What Would Clausewitz Read? Professional Reading with a Purpose
Matthew T. Archambault | 07.07.21
“Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it’s a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on the back of a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets to the universe.”
Subordinates often ask leaders for suggestions on what they should read. In the Army, professional military reading lists from a range of sources exist, from the chief of staff of the Army to organizations like the Modern War Institute at West Point. Many of these lists’ recommendations are separated by rank or grade while others are separated by categories such as topics like strategy, technology, or operational art. Those lists contain fine suggestions, but a successful reading program, whether personal or organizational, requires purpose. Reading should be done with a purpose in mind. It should not simply be a checklist of what someone else recommended. Regardless of what that purpose is, the time spent should contribute to a goal and leaders have a duty to shape that goal.
Not everyone is a reader. Typically, those with a predilection for reading read while those without the predilection just say they read. Some are even honest and admit to not reading. Regardless of what type of reader you are, reading should be fun. It should be a personal quest to prepare for the next set of challenges that loom over the horizon. As an example, students at the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) must read with a purpose if they are going to pass oral comprehensive exams at the end of the year and be successful planners on division- and corps-level staffs. Their purpose when reading—and it should be the purpose of every soldier who picks up a book, doctrinal manual, professional journal, or online article—is to figure out how that author’s argument fits into their current understanding and visualization of the operating environment, and whether they should alter or refine their understanding. That is the basis for critical thinking. You do not need to seek out the SAMS curriculum to do this. Instead, you, as a reader, must realize that mastering your profession requires, first, grasping the environment in which your trade exists and, second, an exploratory mindset bent on understanding the links between subjects related to that profession.
https://mwi.usma.edu/what-would-clausewitz-read-professional-reading-with-a-purpose/
