General Colin Powell (ret.) talked to NATO 'Executive Development' Participants
http://www.act.nato.int
"I can't change what's in the past; but I can shape the future"..."Give them enough room to fail". These were two of U.S. Army General Colin Powell's (retired) messages to NATO leaders taking part in the Alliance's Executive Development Programme (NEDP).
The program's "Residential Module Four" took place at Allied Command Transformation (ACT) last week. The session, titled "Creating the Future," served as a precursor to the NATO Transformation Seminar which occurred March 24-26 in Washington D.C.
The "Creating the Future" module aimed to deepen the understanding of the transformation process from guidance through implementation and execution, the role of the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) as a driver of transformation, and how this change is concretely achieved.
As part of the program the participants were given a tour of Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest navy base, and attended the speech by General Powell, who was Secretary of State for George W. Bush 2001-2005, at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News.
"I can't change what's in the past; but I can shape the future" and "Educate young people to achieve a mission" were two of the other messages Colin Powell relayed to the audience.
The NEDP spans a nine-month period and includes projects focusing on defence capacity building, lessons learned, subject matter expert representation and talent management within the NATO Support Agency.
The aim of the programme is to build an enhanced knowledge of NATO, its identity and core values, as well as give insight into a rapidly changing world.