Personality and the Planning Process

Military planning is a logical, systematic process for conducting problem solving and decision making. The planning process exists to support the commander in making decisions. As a part of the operations process (planning, preparation, execution and assessment driven by battle command) military planning uses standard procedures (doctrine) to provide courses of action as solutions and to recommend decisions. Planning is continuous whether it is branch or sequel planning, refinement of an existing plan, or planning for the next operation. The Army process is the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP), which is conducted by people with individual personalities. Personality affects how people think and behave. Individual personality type impels behavior (public and private), drives attitude, and compels cognitive functions. Leadership is a function of command and control and battle command drives the operations process. The extent to which leaders master the domains of the Army leadership framework accounts for some of the consistency among professionals. Fundamental personality types account for some of the differences. These differences affect friendly forces and enemy forces alike. Understanding differences as a function of personality type can facilitate increased competence for commanders and individual staff officers. This paper is based on theories of personality type (C.G. Jung’s psychological types, Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers work on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and David Keirsey’s Four Temperaments) which propose explanations of the phenomena that make up individual personalities. Analysis of historical vignettes (Korea, 1951 and Operation Market-Garden, 1944) illustrates differences in perception and judging functions which effect individual cognition and behavior. The analysis is from the perspective of four hypothetical planners representing the Keirsey temperaments of personality using the MDMP applied to the historical problemsThis work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.