FROM THE DIRECTOR OF


ACQUISITION CAREER MANAGEMENT C R A IG A. SP I S A K


YOUR DATA BRING


We have to know what we know, not what we think we know.


Above the door to my office is this expression: “IN GOD WE TRUST—EVERYONE ELSE BRING DATA.” I 134


didn’t come up with this idea, but I use it a lot. When it comes to talent management and workforce management, one of the biggest challenges we face in the way of data is that we don’t necessarily have a robust data system for talent


management. We have historically collected a lot of demographic data. We know the types of degrees our workforce has, the schools they’ve attended, the training they’ve achieved and their work experiences. But we aren’t collecting and capturing much data on competencies. Tat’s why we tend to do studies and assessments of competencies and skill sets to understand where our skill gaps are and may be in the future.


DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT DATA? Which raises a question: Have we collected the data we need on the talents of the Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW)? Do we just need to analyze it more completely? Or do we need more data in order to build a better AAW? Te answer is D, all of the above.


Obviously, analyzing the data we have is an important aspect of making smart decisions. Too often, people overlook the impor- tance of “knowing what you know” and rely instead on what they think they know. Te only way to get people on the same page


and heading in the right direction is to have valid, verifiable data that says, “Tis is why we know what we know.” Otherwise, stra- tegic decisions are likely to be based on gut instinct or opinion. And when strategic decisions are based on gut instinct or opinion, there’s no way to defend them to somebody who suggests that a particular choice is not the right one. Tat’s why I’ll say it again:


We have to know what we know, not what we think we know.


However, in many cases we don’t have the capacity or access to collect the data we may need. Ten we’re stuck doing our best to make inferences when the actual information is too hard to get, unavailable or too expensive to gather.


PUTTING DATA TO WORK In a perfect world, everyone would have enough time built into their work schedule—and I know that is a very challenging statement—to use something like the Acquisition Workforce Qualification Initiative system to capture competencies. Tere’s a big difference between the skill sets of a contracting profes- sional who does work in supporting contingency operations and those of one who works in acquiring weapon systems. But when


Army AL&T Magazine


Summer 2019


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