DevNationFederal: DevOps is Not War

DevNationFederal 2018

Over the past 500 years, there have been 16 cases of a rising power threatening to displace a ruling power. 75% of those cases resulted in war. Although your organizational transformation probably won’t lead to war, it could be contentious. History can help prevent conflict when driving change. This talk will analyze human tendencies, historical data, and provide real-world examples of how to prevent conflict during your DevOps journey.

Transcript

1. DevOps is Not a War
   Chris Short
   SJ Technologies
   

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2. whoami
   @ChrisShort devopsish.com
   #DevNationFederal
   

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3. @ChrisShort devopsish.com
   #DevNationFederal
   

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4. @ChrisShort devopsish.com
   #DevNationFederal
   

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5. Getting Started
   History can help can prevent conflict when
   driving change.
   ➔ Thucydides
   Who is Thucydides?
   ➔ Graham Allison
   Who is Graham Allison?
   ➔ Thucydides Trap
   What is it? Why should we care?
   @ChrisShort devopsish.com
   #DevNationFederal
   

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6. Thucydides
   c. 460 – c. 400 BC
   Athenian historian and general
   History of the Peloponnesian War
   "Father of Scientific History"
   "Father of the school of political
   realism"
   Photo: Walter Maderbacher
   @ChrisShort devopsish.com
   

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7. Photo: U.S. Naval War College
   Graham Allison
   American political scientist
   Professor at the John F. Kennedy
   School of Government at Harvard
   US national security and defense policy
   analyst
   Defense Medal for Distinguished Public
   Service recipient
   @ChrisShort devopsish.com
   

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8. Thucydides Trap
   Allison coined "Thucydides Trap"
   "Refers to the natural, inevitable
   discombobulation that occurs when a
   rising power threatens to displace a
   ruling power."
   "This can happen in any sphere."
   Source: Destined for War: Can America and China Escape
   Thucydides’s Trap?
   @ChrisShort devopsish.com
   #DevNationFederal
   

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9. Portugal vs. Spain ☮
   France vs. Hapsburgs
   Hapsburgs vs. Ottoman
   Empire
   Hapsburgs vs. Sweden
   Dutch Republic vs. England
   France vs. Great Britain
   United Kingdom vs. France
   France and United Kingdom
   vs. Russia
   France vs. Germany
   "Over the past
   500 years,
   in sixteen cases a major rising
   power has threatened to displace
   a ruling power. In twelve of
   those, the result was war"
   China and Russia vs. Japan
   United Kingdom vs. United
   States ☮
   United Kingdom (supported
   by France, Russia) vs.
   Germany (aka WWI)
   Soviet Union, France, and
   United Kingdom vs.
   Germany (aka WWII)
   United States vs. Japan (aka
   WWII)
   United States vs. Soviet
   Union (aka Cold War) ☮
   United Kingdom and France
   vs. Germany ☮
   @ChrisShort devopsish.com
   

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10. "The four cases that
    avoided this outcome did
    so only because of huge,
    painful adjustments in
    attitudes and actions on
    the part of challenger
    and challenged alike."
    Source: Destined for War: Can America and China Escape
    Thucydides’s Trap?
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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11. Bridging the Gap
    Let's bridge the gap between Thucydides's
    Trap and DevOps or "Digital Transformation"
    ➔ Dev and Ops
    Closer than ever
    ➔ Fear
    What are we afraid of as technologists?
    ➔ UK vs. US (Early 20th Century)
    How did this transition end peacefully?
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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12. @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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13. @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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14. If you want to read USSTRATCOM's Agile DevOps call out
    https://cshort.co/nukeops
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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15. Malarkey!
    Your organization has no excuse.
    "That won't work here."
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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16. Fear
    "It was the rise of Athens and the fear
    that this instilled in Sparta that made
    war inevitable."
    Source: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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17. Fear Causes Resistance
    "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to
    hate. Hate leads to suffering."
    —Jedi Master Yoda
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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18. Fear
    It's the rise of something new (DevOps)
    and the fear it instills in people that
    makes conflict possible.
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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19. United Kingdom
    vs. United States
    Early 20th Century
    Peaceful transition between
    established world power and
    rising super power
    US economy outpaced UK economy
    "a war with America … has become
    something more than a possibility."
    Teddy Roosevelt expanded US Navy
    Monroe Doctrine led to UK having
    no allies in Western Hemisphere
    UK conceded global power to focus
    on European issues pre-WWI
    Source: Belfer Center for Science and International
    Affairs
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    

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20. @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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21. Bettering our World
    DevOps isn't merely automation or tearing
    down silos. DevOps is about improving
    business outcome and work environments.
    ➔ DevOps: The War Crime
    Are we going about this wrong?
    ➔ What About Everyone Else
    Security, Networking, etc.
    ➔ DevOps Isn’t Just for IT
    Don't discredit those not writing code
    ➔ Change and Failing Fast
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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22. DevOps: War Crime?
    What happens to my job?
    Will I have to completely relearn
    everything I know?
    I’ve worked so hard to get here and now
    I have to pivot?!?
    "Should I just retire now?"
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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23. What About
    Networking?
    What happens when you need more
    hardware? Eek!
    Network Engineers are awesome at
    VLANs, subnets, NAT, VPNs, etc.
    Imagine if your network folks could
    automate and iterate as fast as you
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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24. What About Security?
    DevSecOps is a necessary term
    Will I have to completely relearn
    everything I know?
    I’ve worked so hard to get here and now
    I have to pivot?!?
    "Should I just retire now?"
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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25. DevOps Isn’t Just for IT
    Business processes matter
    The more allies the better
    C-Suite, Marketing, Legal, Sales,
    Finance, etc. can all help
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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26. Change and Failing Fast
    Different isn’t always bad
    "Throwing good money after bad"
    Safety 1 vs. Safety 2 — Check out
    Sidney Dekker's works
    Remember: Pulling the Andon Cord is
    Good
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    

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27. Conclusion
    They won't let me talk forever
    We know people can feel threatened
    by DevOps
    Finding Allies and creating successes
    together is key (UK & US in WWI)
    Early inclusion and concessions are
    keys to success
    Fail fast
    Be a learning organization
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    

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28. I must study politics and war that my
    [children] may have liberty to study
    mathematics and philosophy.
    John Adams, 2nd President of the United States
    @ChrisShort devopsish.com
    #DevNationFederal
    

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