Activism in a giant, hierarchical bureaucracy: Lessons from a consultant to the millitary

My favorite talk about activism and behavior change at OSCON 2012 came from an unexpected source: Kane McLean, part of the Strategy & Communications Group at BRTRC Technology Research Corporation and currently works supporting the Under Secretary of the Army at the United States Army Office of Business Transformation.

This talk blew my mind for a number of reasons:

  • The whole talk was a behavior change manifesto.
  • This was a talk about implementing open source technology inside the US Military.
  • Kane was a great speaker.
  • The advice was practical, actionable and immediately redistributable.

I evangelized the 7 points made in the talk to at least 10 people who missed the talk later in the day. And I had the distinct pleasure of introducing Kane to BJ Fogg‘s work.

What I love about this is the inevitability of his method. And especially the admonition to ignore the haters. Well, he said “DON’T WASTE MUCH EFFORT ON RESISTANCE” (caps mine). But that’s pretty much “haters gonna hate.”

Anyway, Kane, you rock.

I put together my tweets below.