The Defense Tech Underground

002: Michèle Flournoy: Your Country Needs You

Michèle Flournoy served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012 where she was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. With decades in defense policy, Michèle has led and advised many critical national security innovation entities, including the Center for a New American Security, the Atlantic Council Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption, and the Defense Innovation Unit. 
On this episode of the Defense Tech Underground, Michèle discusses her tenure in the Department of Defense, and the evolution of the United States’ relationship with President Xi’s China. She details the decision making behind the Bin Laden raid and the leadership style of President Obama, Secretary Gates, and Secretary Panetta.  Michèle also talks about the need for the right incentives in the DoD’s acquisitions systems to ensure that acquisitions professionals are rewarded for adopting innovative technology.
Michèle closes by telling our audience: “Your country needs you.”  There has never been a more critical time to build things that protect our nation and our way of life.
This episode is hosted by Jeff Phaneuf and Helen Phillips. 
 
Full Bio:
Michèle Flournoy is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, and a Co-
Founder, former Chief Executive Officer, and now Chair of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).
Michèle served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012.  She was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. She led the development of the Department of Defense’s 2012 Strategic Guidance and represented the Department in dozens of foreign engagements, in the media and before Congress. 
Prior to confirmation, Michèle co-led President Obama’s transition team at the Defense Department. In January 2007, Michèle co-founded CNAS, a bipartisan think tank dedicated to developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security policies. She served as CNAS’ President until 2009, and returned as CEO in 2014. In 2017, she co-founded WestExec Advisors, a strategic advisory firm. 
Michèle serves on the boards of CNAS, Booz Allen Hamilton, Amida Technology Solutions, The Mission Continues, and CARE. She is a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affair, a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group, and a former member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the CIA Director’s External Advisory Board, and the Defense Policy Board.
Michèle earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree from Balliol College, Oxford University, where she was a Newton-Tatum scholar.

001: Steve Blank - Entrepreneur, Educator, & Prankster

Steve Blank came to Silicon Valley after serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. Over nearly six decades, he witnessed the advent of the internet, built multiple companies, and developed “the scientific method for entrepreneurship” - the lean startup methodology.  Steve then applied all he had learned as an entrepreneur to a new form of service to the country, building the Hacking for Defense program that is now taught at more than 60 universities. 
In this episode, Steve covers his Air Force service, fixing electronic warfare equipment on aircraft during the Vietnam War, and then how he emerged on the nascent tech scene in Silicon Valley. He discusses how elite universities like Stanford, Harvard, and MIT contributed to national defense from World War II through the Cold War, and how that history is often forgotten.  We also hear, for the first time he has ever discussed publicly, how Steve turned off gravity at Keesler Air Force Base.
Steve also talks about the critical need for young, talented people to find ways to serve their country and their community. Given technological advances in AI, access to space, synthetic biology, and autonomy, Steve argues that “this is the most exciting time ever to be an entrepreneur.”
This episode is hosted by Jeff Phaneuf and Josh Pickering. . 
Full bio:
Steve Blank is an adjunct professor at Stanford and a co-founder of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. Steve consults for the National Security establishment on innovation methods, processes, policies, and doctrine.
His book The Four Steps to the Epiphany is credited with launching the Lean Startup movement. He created the curriculum for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps. At Stanford he co-created the Department of Defense Hacking for Defense and Department of State Hacking for Diplomacy curriculums.
His book The Four Steps to the Epiphany is credited with launching the Lean Startup movement. He created the curriculum for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps. At Stanford he co-created the Department of Defense Hacking for Defense and Department of State Hacking for Diplomacy curriculums.
His follow-on book The Startup Owner’s Manual described a process for turning ideas into scale and his Harvard Business Review cover story redefined how large organizations can innovate at speed.