Artists and Soldiers

intermediate2 min readorganizational behavior · management · military · technology · innovation · business

Separate early-stage innovators ("artists") from operational implementers ("soldiers") to allow wild ideas to develop before being shaped by efficiency demands, as exemplified by DARPA's structure.

THE IDEA

The model contrasts two roles within organizations: "artists" (innovators, early-stage researchers, idea generators) and "soldiers" (implementers, operators, efficiency-focused members). Early research needs room to explore uncertain ideas without being judged solely by the reliability and efficiency standards of established operations. Once an idea is ready, researchers and operators need ways to transfer and develop it together.

Research Organizations

During WWII, Vannevar Bush led the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD). DARPA was a later, separate organization. Both illustrate efforts to support research beyond immediate operational demands; DARPA-backed work included ARPANET and Shakey. As Safi Bahcall writes:

"People responsible for developing high-risk, early-stage ideas... need to be sheltered from the 'soldiers' responsible for the already-successful, steady-growth part of an organization."

Business Applications

Efficiency systems such as Six Sigma can discourage exploration if a company demands predictable costs and output before researchers have tested an idea. Separate research and operating groups can use different standards while agreeing on how promising work will move into production.

When to use it

A tech startup creates a separate R&D lab away from the main office to avoid process overload and maintain a creative culture.
A manufacturing company sets up an 'innovation skunkworks' that operates outside the standard Six Sigma culture to explore radical ideas.
A large corporation establishes an internal research fund with milestones suited to exploratory work.
A military research agency maintains a flat structure with rotating program managers as in DARPA to keep artists and soldiers distinct.

FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE

In practice

DARPA and the Birth of the Internet

OSRD under Vannevar Bush and the later DARPA were separate research organizations. DARPA-backed projects such as ARPANET and Shakey illustrate the value of supporting uncertain research outside routine operational demands.

Six Sigma vs. Innovation

A company applies Six Sigma measures to a product idea before the team has tested its basic feasibility. Demands for predictable efficiency lead managers to cancel the exploration. The example illustrates a mismatch between an early research task and the standards used to assess it.

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A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Put it to work.

In your team, who are the 'artists' and who are the 'soldiers'? Where do they need autonomy, and where do they need to coordinate?
Think of a time when efficiency measures killed a creative idea. How could separation have helped?
How can you design your organization to give autonomy to innovators while still maintaining overall operational excellence?