Creating a Knowledge Sharing Platform

Former CIA Director Petraeus: U.S. success in the Persian Gulf is a source of pride, but not a reason for complacency. Ukraine offers the key lessons: modern warfare involves drones, AI, and precision-strike capabilities. That is where the real challenges and the future of warfare lie. The battlefield in Ukraine is far more complex than the Persian Gulf. Drones are jammed, intercepted, and quickly replaced. This is a war on an industrial scale, where mass, resilience, and innovation are decisive. Without a conventional navy, Ukraine was able to use maritime drones to disable a significant portion of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and force it to retreat. Cheap unmanned systems can break traditional naval power. U.S. and Israeli operations in the Persian Gulf took place under much easier conditions, with control over communications and navigation. The enemy is unable to operate on a massive scale across all domains. Unlike in Ukraine, where a constant, large-scale, and adaptive war is underway. Lesson #1 — Volume is key. Ukraine produces them by the millions, up to 7 million a year. The U.S. doesn’t even come close to that scale. Lesson #2 — Speed of adaptation. The advantage goes to whoever learns faster. In Ukraine, drones are updated weekly, hardware every few weeks, and tactics change just as quickly. Lesson #3 — Resilience. Systems must operate under electronic warfare and without communication. This leads to autonomous drones and swarms capable of penetrating air defense systems. Even modern systems are already struggling; autonomous ones will pose an even greater challenge. The U.S. Army needs rapid and radical changes. New approaches must transform everything: from training to procurement. The U.S. demonstrated its strength in the Gulf; Ukraine is facing a real war under pressure. This should not lull us into complacency but rather heighten the sense of urgency. General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.)

I started by asking AI to do everything. Six months later, 65% of my agent’s workflow nodes run as non-AI code. The first version was fully agentic : every task went to an LLM. LLMs would confidently progress through tasks, though not always accurately. So I added tools to constrain what the LLM could call. Limited its ability to deviate. I added a Discovery tool to help the AI find those tools. Better, but not enough. Then I found Stripe’s minion architecture. Their insight : deterministic code handles the predictable ; LLMs tackle the ambiguous. I implemented blueprints, workflow charts written in code. Each blueprint specifies nodes, transitions between them, trigger conditions for matching tasks, & explicit error handling. This differs from skills or prompts. A skill tells the LLM what to do. A blueprint tells the system when to involve the LLM at all. Each blueprint is a directed graph of nodes. Nodes come in two types : deterministic (code) & agentic (LLM). Transitions between nodes can branch based on conditions. Deal pipeline updates, chat messages, & email routing account for 29% of workflows, all without a single LLM call. Company research, newsletter processing, & person research need the LLM for extraction & synthesis only. Another 36%. The workflow runs 67-91% as code. The LLM sees only what it needs : a chunk of text to summarize, a list to categorize, processed in one to three turns with constrained tools. Blog posts, document analysis, bug fixes are genuinely hybrid. 21% of workflows. Multiple LLM calls iterate toward quality. Only 14% remain fully agentic. Data transforms & error investigations. These tend to be coding tasks rather than evaluating a decision point in a workflow. The LLM needs freedom to explore. AI started doing everything. Now it handles routing, exceptions, research, planning, & coding. The rest runs without it. Is AI doing less? Yes. Is the system doing more? Also yes. The blueprints, the tools, the skills might be temporary scaffolding. With each new model release, capabilities expand. Tasks that required deterministic code six months ago might not tomorrow.

10,000 rupees worth of work received through Google search, website articles, or LinkedIn posts can sometimes become more valuable than a direct 1,00,000 rupees assignment. Every time I receive a call from a new client, I always ask one thing: “How did you come across us?” And whenever someone says, “I read your LinkedIn post.” “I found your article on Google.” “I saw your carousel/post on compliance.” …I genuinely feel a different kind of happiness. Because that moment reminds me that knowledge shared without the intention of selling often creates the strongest connections. You never know when a small article, a late-night post, or a simple awareness carousel will: • Help someone avoid a costly mistake • Give clarity to a confused entrepreneur • Build trust with a stranger • Turn into a long-term professional relationship • Or someday grow into work worth lakhs But honestly, the monetary value is not always the biggest reward. Sometimes a message saying, “Your post helped me understand this.” or “Because of your article, we avoided an issue.” feels even more fulfilling. When your knowledge speaks for itself and someone reaches out because they believe you deserve that work, the happiness feels very personal and nostalgic. In today’s world, content is not just marketing. It is digital goodwill. It keeps working for you even when you are offline. And somewhere, someone you may never meet is learning, saving money, avoiding mistakes, or growing because you decided to share what you know. That is the real return on sharing knowledge. #sharing #writing #knolwedge #posting #website #linkedin #articles #gstwithtarjani #teamasa

