Chapter 9: Many steps in one big stride

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen speaking at the MINDEF Innovation Symposium 2021. Source: MINDEF

Introduction

The Singapore Army's Training Department (G6-Army) had been bracing for this — and the decision came in March 2020. The SAF was deferring all ICT for NSmen that was non-essential for operations. It was closing Fitness Conditioning Centres (FCCs) and suspending Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT), IPPT Preparatory Training (IPT) and Remedial Training (RT) at all FCCs, SAFRA gyms and IPT-in-the-Park locations. The IPPT requirements for NSmen would be waived for the year. LTC Clifton Tang was head of the Training Development Branch in G6-Army and responsible for developing concepts and plans. He sat down with his staff, pondering the impact of the suspension on the physical fitness of the NSmen. They all knew that physical fitness was critical for our soldiers, as they would be physically stronger, more resilient and less likely to be injured when they are fit. The operational readiness of our units depends on fighting-fit soldiers. COVID-19 had presented the SAF with a big problem and an urgent solution was needed.

Enhancing our NS fitness system

This was actually an issue that the SAF had already been looking at for some years. G6-Army had in 2016 started looking seriously at how to enhance the system of keeping our NSmen fit. It was easy for our NSFs to get fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle during active NS, when there were training programmes and mentoring by unit commanders on nutrition and other aspects of health and fitness. The bigger challenge was to keep them fit when they became Operationally Ready NSmen in reserve. While there were programmes such as IPPT, IPT and RT to help them maintain their fitness, their many family and career commitments sometimes made it difficult or inconvenient for our NSmen to go to SAF camps for these fitness programmes. Moreover, a programme sometimes may not meet an NSman's specific training needs.

Illustration: Mr Lee Xin Li

Conditions had also changed. High-quality fitness training was available commercially. And, younger NSmen had become more negative about what they regarded as being forced to get fit or be punished. G6-Army realised that the SAF had to think about shifting the focus from assessments and RT to building the general fitness of the NS community. It concluded that it was necessary to make significant changes to how the SAF conducted physical training for NSmen.

The new approach would require a big shift in mindset. The Army would have to inculcate a habit of keeping fit early in the NS cycle, and encourage NSmen to maintain this habit in the years ahead. It would also have to make the fitness training for NSmen more convenient and accessible. The vision was ambitious — and compelling. But questions remained, the most important of which were how to ensure a high standard of training and instruction, and how to provide the same standard of safety and care for our NSmen during the training.

The G6-Army team knew that it would take time to achieve all that they aimed to do. The team set about developing a roadmap that called for NS physical training to be conducted in accessible locations outside of FCCs and eventually for physical training to move online so that NSmen could do fitness training wherever it was most convenient for them. The roadmap included trials and pilots to test run the fitness programme, to make sure that it would be effective in encouraging NSmen to adopt an active and fit lifestyle. It was also necessary to make sure that the back-end system would work.

The team had to start small, so that concepts could be proven along the way and all the concerns could be allayed. It could not be an immediate jump to fully virtual physical training. The programme was not yet ready when the “Circuit Breaker” was imposed in 2020. But the COVID-19 situation injected great urgency in the project, and by April 2021 the SAF was ready to roll out the first phase of the NS Fitness Improvement Training (NS FIT) programme. This would replace IPT and RT in SAF camps. The NS FIT programme had been developed in collaboration with the HPB and Sport Singapore (SportSG), and it provided more options such as high-intensity interval training. It was also more convenient for the NSmen as there were 42 locations where they could train. This small step — but a major trial in the rollout of the NS FIT programme, being the first step in the push towards non-IPPT based training — allowed the SAF to gauge the effectiveness of moving fitness training outside of the camps and prove that this could be effective in maintaining and improving fitness and health. It was a milestone in the roadmap for a radically new approach to physical training for NSmen.

The 10-session NS Fitness Improvement Training programme - a holistic plan to stay fit and active at 42 locations island-wide. Source: MINDEF

The next trial was to test the feasibility and effectiveness of virtual physical training. This involved two NS brigades, 9 SIB and 21 SIB. For this group, the G6-Army team focused on the physical training and not the administrative elements of the programme. The results were encouraging - the participants gave positive feedback, particularly on the convenience and quality of the programme. The pilot ran for the rest of the year, and the team was optimistic that with the results from a full year of trials and the lessons learnt, the objective of moving NS physical training out of camps to locations more convenient for NSmen and eventually online could be fully realised.

