Echo 7: How Did RAiD’s HOW Come About? (revised edition)

Welcome to the 7th issue of Echo.

In the previous editions, we have uncovered RAiD’s WHY and Just Cause, embedded in its name, its Smarts amp; Smiles mission and the purpose behind it all: Serving the Underserved.

Now we turn to the HOW.

In Simon Sinek's Golden Circle, the HOW represents the values or principles that guide how an organisation brings its WHY to life. It is the posture, the way you go about the work, the behaviours that leave your signatures on the solveware you deliver.

Over the next few issues, well unpack RAiD’s HOW.

How was RAiD's HOW defined?

If RAiD’s culture was left to chance, so too would be its existence. Without a clear HOW, RAiD’s WHY would just be intent without impact. And its Just Cause - objective without outcome. RAiD's WHY and Just Cause must be turned into consistent practices that make RAiD uniquely suited to fulfil the very reason for its existence - serving the underserved. These practices, or the HOW, bring its WHY to life and bring RAiD closer to its Just Cause - when RAiDers are practicing them, they are living them and moving in the right direction. So, to define RAiD's HOW, where do we start? For me, it was:

Position, position, position!

Uniquely positioned in the intersection of the digital ecosystem and the RSAF, RAiD is the digital techie in the air operations domain. It is both the uniquely RSAF entity within the digital ecosystem, and the uniquely tech department within the RSAF.

RAiD may be delivering digital products and services like other tech entities in the digital ecosystem, but it should be focused on offering only those, and delivering them in special ways, that bring complementary unique value proposition as the only Air Force entity in this ecosystem.

And as the tech entity within the RSAF, RAiD also needs to be clear about where it needs to behave more radically than the typical RSAF unit, so as to deliver Solveware that bring Smarts & Smiles. Digitalisation is after all as much a cultural shift as it is a technological shift. Short of better phrases, I call them "Unique Core Values" because I identified them in addition to the RSAF Core Values, which RAiD totally embraces.

It will be obvious later that these two sets of unique values overlap significantly, which I view as a validation of each other. Let's dive into each of the two sets.

Unique Value Proposition

Unique value proposition (UVP) is often viewed as a brand differentiator, a way to position products in a crowded, competitive market.

Not for RAiD.

Our UVP isn't about standing apart from competition. It's about distinguishing RAiD's contribution to the RSAF so that it integrates well within the broader digital ecosystem, from the MINDEF/SAF to the rest of the world. RAiD differentiates itself precisely so that it can complement and harness the strengths of the broader digital ecosystem.

It should fill the gaps and excel where the rest of the digital ecosystem is not expected to do as well as RAiD is positioned to do. And where the tech entities beyond the RSAF excel in, RAiD should partner them to translate their expertise into mission impact. So, the UVPs below answer why should the RSAF care if RAiD exists or not, or what would the RSAF lose if it loses RAiD:

Velocity

There are situations when solutions need to be delivered rapidly. There are also solutions that can be built rapidly. Building and delivering this group of solutions the enterprise way is like certifying small drones using the Part 21 airworthiness requirements. As the tech entity within the RSAF, RAiD is well-positioned to deliver this category of products and services. It has to design systems and processes built for velocity. This will add value to the existing MINDEF/SAF digital ecosystem that is designed for enterprise solutions.

Note: I used to use "speed" and "velocity" interchangeably, and even prefer "speed" because being monosyllabic, its pronunciation expresses its meaning better. However, I was inspired in the past week by Gaurav Keerthi to think of velocity as speed with purpose, since velocity = speed in a certain direction. Now, I prefer to use velocity as RAiD's UVP to convey purposeful speed rather than raw speed.)

Agility

RAiD is stood up to provide the RSAF with the digital capability to operate in the VUCA environment. Given its proximity to the end-users, RAiD can detect changes relevant to user needs first, gain insights from these changes first, and respond to them first. In short, RAiD is well-positioned to deliver products and services with greater agility than the rest of the digital ecosystem. So, RAiD has to excel in turning change into opportunity, harnessing digital technology with its special sauce to provide the RSAF with operational agility.

Note: Every now and then, I had to explain the difference between velocity and agility to people. They are different but the nuance is not easily understood. However, out of convenience, I am sometimes guilty of putting velocity and agility together. Ironically, I did that in the very place I shouldn't - writing my reflection with the intention to clarify RAiD's WHY and HOW. I have since repented and split the two.

Mission-Usability

RAiDers are airmen serving fellow airmen, designing products and services that carry empathy with the users performing different mission roles in different operating environments. So, more than anybody else in the digital ecosystem, RAiDers are in the best position to design solutions that are easy for airmen to learn, use and enjoy to achieve their mission goals.

Here, mission-usability is used instead of simply usability in order to emphasise the context. RAiD is not serving the general public but our airmen and airwomen with specific missions to fulfil.

Thought Leadership

Being embedded in air operations gives RAiD deeper business domain understanding than any other tech entity in the digital ecosystem. That insight, paired with its tech capability, makes RAiD a natural leader in shaping digital airpower for the RSAF.

RAiD will take inspiration from the Air Engineering and Logistics Organisation, which is not only the RSAF's authority in engineering and maintenance doctrine to enable air power, but often the thought leader in the MINDEF/SAF's military engineering and maintenance doctrine.