I hear you: "Why offer free insights? Won't I give away the game?" Hold that thought! In today's knowledge-fueled economy, generosity, not secrecy, is the key to unlocking explosive growth. Here's why: 1. @Seth Godin Drops Wisdom Bombs: "People do not buy products or services. They buy relationships, stories, and magic." Sharing knowledge builds trust, strengthens connections, and positions you as the go-to expert, weaving that irresistible marketing magic. 2. Gary Vaynerchuk's Jab-Jab-Jab-Right Hook: Giving away valuable content educates, informs, and earns attention. It's the jab that sets up the powerful right hook of your unique offerings. The more you educate, the more qualified leads you attract, ready to convert when the time is right. 3. Data Speaks Louder Than Doubts: 🔷 84% of B2B decision-makers research a company online before making a purchase. 🔷60% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media. 🔷72% of marketers see increased brand awareness from content marketing. The numbers sing loud and clear: Openness and valuable insights pave the way for brand recognition, trust, and ultimately, sales. 4. From Hoarder to Hero: Imagine being the brand that demystifies complex topics, simplifies processes, and empowers others with actionable knowledge. You become the trusted guide, the industry torchbearer, the hero of the client's journey. That's brand loyalty built on generosity and expertise. So, fellow knowledge keepers, shed the secrecy! Embrace the power of sharing: 🔶 Post informative articles, host insightful webinars, share valuable tips on social media. 🔶Engage in authentic conversations, answer questions openly, and build genuine connections. Remember, you're not giving away everything, you're building a bridge to something even better: *******long-term success and loyal clients.******* Ready to ditch the scarcity mindset and embrace the power of open generosity? Drop a comment below and share your opinion about giving away insights! Let's turn them into opportunities together. Let's spread the word! #sharingisgrowing #contentmarketing #thoughtleadership #brandbuilding #successmindset

Hey everyone, I’m excited to share my new report: "Does Ukraine Already Have Functional CJADC2 Technology?" It’s all about how Ukraine’s Delta system has evolved on the fly—shaped by what’s really happening on the battlefield—and what that means for the future of command-and-control systems like CJADC2. What makes this story stand out? Instead of building some grand, perfect solution behind closed doors, the team behind Delta started small, kept improving step by step, and baked in new tech (including AI) based on real-world feedback. The result? A system that’s flexible, connected, and quick to adapt to the ever-changing demands of modern warfare. For Western militaries and anyone keen on next-gen command-and-control approaches, there’s something to learn here. It’s not about chasing the latest shiny tools—it’s about how you bring everything together, respond to feedback fast, and work with allies. If you’re curious about the details and the bigger lessons, check out the full report. And let me know what you think—this is just the start of a conversation about what it means to build smarter, more responsive systems in today’s complex battle spaces. Read online here: https://lnkd.in/eCghneAb #defense #military #CJADC2 #commandandcontrol #Deltasystem #innovation #AI #interoperability #defensetech #modernwarfare #Ukraine #militarytechnology

Currently thinking through social network theory and the strategic value of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command 38G program... Beyond individual expertise, the distinct value of U.S. Army Civil Affairs 38G Program can be best understood through social capital theory, which holds that trust-based relationships and professional networks function as real, mobilizable resources in moments of uncertainty and crisis (Bourdieu 1986; Putnam 2000). In wartime or rapid-onset emergencies, information, legitimacy, and cooperation move fastest through pre-existing, trusted networks, not formal bureaucratic channels. Embedded 38G officers convert social and professional capital into operational advantage by acting as brokers between military command structures and high-level civilian sectors across academia, industry, NGOs, and international institutions. Drawing on Mark Granovetter’s concept of the “strength of weak ties,” 38Gs enable commanders to rapidly access specialized knowledge and external capacity that would otherwise be unreachable or too slow to mobilize (Granovetter 1973). In this sense, the program enhances warfighting not merely by embedding expertise, but by embedding trust networks, expanding the Army’s reach, legitimacy, and freedom of maneuver at the speed modern conflict demands (FM 3-57; ADP 6-0). This isn’t a distraction from lethality. It is how commanders reduce strategic risk and win when firepower alone is not decisive. Image Credit: New York, N.Y. – Cultural Property Protection training at the Metropolitan Art Museum, June 3, 2023. (U.S. Army photo By Sgt 1st Class Gregory Williams/Released)

Israel is exposing a dangerous new phase of modern warfare where low cost drone systems are rapidly outpacing traditional military defenses. These drones bypass electronic warfare systems by remaining physically connected to operators through fiber optic cables, allowing them to continue operating even in heavily jammed environments. The battlefield lessons first seen in Ukraine are now spreading across the Middle East, proving once again that drone warfare innovation moves faster than most military procurement cycles can adapt. As Israel scrambles to counter these evolving threats, the conflict is becoming another warning sign that scalable and manufacturable drone systems are fundamentally reshaping the future of warfare. As the CEO of Cobalt Academy and a combat veteran who served as an Air Defense Artillery Battle Captain in Syria, I have seen firsthand how quickly drone threats evolve in real combat environments. I was also the first California Army National Guard officer to successfully shoot down a hostile drone during operations in Syria, an experience that completely changed how I view the future of warfare and counter UAS operations. Through Cobalt Academy, we continue focusing on practical drone training, counter UAS analysis, and scalable drone innovation designed around the realities of modern combat rather than outdated assumptions from previous wars. #DroneWarfare #FPV #Israel #Hezbollah #CounterUAS #CUAS #MilitaryTechnology #NationalSecurity #DefenseTechnology #ModernWarfare #Drones #MiddleEast #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #UkraineWar #CobaltAcademy

