the work environment. “Tey give you all the tools you need at your fingertips. So basically you have access to all the Cisco resources that any other employee would have, and you can access it all through your computer,” Shaffer said.
Te organization itself also seemed very fluid. “In the Army, there’s a clear, direct line of communication and command. At Cisco, it’s not so clear. Tere are manag- ers and administrators, but there are a lot of dotted lines … people work for this person and that person and that person.”
Shaffer was particularly surprised by the degree of awareness of the military cus- tomer among Cisco employees. “I learned how important it is for industry to under- stand and know their customers at a very [granular] level … it helps them look out over the future, see where they’re going and where they’re not going. Tey are very aware.”
Lien, a retired Army colonel, said that Cisco maintains close ties to the military on a number of fronts—hiring, cards and care packages and wounded warrior sup- port, to name a few—and that the TWI program strengthens those ties. “From a company perspective, one of the biggest things that our company gets out of it is a deeper appreciation for our veterans. … Folks who work with these young men and women really get a great appreciation for the quality of the Soldiers we have in the Army today.” As a result of TWI, he said, “there’s a better understanding of the Army, especially the Acquisition Corps.”
ENDURING PERSPECTIVES By the end of his TWI assignment at Cisco, Shaffer said, he had gained what he sought, which was to “share as much as we can and learn from each other in the short time we have,” within the ethical
BUSINESS CASUAL, WITH SERIOUS INTENT Shaffer wanted to look outside the Army box and experience a broad range of industry managerial techniques and best business practices during his TWI assignment at Cisco. He got what he was seeking, and more.
limitations of an Army officer working closely with industry.
Lien described the interaction this way:
“We’re working on a particular proj- ect or having a discussion, and there’s a challenge: ‘Well, here’s the approach we would take to solve this particular challenge in the Army.’ ‘On the other hand, here’s the approach we take inside the industry space.’ … Tey’re looking at it from their foxhole, we’re looking at it from ours, and when you bring that above ground, everybody’s looking at the same problem with a different set of eyes, and they learn from each other. And that is the biggest and the best thing about this program.”
Shaffer wasn’t sure how what he learned would benefit him in his future Army assignments, but he had no doubt that it will. “Te truth is that when I use my [TWI] experience, those moments, I’ll know it when they come up … and then a light bulb will click on and I’ll think, great! Tat’s where I saw this. Tis might work here.”
Likewise, he said, he cannot be sure how the TWI assignment will help his career overall. “I can’t speak for my superiors, whoever I’ll be working for in the future, but I would hope they will see it as a posi- tive thing, looking back at my experience and saying, ‘Hey, this guy has something new and different to contribute.’ ”
Speaking from his own experience as a TWI participant in the Army and now Cisco’s TWI program manager, Lien said the participants in the Army program would benefit greatly from knowing ear- lier in their TWI assignment what their follow-on assignment will be.
“Branch needs to determine what the fol- low-on assignments of these officers are so that we can better develop a program that prepares them for that assignment. When I went through [TWI], I knew where I was going before I accepted the assignment,” he said. Lien’s TWI rota- tion was with the Air Force, working with single-channel satellites at Offutt AFB, NB, after which he was assigned to the satellite division of the J-6 on the Joint Staff. “Today, depending on which branch, it’s about six months into the [TWI] assignment before they start lock- ing them down … you only get six months really focused on what you’re going to be doing in your follow-on assignment, as opposed to having a whole year.”
Te timing notwithstanding, Shaffer’s advice for anyone considering TWI was:
“If you can fit it into your timeline, do it. Be open-minded” and “know your career field before you show up. You’ve got to be able to think outside the box,” he advised.
“You’ve got to be willing to adjust and look at things differently.”
—MS. MARGARET C. ROTH
ASC.ARMY.MIL 149
WORKFORCE
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