Anthony Cordesman delivered a talk at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace entitled “Rethinking the Challenge of Counterinsurgency Warfare,” November 7. Among the topics covered were:

* The complexity and instability of operations, and the need for time and patience
* Knowing when to "play" and when "not to play"
* The need to plan for complexity and cost
* Focus on the desired outcome of war, not simply the battle situation
* Understanding the state of the enemy, as well as our own vulnerabilities
* Utilizing the full spectrums of options, both military and political

Shaping the Future of Counterinsurgency Warfare

The Economics of Persistent Innovation presents papers that provide definitions of persistence in firm innovative behavior, establish the significance of persistence, present a theory of persistence, and examine empirical evidence regarding both the extent of, and the determinants of, persistence. They survey previous studies which have commented on persistence and present new data describing trends in the persistence in innovation.

The book discusses the main determinants of persistence and the reasons for its systematic heterogeneity across industries, technologies and countries. The book first focuses on the determinants of persistence in innovation. This topic is analyzed in several ways, including a Markovian model of innovation. The characteristics of persistent inventors as revealed in patent data are explored for many industrial countries. An evolutionary theory of persistence in innovation is proposed. In conclusion we draw some policy implications for support and development of innovation.

The Economics of Persistent Innovation

For every business, the choice is stark: "Change--or die." At any moment, fully two-thirds of America's companies claim to be in the midst of some type of organizational revamping, though most of these initiatives will fail. What many companies neglect to recognize is that organizational change needs to come from within, no matter how profound the external forces. Positive change requires "change agents" throughout the organization--those individuals who can translate the strategic vision of leaders into pragmatic behavior.

This book identifies the qualities of great change agents and how these skills can be mastered to serve as a catalyst for change throughout the organization. Illustrating these principles through examples from world-class organizations, Dealy and Thomas highlight the five key qualities of great change agents; they:

* challenge the status quo;
* stoke the fire of creativity;
* embrace the necessity of conflict;
* manage risk rather than avoid it; and
* develop new change agents.

Bringing the process of change out of the realm of the analysts and consultants and to the front lines, the authors show you how to thrive in a world that demands nothing less than continuous change.

Change or Die : How to Transform Your Organization from the Inside Out

Connected Marketing is a business book about the state of the art in viral, buzz and word-of-mouth marketing. Written by 17 experts working at the cutting edge of viral, buzz and word-of-mouth marketing, Connected Marketing introduces the range of scalable, predictable and measurable solutions for driving business growth by stimulating positive brand talk between clients, customers and consumers.

Connected Marketing: The Viral, Buzz and Word of Mouth Revolution

In contrast to the use of agendas and restrictive structures, dialogue mapping is a facilitation technique that allows the intelligence and learning of the group to emerge naturally. Each participant can see how their comments contribute (or don't) to the coherence and order of the group's thinking. The first full-length book to bring dialogue mapping to a wider audience, Dialogue Mapping provides an exciting new conceptual framework that will change the way readers view projects and project management.

Dialogue Mapping : Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems

You've got your hands on one of the greatest marketing manuals ever written -- the classic that defines the strategies, plans, and campaigns of today's marketing battlefield. Marketing is war. To triumph over the competition, it's not enough to target customers. Marketers must take aim at their competitors -- and be prepared to defend their own turf from would-be attackers at all times. This indispensable guide gives smart fighters the best tactics -- defensive, offensive, flanking, and guerrilla. It's the book that wrote the new rules!

Marketing Warfare

I don't really know if this book is any good, but I found the title strangely magnetic.

Rare is the opportunity to chat with a legendary figure and hear the unvarnished truth about what really goes on behind the scenes. Hedgehogging represents just such an opportunity, allowing you to step inside the world of Wall Street with Barton Biggs as he discusses investing in general, hedge funds in particular, and how he has learned to find and profit from the best moneymaking opportunities in an eat-what-you-kill, cutthroat investment world.

Hedgehogging

If you spend a lot of time typing plain text, writing programs or HTML, you can save much of that time by using a good editor and using it effectively. This paper will present guidelines and hints for doing your work more quickly and with fewer mistakes.

The open source text editor Vim (Vi IMproved) will be used here to present the ideas about effective editing, but they apply to other editors just as well. Choosing the right editor is actually the first step towards effective editing. The discussion about which editor is the best for you would take too much room and is avoided. If you don't know which editor to use or are dissatisfied with what you are currently using, give Vim a try; you won't be disappointed.

Seven habits of effective text editing

There's no question the industry has been subjected to a great deal of competitive pressure over the past decade or so, with promises of more to come as the Internet and wireless technology transform the way Americans receive news and information. And newspaper companies have struggled with how to handle these changes to their readers' habits and their revenue models. Those of us who preach the benefits of creative destruction for everyone else are now getting to live the experience, and it isn't always fun.

A report just out from Columbia University's Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Pew Charitable Trust finds that there are more media outlets than ever, but they are increasingly echoing each other. In this environment, the echoers will likely find it ever harder to pay their way when others are willing to offer the echo free.

Good and factual reporting and independent commentary of the kind you can't get elsewhere is where the successful journalistic outlets will create value in the future, as they have in the past. The trick will be adapting old journalism standards to the new opportunities that technology offers.

Newspapers discover creative destruction

For Tom.

Avian influenza poses a complex threat, having the potential to cause a significant health crisis and to cripple the global economy. Containing the disease's spread and mitigating its impact requires a multi-pronged approach. To better provide sound policy solutions for combating avian influenza's challenges, CSIS has aggregated its many resources into one location.

You may question my selection of topic for this entry. I will simply say that humans do not hold a monopoly on evil. And as a free people, it is our solemn obligation to confront and obliterate such evil wherever it may threaten to exist.

I realize that these flu-ridden birds are something of an extreme offshoot and that they are not representative of the vast majority of their culture, which is naturally peace-loving and vaguely libertarian, notwithstanding their strong sense of territoriality.

Nevertheless, our obligation remains clear. I look forward to establishing a strong and lasting partnership with moderate leaders of the avian community.

Thank you, and God bless.

Preparing for Avian Influenza