Hacking for Defense: Lean Innovation, Speed, and the Future of War

by Steve Blank

Respond to security threats before they evolve, with Lean innovation for defense Hacking for Defense applies Lean innovation methodology to issues of national security, providing a more rapid, responsive model for addressing challenges in the military and intelligence committees. From understanding the full depth and breadth of the problem to quickly producing a minimum viable product, this book provides a framework for rapid-turnaround solutions based on Silicon Valley practices that bring new technology to market within weeks of conception. While fit is paramount for national security solutions, speed is not far behind--allowing months to pass in development and production allows the threat to evolve beyond the capabilities of the product; the discussion here merges speed with innovation to help you address threats with timely precision, while developing a model of innovation that extends beyond the security realm.

Traditional military approaches to technology and defense are too slow for today's world, where new challenges arise and evolve before the first committee is ever called into session. This book provides a solid framework for staying ahead of the tide by streamlining the process from start to finish, and developing the best-fit solution quickly.

Fully grasp the problem to be solved--at a deeper level Turn ideas into solutions in extremely short periods of time Understand all stakeholders, issues, costs, resources, and more Produce a springboard for other potential technology solutions When national security is at stake, response time is critical--traditional methods have proved too sluggish for Silicon Valley, so why should they be "business as usual" for the Department of Defense? Hacking for Defense provides an alternate roadmap from problem to solution, using the fastest, most direct route.

288 pages, ebook

About the author

Put to a vote, I might have been chosen “least likely to succeed” in my New York City high school class. My path has taken me from repairing fighter planes in Thailand during the Vietnam War, to spook stuff in undisclosed location(s), and I was lucky enough to arrive at the beginning of the boom times of Silicon Valley in 1978.
After 21 years in 8 high technology companies, I retired in 1999. I started my last company, E.piphany, in my living room in 1996. My other startups include two semiconductor companies, Zilog and MIPS Computers, a workstation company Convergent Technologies, a consulting stint for a graphics hardware/software spinout Pixar, a supercomputer firm, Ardent, a computer peripheral supplier, SuperMac, a military intelligence systems supplier, ESL and a video game company, Rocket Science Games.
Total score: two large craters (Rocket Science and Ardent), one dot.com bubble home run (E.piphany) and several base hits.
After I retired, I took some time to reflect on my experience and wrote a book (actually my class text) about building early stage companies called Four Steps to the Epiphany.
I moved from being an entrepreneur to teaching entrepreneurship to both undergraduate and graduate students at U.C. Berkeley, Stanford University and the Columbia University/Berkeley Joint Executive MBA program. The “Customer Development” model that I developed in my book is one of the core themes in these classes. In 2009, I was awarded the Stanford University Undergraduate Teaching Award in the department of Management Science and Engineering. The same year, the San Jose Mercury News listed me as one of the 10 Influencers in Silicon Valley.
I also followed my curiosity about why entrepreneurship blossomed in Silicon Valley and was stillborn elsewhere. It has led to several talks on The Secret History of Silicon Valley.
In 2007 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed me to serve on the California Coastal Commission, the public body which regulates land use and public access on the California coast.
I am on the board of Audubon California (and its past chair) and spent several years on the Audubon National Board. I’m also a board member of Peninsula Open Space Land Trust (POST). In 2009 I became a trustee of U.C. Santa Cruz and joined the board of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV).