Paul Van Riper

Military Strategist

BIG IDEAS

• How To Be In Command And Out Of Control
  This widely respected warfare scholar repurposes lessons learned in combat to help executives improve leadership and decision-making capabilities amidst chaos and uncertainty.

SNAPSHOT BIO

Paul Van Riper served more than 41 years in the United States Marine Corps, including wartime service in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. One of the keenest minds on the future of warfare and military strategy, he continues to serve his country by teaching at the National Defense University, the Marine Corps University, and other military education institutions. He also consults part-time for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and to a variety of private companies and organizations. In 2002, he was chosen to lead Team Red, the “enemy forces” in Millennium Challenge 02, a $250 million war game designed by the DOD’s Joint Forces Command to test the adaptability and resiliency of the new military. After only four days into the simulated three-week battle, he had sunk a large part of the U.S. naval forces, using decidedly low-tech and unconventional maneuvers and tactics. He continues to advocate a better understanding of the nature of warfare, and cautions against relying too heavily on unproven technologies or concepts. Paul is a captivating speaker on his favorite topics: addressing the new realities of warfare and terrorism, retooling command and control for organizational effectiveness, complexity and adaptability, and the history of strategy and conflict.

A Closer Look at Paul

FOCUS AREAS
What's on Paul's current research agenda?

• Decision-making and design
• Network theory
• Non-linear dynamics
• Strategic and operational theory
• Military innovation

ENGAGEMENTS
How have other organizations utilized Paul's expertise, and what's ahead on his schedule?

Lt. Gen. Van Riper’s insights to military operations and decision-making have proved of value to the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA) on several projects such as the Command Post of the Future.

Recently, he spoke on the subject of decision-making to a variety of business-related groups such as the Spring Government CIO Summit and Sage Advisory Services’ Perspectives on the Future Conference.

Furthermore, he served on The National Academy of Sciences Committee on Network Sciences for Future Army Applications in 2005, and he:

• serves on a variety of government and business advisory boards;
• holds the Bren Chair of Innovation and Transformation at Marine Corps University;
• is Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation; and
• will present keynote addresses at a number of venues in the coming months, including the Naval War College and the 25th Army Science Conference in Orlando.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Who shapes Paul's thinking and inspires his work?

Col John Boyd (deceased)
BG Shimon Naveh
Gen Tony Zinni
Lt Gen Jim Mattis
MG David Fastabend
Dr. Andrew Ilachinski
Dr. Gary Klein
Dr. Williamson Murray

RECOMMENDED READING
What's on Paul's must-read list?

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas S, Kuhn

Grammatical Man: Information, Entropy, Language, and Life, Jereny Campbell

The Sciences of the Artificial, Herbert A. Simon

Linked: How Everything is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life, Albert-Laszlo Barabasi

System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life, Robert Jervis

Managing As Designing, Richard J. Boland, Jr. and Fred Collopy

Steps to and Ecology of the Mind, Gregory Bateson

Systems Thinking, Systems Practice, Peter Checkland

Intuition At Work: Why Developing Your Gut Instincts Will Make You Better At What You Do, Gary Klein

Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity: A Platform for Designing Business Architecture, Jamshid Gharajedaghi

The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, John Gaddis

Strategy for Chaos: Revolutions in Military Affairs and the Evidence of History, Colin S. Gray

MIND FUEL
Which blogs, web sites, and industry events does Paul tap into to feed his mind and fuel his creativity?

• ISAAC-EINSTein, An Artificial-Life Approach to Land Combat (http://www.cna.org/isaac/)
• Artificial Life Links (http://www.alcyone.com/max/links/alife.html)
• Systems Dynamics Home Page (http://www.systemdynamics.org/)
• KLI Theory Lab (http://www.kli.ac.at/theorylab/index.html)
• Clausewitz Home Page (http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/CWZBASE.htm)
• The Visual Thesaurus (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/index.jsp?vt)
• The Works of Edward Tufte and Graphics Press (http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/)