Leadership Lessons from Hollywood War Movies: Saving Private Ryan

Films have a huge impact on the human mind. Films can communicate, embody and articulate the effectiveness of behaviours of leadership.

Hollywood has a variety of award-winning films that portray the heroism and sacrifices   of different military leaders in battlefield.

 

Saving Private Ryan

 Film. Saving Private Ryan is an epic war film directed by renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg and produced by Robert Rodat. This movie was released in 1998 based on the Invasion of the Normandy in the Second World War. This movie achieved very good critics from the worldwide and praised a lot to Spielberg and Tom Hanks as Captain Miller in the movie.

 

Plot. The plot of the movie was based on the Second World War. Three of the four sons of the Ryan family were killed in Warfield. Therefore, the fourth son (James Ryan affiliated with 101st Airborne Division in Normandy) was ordered to back home immediately. Captain Miller of the second Ranger Battalion leads a breakout on Omaha Beach to find Ryan and bring him back home. Captain Miller choose six people the assist him for this mission and started to find Ryan in the different battlefields. Before reaching Ryan, Captain Miller lost two men on the road and finally found him near Ramelle. Ryan was defending a tactically important bridge near Ramelle from the German Soldiers. Ryan learned that all of his brothers were killed in battle and felt sorrow for them. However, he refused to leave his post. Therefore, Captain Miller had to make a quick, tough decision to defend the bridge together, and afterward bring him back. By this time, they took preparation with their small arms and ammunition to defend the Germans. Within a few hours, the heavily armed German Troops came to the bridge and resisted by US Army. During the fighting, most of the men of that company were killed including captain miller. However, he continued to shoot his last bullet before the air strike support.

 

Leadership Qualities of Captain Miller

Captain Miller displayed transactional and transformational leadership traits. He displayed qualities that are portrayed by strong and positive leaders.

He never compelled his fellow team members to do anything. He motivated them.

He proved to be an innovative leader, willing to learn from the mistakes.

He was willing to take the responsibilities on his own shoulders.

He adopted a follower-based approach to leadership. He always discussed with his followers and his followers’ feedback was always welcome. While he was open to feedback from the fellow teammates, but was loyal to the chain of command.

He was tough decision maker, willing to make the quick and critical decision.

He displayed empathy towards his personnel.

 

Recommendation

Saving Private Ryan is a great piece of Steve Spielberg portraying an epic leadership style. It is composed of transactional, transformational and follower based approach of leadership.

Military leaders should watch this movie for its leadership lessons.

Titbits

Moreover, this movie has a huge commercial success; in the USA, it has earned 216.8 million USD and worldwide 481.8 million USD (wikipedia.org). This movie was nominated in eleven categories for a seventy-first academy award and won the awards in five categories including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Effects Editing (oscars.org). Besides Oscars, this movie also won multiples awards worldwide. This movie was an ethno-biography of Private Ryan, a Second World War veteran.

 

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References

Homes, C. (2014b, October 28). Saving Private Ryan Review: Top ten Leadership Lesson from this Movie. Retrieved October 15, 2018 from https://www.part-time- commander.com/saving-private-ryan-review-10-leadership-lessons-from-the-movie/

Rogers, T. (2015, October 28). Seven lessons from Saving Private Ryan that will make you a better leader. Medium. Retrieved October 20, 2018, from https://medium.com/@tobiasrogers/seven-lessons-from-saving-private-ryan-that-will- make-you-a-better-leader-3e208a78a657

Kirkpatrick, T. (2017, May 18). 8 awesome enlisted leaders depicted in war movies. https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/8-awesome- enlisted-leaders-depicted-in-war-movies.

Guthrie, K. L., & Jenkins, D. M. (2018). The role of leadership educators: Transforming learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

  Rajendran, D., & Andrew, M. (2014). Using film to elucidate leadership effectiveness models: Reflection on authentic learning experiences. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 11(1), 8.

Technology: Future Trajectory of Artificial Intelligence

 

AI is going to change the world more than anything in the history of mankind.

– Kai-Fu Lee

 

 Artificial Intelligence (AI) has permeated into all aspects of our lives. AI tools are everywhere we look. AI is  delivering tangible benefits across every  industry one can think about.

 

  • Transportation: Although it could take a decade or more to perfect them, autonomous cars will one day ferry us from place to place.

 

  • Manufacturing: AI powered robots work alongside humans to perform a limited range of tasks like assembly and stacking, and predictive analysis sensors keep equipment running smoothly.

 

  • Healthcare: In the comparatively AI-nascent field of healthcare, diseases are more quickly and accurately diagnosed, drug discovery is sped up and streamlined, virtual nursing assistants monitor patients and big data analysis helps to create a more personalized patient experience.

 

  • Education: Textbooks are digitized with the help of AI, early-stage virtual tutors assist human instructors and facial analysis gauges the emotions of students to help determine who’s struggling or bored and better tailor the experience to their individual needs.

 

  • Media: Journalism is harnessing AI, too, and will continue to benefit from it. Bloomberg uses Cyborg technology to help make quick sense of complex financial reports. The Associated Press employs the natural language abilities of Automated Insights to produce 3,700 earning reports stories per year — nearly four times more than in the recent past.

 

  • Customer Service: Last but hardly least, Google is working on an AI assistant that can place human-like calls to make appointments at, say, your neighbourhood hair salon. In addition to words, the system understands context and nuance.