On 15 May 2021, with the COVID-19 Delta variant raging, the Government enforced more stringent measures and Singapore entered Phase 2 Heightened Alert (P2HA). In tandem, the SAF announced the suspension of IPPT and other fitness training until 13 June 2021. This suspension was similar to the one imposed in the previous year's “Circuit Breaker”, but this time the G6-Army team was more prepared.

With the success of the pilot programme, the team felt ready to quickly implement the virtual training system throughout the SAF. Led by the Centre of Excellence for Soldier Performance, the team got to work with its partners - Personnel Command to capitalise on the NS Portal, Certis CISCO for fitness trainers to conduct the programme, and DSTA to ensure a successful roll-out.

The FIT@Home programme for NSmen was launched in July 2021. The response was overwhelming right from the start. Each session had a maximum of 45 participants, and slots were fully booked every month. The feedback was positive on the convenience and flexibility of the programme, and the effectiveness and engagement of the training. Some commented that the fitness programmes were as good as the virtual gym classes offered by commercial gyms.

An NSman doing a workout guided through a virtual platform. Source: MINDEF

With the encouraging feedback, the G6-Army team worked to offer more types of fitness programmes and increase the number of time slots to meet the interests and demands of our NSmen. The team steadily built up the programme, introducing innovations along the way so that the fitness programmes would continue to cater to the changing lifestyles and needs of our NSmen. The use of the virtual platform for fitness activities has since been adopted widely across the SAF beyond FIT@ Home, including virtual physical training for recruits. Making major adjustments to physical training for our NSmen, especially moving it online, was an ambitious goal for G6-Army. There were many components and it was necessary to conduct small pilots to test them, learn lessons, and make improvements. And after the second suspension of NS fitness training, G6-Army moved quickly to roll out the FIT@Home programme. This was a demonstration of “Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast” at work.

The FIT@Home Trainer observes and guides participants to make sure that they perform to standards. Source: MINDEF

Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast

The concept of Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast is from the book Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast: A Blueprint for Transformation from the Mayo Clinic Centre for Innovation. This approach to solving problems begins with setting an ambitious long-term goal to galvanise stakeholders, starting small with pilot projects in order to learn with lower stakes, and moving fast to implement and scale up when the trials are successful.

Think Big

The importance of setting an ambitious vision is best characterised by the concept of Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) from the book Built to Last by Jim Collins. A BHAG is by definition an ambitious goal, and it is a powerful way for a team to stimulate progress by focusing on a singular compelling vision. A BHAG need not be a goal on a strategic level. There can, and should, be multiple BHAGs across different levels of an organisation. Leaders can set BHAGs for their teams, energising them to aim for bold and maximal outcomes in their part of the organisation.

Start Small

When rolling out something radical and potentially disruptive, implementation is key for it to succeed. In another book, Great By Choice, Jim Collins' concept of Fire Bullets, Then Cannonballs advocated that leaders first conduct low-cost, low-risk, low-distraction experiments (bullets) to figure out what works, then calibrate the line of sight before firing the big hits (cannonballs).

Successful projects and products may look, in retrospect, like a single-step creative breakthrough. But many of them are not single strokes of genius; they actually go through a multi-step iterative process of trial and error based on empirical validation. Starting small has many benefits. Developing Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) - or the simplest usable version of a product - can set the ball rolling for the product to reach people's hands and enable the team to start collecting feedback, and learn useful lessons in the process. The small test of an MVP also means that the costs and risks are lower. And starting small allows many approvals to be fast-tracked as there is less red tape. Once there are successful MVPs, the track record of the small successes would also make it easier to get approval for future expansions and roll-outs.

Move Fast

The book Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast pointed out the relevance of moving fast in many stages in innovation and cited many advantages of doing so. This approach allows the team to test its hypotheses quickly and rapidly expand the reach of its product once the MVP or pilot is successful. Moving fast also helps to sustain momentum and interest in the project among stakeholders, and the team can ride on the goodwill and positive views to push through red tape. It also means that benefits can be quickly extended to a larger group of users and stakeholders.

