It would be good to ask someone like Tony Tether to see if he agrees. I found DARPAs proximity to the customer (US National Security) very helpful. It brought very clear focus in contrast to other government research that augments research outside of a direct user base. Government is not for example the direct customer of healthcare.
Seems like an additional actionable takeaway is to help program leaders realistically look at whether their style has good leader/program fit. It's not usually realistic for a leader to significantly change their style, but partial changes in management style and significant changes in program type could be feasible. The absence of process constraints allows freedom here, but even great people can be significantly jumpstarted with good mentorship or collaborative ideation in areas where they aren't used to experimentation.
It would be good to ask someone like Tony Tether to see if he agrees. I found DARPAs proximity to the customer (US National Security) very helpful. It brought very clear focus in contrast to other government research that augments research outside of a direct user base. Government is not for example the direct customer of healthcare.
Seems like an additional actionable takeaway is to help program leaders realistically look at whether their style has good leader/program fit. It's not usually realistic for a leader to significantly change their style, but partial changes in management style and significant changes in program type could be feasible. The absence of process constraints allows freedom here, but even great people can be significantly jumpstarted with good mentorship or collaborative ideation in areas where they aren't used to experimentation.