Military leaders involved in designing, integrating, and delivering threat-informed warfighting capabilities often lament a lack of service guidance on priorities -- ideally, priorities that are aligned with the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Planning Guidance. Marines don’t have that problem. Our guidance is crystal clear. “My observations over the last year reinforce my belief that command and control, as well as our ability to share data, will play an outsized role in future conflict…especially seamlessly aggregating and disseminating high-fidelity targeting information.” “Marines will act as the “JTAC of the Joint Force” “We will continue to invest in capabilities and refine tactics that allow us to act as the forward element of the Joint Force – sensing, making sense, and communicating that information to any shooter.” “We will continue to pursue smaller form factor C2 nodes, field expeditionary ICD-705 compliant shelters capable of providing access to higher levels of classification at the tactical level, and leverage advances in artificial intelligence to enhance decision making at the tactical edge.” “As the Marine Corps continues to invest in increasing the lethality and capabilities of our MAGTFs, in a joint warfighting context, we must ensure appropriate linkages to the Combatant Commanders who possess the authorities to employ these forces.” It’s an exciting time to be a U.S. Marine!

Europe just showed what “learning from the front line” actually looks like. Two weeks after raising €180M at a €3B valuation, Germany’s Quantum Systems announced a joint venture with Frontline Robotics—a Ukrainian company we’ve backed at UA1 vc—to mass-produce battlefield-proven technology for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Not R&D. Not pilots. Industrial-scale production of systems already winning on the front line. This is a big deal. Ukraine has rewritten modern warfare through speed, iteration, and cost discipline. Germany is now pairing that battlefield innovation with industrial muscle—factories, automation, capital, and political will. This is what real defense cooperation looks like. And here’s the part the U.S. should be paying attention to: 🇺🇸 Our companies—and our Department of War —are still too slow to adopt systems that are already combat-validated. While Europe is scaling Ukrainian tech today, the U.S. risks being locked into decade-long procurement cycles built for a different war. Frontline’s drones are already used by 60+ Ukrainian units. Now they’ll be produced at scale, to NATO standards, with full lifecycle support. This isn’t charity. It’s deterrence—and a blueprint. The takeaway: • What we see today in Ukraine is the future of modern warfare • Allied industrial bases must integrate Ukrainian tech now • Speed matters more than perfection • Those who adapt fastest will define the next era of deterrence At UA1, this is exactly why we invest where the war is being fought—and why we focus on bridging Ukrainian innovation into allied production and procurement pathways. Re-industrialization is underway—but failure to integrate battlefield-proven Ukrainian tech risks eroding U.S. readiness for the next war. Mykyta Rozhkov Sven Kruck William McNulty Alexander Kamyshin

Updated Lessons Learned from Technological Change in the War in Ukraine. In February 2024, in an article published in the Belgian magazine Knack, I argued that the war in Ukraine would become the first true data-conflict of the modern era. Nearly two years later, that prediction has clearly materialised. Data, how it is collected, processed, shared, protected, and acted upon, has become a central determinant of military effectiveness. What the war now demonstrates is not just rapid technological adaptation, but a deeper shift in how modern warfare is organised, sustained, and learned. Several early lessons turned into structural realities. 1. Warfare Has Become Iterative Modern war no longer follows fixed capability cycles. Advantage comes from continuous adjustment under combat conditions. Ukraine has connected frontline feedback directly to software updates, production changes, and redeployment. Learning speed now matters more than initial technological advantage. 2. Attrition Is the Baseline High loss rates of drones, sensors, and digital systems are now normal. Operational effectiveness depends on the ability to replace and regenerate capabilities, not on preserving individual platforms. 3. Data, Software, and Connectivity Drive Combat Power Operational advantage increasingly comes from fast sensor-to-shooter loops and resilient digital infrastructure. Ukraine’s use of cloud services has enabled battlefield data to be stored, processed, and shared across dispersed units. At the same time, Starlink has provided critical connectivity when terrestrial networks were disrupted, allowing command, targeting, and logistics functions to continue under fire. 4. Civil-Military Boundaries Are Structurally Blurred Commercial providers of cloud services, satellite communications, and software have become permanent contributors to military effectiveness. This is no longer ad hoc wartime improvisation. 5. Industrial Capacity Is a Warfighting Variable Ukraine’s ability to localise production, adjust designs, and scale output has had direct battlefield impact. Industrial agility has compensated for material and numerical disadvantages. 6. Tactical Innovation Shapes Strategy Frontline units are driving innovation faster than doctrine can absorb it. Strategic and doctrinal adaptation increasingly follows battlefield experimentation. 7. Autonomy Advances Out of Necessity Autonomy has expanded due to communications disruption, time pressure, and manpower limits. Human-machine teaming, rather than full autonomy, has emerged as the dominant model. The war in Ukraine confirms that technological change in warfare is continuous. The defining feature of this conflict is not a single system, but the central role of data. For NATO, the principal risk is no longer technological surprise, but institutional rigidity in a war defined by constant adaptation.