In large organisations like the SAF, the momentum of a success story can have far-reaching effects because there are many stakeholders beyond the ops users across the SAF, such as our technology partners in DSTA and DSO and policy-makers in MINDEF. The benefits include sparking enthusiasm among the wider team and even the whole ecosystem, which could in turn encourage more innovative ideas.

While the concept of moving fast is contentious and often associated with the controversies behind Big Tech firms like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, the core concept is that mistakes and failures are natural and even necessary for innovation in a competitive and complex environment. And when projects fail, stop quickly, learn from the experience, and move on. In sum, the philosophy of Moving Fast encourages leaders to review change initiatives regularly and enable an iterative process in organisation change, so that they act decisively in scaling good initiatives and, just as decisively, killing off bad ones.

Digital innovations

The “Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast” concept is most often applied to digitalisation and technology-related projects, and this was the approach the SAF took when COVID-19 spurred us to come up with digitalisation innovations when the pandemic made it impossible to do things the usual way. Beyond fitness training, virtual meetings, even virtual open houses, became the new norm. The positive feedback on the many innovations gave impetus for us to move fast and scale up digital means to reach more stakeholders, including our servicemen posted overseas and their families. Working with DSTA and DSO, a multitude of digital solutions was developed and widely implemented.

Besides developing tech solutions to support the WoG fight against COVID-19, such as the SwiftCobra app, the SAF developed several apps for use by its own people and units. The ArmyDeclare and SwiftMED apps were developed for visitor entry to SAF camps to enable efficient contact tracing. The RSN set up a tele-consultation service for medical reviews to assist COVID-positive servicemen when they were recovering at home or in the naval base.

Source: MINDEF

When the innovations worked well, we were encouraged to scale up and to explore and adopt even more digital solutions. More apps were developed, starting small with pilot projects. Some showed potential for application across the SAF, such as the RSN's SafeGuardian app which digitalised safety processes and hazard reporting, so that training safety and safety compliance were enhanced. Another was the RSAF MTMobile app, which was a ground-up innovation that tracked journey details and maintenance records automatically. This app reduced administrative work for transport operators and supervisors by 75% and improved sustainability. In time, MTMobile will be scaled up for use throughout the RSAF and can potentially be useful for the Army as well.

Organisationally, the SAF has also adopted the Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast philosophy. In the digital and intelligence realm, the SAF started small with the C4I Community in 2012 and then the Defence Cyber Organisation in 2017. These steps enabled the SAF to trial many initiatives and build up critical mass and expertise - which set the foundation for the new Digital and Intelligence Service which was announced by Minister for Defence at the 2022 budget debate.

Source: MINDEF

Innovating for SAF 2040

Accelerating innovation will be critical as the SAF moves towards its SAF 2040 vision. Innovation in the area of digital transformation will allow us to exploit tools such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to manage complexity and give our forces the edge. To accomplish this, the SAF's digital solutions for operations must be supported by a strong digital core of networks, cloud infrastructure, data architecture, cybersecurity practices and tech stacks. This digital core will enable the SAF to collect and sense-make information quickly and at scale, uncover insights to make decisions, and enhance the speed and effectiveness of our operations. This is the ambitious vision (Think Big) for the digitalisation of the SAF. To achieve this vision while being fully mindful of security considerations, the SAF has taken small steps (Start Small) to build up its digital infrastructure, train its people and pilot digital capabilities in operations. This deliberate process allows us to figure out what works well for the SAF and what does not.

Many parts of the SAF will also have to embark on organisational change journeys as our environment becomes more complex and resource constraints pose greater challenges. We can also apply the concept of “Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast” to organisational change when we work on innovations in areas such as human resources, finance, logistics, and healthcare. Leaders must Think Big and define the “big problems” if organisational change is to be truly transformative.

To move innovations both in digital transformation and organisational change, our people can be encouraged to Start Small by piloting initiatives. Pilots are useful as they provide a safe environment for trial and error, and allow us to scale up quickly when they show good results. They also enable us to learn from failures. And if the change initiative does not deliver the intended results, it can be quickly stopped and the resources reinvested in other areas. Organisational change is not linear but iterative, and not all change initiatives should be scaled up. In developing the innovations we need, there will be many instances where it will serve us well to Think Big, Start Small, and Move Fast.