Shorter Orders, Faster Ops: How Lean Planning Restores Tempo and Decision Superiority

This interview looks at how HQs and C2 have deteriorated since 1946, where drills and TTPS had been honed by six years of large-scale combat operations. Our guest today is Dr Jim Storr, a retired LTCOL from the British Army and author of Something Rotten: Land Command in the 21st Century.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Something-R...

Some of the key points:

Orders have ballooned to 750 pages, delaying action and confusing subordinates.
WWII brigades issued usable orders within two hours under fire.
Battalions commonly delivered one-hour orders, accelerating tempo and initiative forward.
Twice the planning speed delivers five times the battlefield effectiveness.
More sensors and bandwidth produced overload, slowing commanders’ critical decisions.
Oversized headquarters became lucrative targets; one missile created chaos everywhere.
Staff creep meant everyone talked, while no one decisively decided.
The ‘golden thread’ linking strategy, operations, and tactics has been severed.
Validation exercises rewarded process compliance rather than combat effectiveness directly.
Doorstop orders added negative value, arriving late and unread anyway.
Senior leaders must state a clear purpose, then protect decentralised execution.
Shorter orders, simpler coordination, generated faster, better decisions under pressure.
Separate staff collaboration from command decision to compress cycles dramatically.
Trust juniors, tolerate well-intentioned failure, and enable initiative at scale always.

00:00 Why Time Wins Wars: Opening Statement on Decision Speed
00:54 Guest Intro—Col Jim Storr: Background, Doctrine, and C2 Expertise
01:35 WWII Lessons: How High-Intensity Experience Shaped Effective Command
02:38 Finschhafen Case Study: Intelligence Failure and Rapid Amphibious Planning
04:15 Modern Orders Bloat: From 57 Pages to 750-Page Operations Orders
05:02 The Three Problems: Oversized HQs, Overlong Orders, Slow Processes
05:57 The “Golden Thread”: Linking Strategy, Operations, and Tactics
06:44 Senior Commander Responsibilities: Clear Purpose and Continuity
07:58 Civil-Military Boundaries: End State, Authority, and Interference
09:17 ACE Rapid Reaction Corps Example: Late Orders and Negative Value
12:20 Tempo Advantage: “Twice as Fast = Five Times as Effective”
13:25 Planning Standards: Brigade 2-Hour / Battalion 1-Hour Orders
15:15 Role of the Commander: From WWII Practice to Today’s Staff-Led Process
16:54 Training & Validation: CPX Feedback vs Real Combat Readiness
18:08 HQ Size & Vulnerability: Minimum Viable Command Post Concepts
19:37 Collective Planning vs Decision: Managing Staff Inputs Without Delay
23:36 Bandwidth & Sensors: Information Overload and Decision Latency
26:04 Mission Command Erosion: Centralisation vs Decentralisation & Trust
27:41 Trust and Tolerance of Well-Intentioned Failure: Leading for Initiative
29:06 Risk Management: Process Tick-Boxes vs Intuitive Command Judgment
30:49 Next Episode Preview: Mission Command Solutions

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