Ops-Tech Integration

Being both the tech-within-ops and ops-within-tech, RAiD is the formerly missing hyphen in ops-tech integration.

To the rest of the digital ecosystem, RAiD is here to partner them and help align their digital efforts with the RSAF needs, amplifying mission outcomes for the products and services they deliver.

RAiD is also best fit to help uplift our airmen and airwomen in their fluency with digital languages, tools and culture, so that the reach of digitalisation will benefit the last man in the RSAF.

Unique Core Values

On hindsight, I could have just stopped at the UVP and the same cultural statements for RAiD would probably have been developed nonetheless. However, back then, I was driven to stand up RAiD not only to build digital capabilities for the RSAF, but also to increase the cultural diversity in the RSAF through RAiD. Both were necessary for the RSAF to be future ready in the digital era. And it wasn't as if I was methodical then, thinking about UVP, followed by cultural diversity, in that sequence. No, back then, the thoughts were flying on different planes, disparate, messy and unstructured. Now, with the rearview mirror, they are converging into something (hopefully) more coherent.

So, in a parallel thought universe, I also asked myself: "to excel at the intersection of the RSAF and the digital ecosystem, what other values will make an existential difference to RAiD?" This question is admittedly odd, but in my mind, excellence and existence are just two sides of the same coin for RAiD. (I don't think this mindset should be exclusive to the founder or pioneers. It will do RAiD well if RAiDers continue to adopt this mindset.) Furthermore, thinking about the must-haves helped me to be razor sharp in the shortlisting process, from which only three survived:

Agility

Digital technology advances rapidly. In addition, the nature of warfare is also becoming more complex, largely due to the advent of dual-use technology. RAiD must always be future-ready, treating change as an opportunity, turning it into its advantage and, be a constructively disruptive force for the RSAF.

Collaboration

In the digital arena, RAiD can’t do it alone. Partnerships matter. RAiD must forge strong bonds. Within the RSAF, RAiD needs to partner its users and care about their missions. Within the MINDEF/SAF digital ecosystem, RAiD must be a constructive member to drive integration at the ministry level. Beyond the ministry, RAiD must harness the different strengths that the Whole of Government, academia and industry possess.

Innovation

RAiD's existence is founded on grassroot innovation. Having absorbed SWiFT into its fold, RAiD must continue to lead in innovation, digital or not, bringing the RSAF mission impact in uncharted territories.

Moreover, the digital terrain is not just fast-changing; it is largely unmapped, with few road signs and fewer rules, especially in the military. RAiD must path-find, not just follow existing paths. It must imagine the solutions that don’t yet exist.

RAiDs BeHave Statements

So, based on the two unique set of values, RAiD's HOW was formulated and unveiled at its beta launch on 10 Nov 2021. The HOW is captured in its five BeHave statements, so named because they begin with four “Be’s” and one “Have”. These statements had to meet the following criteria:

1. Applicable to Every RAiDer,

Across all ranks, roles and employment schemes, every BeHave statement should apply to every RAiDer.

So, while Thought Leadership is a UVP, for example, there is no expectation for every RAiDer to "Be a thought-leader".

2. Practicable at the Individual Level,

BeHave statements are designed for RAiDers to be practice at their individual level. They are not designed for teams.

So, while Velocity is a UVP, for example, it should not be translated to the individual level because RAiD can achieve high velocity through many means, but making RAiDers code faster is definitely not one of them.

Similarly, innovation is a team sport that require different RAiDers to exhibit different behaviours. Most people view innovation as the realm exclusive to those who Create. But to bring impact with innovation, these visionaries need team-mates who excel in the Collaborate, Compete or Control quadrants. (Here, I'm using the Competing Values Framework which RAiD subscribes to. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45veR-Se-rI if you want to learn more from Prof Jeff DeGraff.)

3. and Observable in Daily Effort.

The statements are designed for RAiDers to incorporate into their daily work.

So, while Agility is both a UVP and unique core value, for example, it wasn't included because even though change is constant, I didn't think it was a behaviour that every RAiDer would have to exhibit on a daily basis. The same can be said for Innovation.

So, how should RAiDers behave?

Together, these statements answer a simple but central question: How should RAiDers behave? Here are the answers:

These are the foundations RAiD was built on: a clear WHY that calls us forward, and a lived HOW that keeps us aligned. But values alone don’t make culture. It’s how we embody them, individually and collectively, that gives them power. In the next issue, we’ll explore each BeHave statement not just as a principle, but as a strategic anchor for how RAiD delivers its unique values.

Until then, keep building with purpose, and don’t forget to BeHave.

Echo is a series of reflections from leading organisational change in the RSAF. At its core, it explores the realities of digitalisation and innovation Ive faced with my fellow RAiDers. This is my way of documenting lessons learned, eventually leaving behind a RAiD playbook for its future growth.

But I don’t want to do this alone. Echo is also an experiment in crowdsourcing perspectives, because great ideas are never born in isolation. No matter your background, your insights matter to me. There is always something I can learn from you. I welcome your thoughts. Let’s build something meaningful together.

If you are interested to find out how you may contribute to RAiDs mission in delivering Solveware that brings Smarts & Smiles to our Air Force, and our Airmen and Airwomen, please contact us through https://www.go.gov.sg/raidcareers.