The U.S. military is studying small companies such as 24-employee Craigslist to see how the online bulletin board has all but terrorized the newspaper industry by siphoning classified advertising.
Such research may unearth ideas that will help the United States fight the war on terror.
It may seem a stretch that within the chaos of capitalism are the secrets to fighting al-Qaeda. But the military and business have long borrowed leadership lessons and competitive tactics from each other.
In the past, sharing between military and business has been largely a one-way street. The Art of War by the ancient Chinese general Sun-Tzu remains a must-read for corporate CEOs, and most great lessons have been learned the hard way on the battleground before migrating into commerce. For example, CEOs have come to embrace the idea that it's better to act quickly on an imperfect plan than to introduce a perfect plan too late, a lesson first learned the hard way in the fog of war.
But now the military is paying closer attention to business than business is paying to the military, because the world of geopolitics has discovered itself to be on the same road that business has been on for some time. That road is flatter, more networked and more decentralized than ever.
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