I have almost no intellectual base in military science or intelligence.
But I study them to improve my teaching about entrepreneurship. There are two primary reasons:
1) Much basic science, technological R&D, and innovation is done in service of war and national security. (Was the wheel developed to move troops and materiel or was it a non-military application first?) That work makes its way to commercial applications and makes possible much entrepreneurship. Students who want an edge in a tech startup should look at what’s going on at the cutting edge of military tech and cybersecurity.
2) Strategy is much more written about and scrutinized related to war than business. I often start my class by referring to Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War. I always teach a case about the Siege of Toulon, 1793. Studying conventional and assymetrical warfare may open up pathways for developing business strategies.
If you would like an engaging way to learn this, you may want to start with two novels by Peter Singer and August Cole, Ghost Fleet (2016) and Burn-in (2020). Their approach to FICINT, or useful-fiction, has rich material for entrepreneurs and strategists wanting to learn how to compete effectively in their markets.
But I study them to improve my teaching about entrepreneurship. There are two primary reasons:
1) Much basic science, technological R&D, and innovation is done in service of war and national security. (Was the wheel developed to move troops and materiel or was it a non-military application first?) That work makes its way to commercial applications and makes possible much entrepreneurship. Students who want an edge in a tech startup should look at what’s going on at the cutting edge of military tech and cybersecurity.
2) Strategy is much more written about and scrutinized related to war than business. I often start my class by referring to Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War. I always teach a case about the Siege of Toulon, 1793. Studying conventional and assymetrical warfare may open up pathways for developing business strategies.
If you would like an engaging way to learn this, you may want to start with two novels by Peter Singer and August Cole, Ghost Fleet (2016) and Burn-in (2020). Their approach to FICINT, or useful-fiction, has rich material for entrepreneurs and strategists wanting to learn how to compete effectively in their markets.