The true expanse of China’s cyber power is visible in the current geopolitical climate that has China at odds with the United States, and the world consumed by an ongoing conflict in Ukraine, as well as increased tensions with Taiwan.  In the former, China plays a supporting role, publicly backing its ally Russia; in the latter, China is on the forefront, mobilized and focused on U.S. stoking the fires of Taiwan independence.  In both instances, China has its cyber forces at work in diverse sets of operations, all with specific purposes that run independent of one another.

We continue our effort to underscore certain patterns and themes found throughout the OODAcast library of close to 100 conversations with leaders and decision-makers, on topics such as leadership, empowering a team, clear decision-making while operating in a low information environment, the qualities and best practices of a true leader, the future of intelligence, the future of cyber threats, the cybersecurity marketplace, innovation, exponential technologies, and strategic action.

In Part II of this conversation, Dr. Tether shares the origin stories of DARPA, NASA, and the “Heilmeier Catechism.” Dr. Porter shares her experience at NASA, IARPA, and the DoD. The role of Congress is discussed in a variety of contexts, as well as courage as the primary quality of a leader. Finally, Dr. Porter discusses why Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is her go-to book when the heat is on and she needs a stoic reminder to stay true to herself as a leader.

Various outlets have reported on the release of a report in April 2022 which is not yet publicly available.  We assume the report, entitled “Bio-Futures 2050: Defense Impacts and Opportunities”, is the result of the work of the Department of Defense (DoD) Innovation Marketplace’s Biotechnology Community of Interest, which is possibly the most creative exploration of the potential of exponential biotechnology innovation you will find from any government agency or industry sector.  Also, see the final section of this post for foresight strategy insights garnered from “Bio-Futures 2050: Defense Impacts and Opportunities” as reported by National Defense Magazine.

We continue our effort to underscore certain patterns and themes found throughout the OODAcast library of 100 conversations with leaders and decision-makers, on topics such as leadership, empowering a team, the qualities and best practices of a true leader, innovation, exponential technologies, and strategic action.

In July of 2021, OODA CTO Bob Gourley spoke with Dr. Tony Tether.  Dr. Tether was the Director of DARPA, from 2001 to 2009. Dr. Tether shares some of his formative experiences and the importance of quickly assessing challenges (an approach very consistent with the famous “Heilmeier Catechism).”

In April of 2021, Bob spoke with Dr. Lisa J. Porter. Porter has a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from MIT and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford and eventually joined DARPA as a program manager. From 2018 to 2020, Dr. Porter was the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this conversation, Porter elaborates on how Heilmeier’s decision-making framework was vital to the success of DARPA.

Cybersecurity Community Events in August – Las Vegas, NV: OODA team members will attend the following August event in Las Vegas.  If you plan to attend, please reach out with opportunities to connect with the OODA Loop community.