Colonel (Ret.) Steve Rotkoff directed the US Army’s University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies at Fort Leavenworth, known as Red Team University. He helped design the Army’s red team training program. I asked him how red teaming works and where it applies.
Divergence first
Red teaming puts divergence before convergence. A group generates options and challenges before it settles on one. That practice reduces groupthink and opens the way to new solutions.
How the curriculum grew
Steve walks through the evolution of the UFMCS curriculum. He shares stories of red teaming in software, social media, telecommunications and international policy schools. Each brought lessons he still uses.
Cognitive diversity
Steve stresses cognitive diversity and how to put it to work. A team with different ways of thinking sees more of the problem. The method helps that team surface what each person sees.
Red teaming protects orientation from the blind spots every group develops. Steve has taught that to a generation of officers.
When did your team last ask someone to argue against its plan?
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