A Global Strategic Plan

A Global Strategic Plan

The Banner: The X59 concept aircraft that will test low boom technology in the coming years.

 

What would it take for us to succeed?

I’ve been asked that question many times. Regardless of who the “us” is, my answer is always the same. If you really want to succeed, you need a plan, a strategic plan. And if the “us” is mankind, the answer is still the same, mankind needs a global strategic plan. More so today than ever before, because success today may mean survival tomorrow. So how would this look? Let’s start with a SWOT. (A SWOT analysis is based on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.)

We humans do have many Strengths. We have evolved into amazingly brilliant intellectual beings. We can handle extremely complex problems and have developed machines that can enhance our capabilities to accomplish extraordinary things. Through language and now computers, we can collaborate not only locally but globally. We have changed this planet from a spinning rock to a world capable of sustaining billions of people with incredible lifestyles. For the most part, we believe there is no problem that we can’t solve.

On the other hand, we have many Weaknesses. Physically, we are a vulnerable and limited species. While the progress that we have made intellectually has allowed us to survive and thrive, it has taken a toll on the planet. It has also prevented us from evolving into a more resilient physical species. While we can adapt to gradual changes in the world, we don’t do well with major catastrophes. And we have created immensely destructive war-fighting capabilities that could destroy the planet in a flash.

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Bart BarthelemyDr. Bart Barthelemy is the Founding Director of the Wright Brothers Institute and the Wright Brothers Institute’s IDEA Lab. He has been a consultant to a variety of aerospace industry companies and federal government organizations, including Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Ball, GRC, UTC, various Department of Defense organizations and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Bart has served as Visiting Scientist at the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University and Adjunct Professor at the University of Dayton. Bart was the National Director of the National Aerospace Plane Program where he was responsible for the technical development of the nation’s hypersonic aerospace plane. Bart has also served as Technical Director of the Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, the Air Force’s largest research and development complex. Bart’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from MIT, Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering and Physics from MIT, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nuclear Physics/Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University. Bart published High Performance, a book on high performance technology leadership in 1985, and The Sky Is Not The Limit: Breakthrough Leadership, St. Lucie Press, a book on breakthrough leadership in 1993

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