber, you see, was a civilian from General Motors attending the National Defense University's ICAF program. In fact, he was the first GM employee to march into NDU, in hopes of finding a new way of learning that would benefit his company and his career.

It appears it did. Huber is now head of GM's OnStar operation, which markets new technologies such as navigation/information systems for vehicles. Prior to that he worked at GM's ElectroMotive Div. in LaGrange, Ill. As for the SEAL, he now commands one of the Navy's major SEAL teams. Huber counts the SEAL among his friends, as he does others he studied with at NDU.

The school's mission is to teach military, and now civilian, leaders to become strategic thinkers and learn to create long-term visions. For the military, that means changing tactical and operations experts into generals who must think in the broadest systems context possible. For industry, it's the same. The ultimate goal is to link military and industrial might.

"If you are in Detroit, everything you read about the military is awful," says Dennis Mooney, the second GM student at NDU. "If you are in the military everything your read about industry is awful. Instead, we must work together."

In the auto industry, engineers and managers from all disciplines can boost their job performance and advance their careers if they learn to think in this systems-oriented way. GM seems pretty convinced, Vice Chairman Harry Pearce sits on the National Defense University Foundation's board of directors. The Foundation raises funds from the private sector to enhance education at NDU.

There are some extraordinary graduates, including General Colin Powell, who distinguished himself during the Gulf War and is considered a leading candidate for President of the United States if he ever chooses to run.

"NDU is a mind expanding experience," Powell tells AI. "It is a way for industry to see how the military works, and vice versa."

But that's only part of it, he says. At NDU, Powell made relationships that were invaluable later in life. Four of his classmates were commanders during the Desert Storm operation. "Fifteen years later we were running a war together," he says. The close relationship they formed at NDU made it easier to read one another's thoughts and create strategies.

Industry leaders who attend the university can form similar relationships that will benefit their companies. For example, the military is the single largest provider of R&D dollars in the world, points out Sheila Ronis, president of The University Group, a consulting firm in Birmingham, Mich. "A lot of new technology is going to be paid for by the military if we do it right, and those who attend NDU will have a leg up on finding out about it first," she says.

Ronis, who also sits on NDU's board of directors, has long urged the automakers to become active in joint military/civilian programs.

NDU has four colleges--the National War College, ICAF, the Information Resources Management College and the Armed Forces Staff College. All but the latter are opened to industry. The university is located at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., which is a place of incredible history. It was here that Mary Surratt, George A. Atzerodt, David E. Herold and Louis Paine, co-conspirators in the Lincoln assassination, were tried and convicted in 1865.

Those attending the school are among the military's and industry's best and brightest. Most students are about 42 years old, with 20 years of service. More than 75% have master's degrees or higher and, on the military side, have had battalion, squadron or ship commands. So far, the 10-month ICAF program is the one most industry people attend. The cost is $15,000 for the 10-month course that ends with a masters of science degree. NDU officials hope to increase the number of non-military students there and in the other colleges.

What these people find out, says Col. Mary McCully, ICAF associate dean for curriculum, is "what made them successful in the past will not make them successful in the future." ICAF professors tell students what they learned about management in their past military and civilian careers just won't work anymore. They must think in systems and include both military and civilian reasoning in the decisionmaking process. They also must understand and accept cultural diversity and work as a team.

"We try to get our students to think `out of the box,' become strategic decision-makers, and be prepared for what exists in an uncertain environment," says Major General John Cowings, ICAF commandant. The complex curriculum certainly does that.