 

Future Trajectory

Most AI applications today are classified as “narrow” or “weak” AI, meaning that they usually carry out a specific task they are designed for.  

AI is only just getting started. Computers will get smarter, quicker, and increasingly become capable of tasks that traditionally are carried out by humans, such as making complex decisions or engaging in creative thought. Truly intelligent entities would not be designed for one specific task but would be able to carry out many number of tasks.

A Quantum Powered AI

 Computing power is the engine of AI.

Quantum computing, along with other next-level processing capabilities such as biological and neuromorphic computing, is likely to unlock even more possibilities.

Quantum computing is basically, ability of sub-atomic particles to exist in more than one state at the same time. It is theoretically capable of completing some calculations up to 100 trillion times faster than today’s fastest computers.

In order to continually evolve to become smarter, machine learning models will inevitably become larger.

 Additionally, more processing power means we will be able to create larger amounts of “synthetic” data for training purposes, reducing the need for collecting real data to feed into algorithms for many applications.

Other technologies like neuromorphic computing would be able to mimic the “elastic” capabilities of the human brain to adapt themselves to processing new forms of information.

Creative AI

 These days we can see art, music, poetry, and even computer code is being created by AI.

This has been made possible by the ongoing development of “generative” AI i.e. when Ai creates new data rather than simply analyzing and understanding existing data.

With generative AI, analyzing and understanding is the first step of the process. It then takes what it has learned and uses it to build further examples of the models that it has studied.

This ability to create synthetic data will lead us into an era where machines will be doing things we simply haven’t seen them do before.

Ethical and Accountable AI

 At the moment, much of the inner workings of today’s AI is not transparent due to proprietary algorithms or complexity involved.

This creates a trust deficit and reluctance to let machines make  decisions that affect people’s lives.

If AI is going to live up to its potential, then the smart machines of the near future will have to be more transparent, explainable, and accountable than the ones we’re familiar with now.

Legislative and regulatory changes are likely to be put in place in future.

 

Interesting

Intel recently unveiled its Loihi processing chip, packed with more than two billion transistors, which is one application that was able to identify ten different types of hazardous material by smell alone – more quickly and accurately than trained sniffer dogs.

 

Titbits

Adversial Model – AI vs AI

The most impressive results available today are usually obtained when this is done via an “adversarial” model – effectively, two AIs are pitted against each other, with one tasked with creating something based on existing data and the other tasked with finding flaws in the new creation. When these flaws are discovered, the creative network (known as the “generator”) learns from its mistakes and eventually becomes capable of creating data that its opponent (the “discriminator” network) finds increasingly hard to distinguish from the existing data.

 

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References

https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/artificial-intelligence-future

https://futureoflife.org/background/benefits-risks-of-artificial-intelligence/

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consulting/articles/the-future-of-ai.html

China’s Active Defence Strategy

 

Genesis. China’s Active defence Strategy appeared first time in  MAO’s writings in the year 1936. However, its meaning has been changing from time to time along with the war fighting philosophy of China.

 

Changes in War Fighting Philosophy. War fighting Philosophy of China has changed with the era of person in power. Over the years the changes are as follows:-

 

  • Mao Zedong – Final War (with reference to world wars)
  • Ding Xiaoping – Local War (Shift from world war to limited wars)
  • Jing Zemin – Local war with Hi Technology.
  • Hu Jintao – Informatised Local War (Network centric war)
  • Xi Jinping – Informatised and intelligentised war (Unrestricted War – including elements of hybrid and unconventional warfare even in the Grey Zone).

 

Initial Connotation. When the idea was conceived initially it meant allowing the enemy to come into own territory, in area of own choice and up to pre decide depth. Allow the enemy’s logistics supply lines get stretched out and dry down and at an opportune moment attack and defeat him. It was sort of offensive defence.

 

Present Framework. China articulates its Active Defence response as:

“China would never invade or expand, at the same time would never permit any piece of Chinese territory to separate from China & PLA will strike after enemy has attacked”.

 

Analysis & Implications

  • There is always a gap between what china preaches and practices. China although states that she will not expand, but is driven by the baser instinct of expansionism, considering herself as an empire state rather than nation state.

 

  • China decides as to what is part of China, by staking claims and producing conveniently select and doctored historical and legal documents.

 

  • China has left definition of enemy attack intentionally vague. It is not limited to military attack by kinetic means. It may include any action by the adversary which is against the interest of China.

 

  • In other words China decides what enemy attack is, and reserves the right to respond in a way it feels is appropriate.

 

  • It means China will always have the initiative and will have the legitimacy (in her opinion) for her actions.

 

  • China justifies her approach to this active defence strategy as strategically defensive but operationally offensive.

 

  • In tune with her war fighting philosophy of unrestricted warfare, the attack on enemy would be any domain (land, air, sea, cyber, space, electronic, information, psychological or even nuclear). It could use everything and anything as a weapon from the instruments of national power (DIME).

 

  • This strategy coupled with China’s practiced strategic approach of “achieving objectives without firing a shot”, would mean that China would continue to perpetuate grey zone warfare (inclusive of hybrid and unconventional warfare).

 

  • China’s formation of Strategic Support Force as a separate service, is in tune with the above mentioned strategy and actions.

 

Bottom Line

 There is an urgent need for reorientation and gearing up (not only by military) to deal with these challenges.

 

Question

Are we doing it?

 

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