When I first saw this chapter’s title, I figured this was going to be an extremely comical read because, really, I’m talking about a bunch of computer geeks in what is likely a completely secure environment. However, Carl actually has some good takeaways for us.
The first is that physical effort doesn’t really have a good objective standard. If I give two people the same 35-lb rucksack and tell each of them to carry it 20km, then, by definitions used by my high-school physics teacher, they completed the same amount of work. But did they, really?
Each of those people had to carry themselves in addition to that rucksack, so if one of them is 120 lbs and the other is 200 lbs, they did very different work. There is also not a good method of capturing their physical conditioning, especially as applies to a particular task. The person that goes hiking every chance they get will find this task much easier than the person that mostly goes running, or does no physical activity. So who put forth the greater effort in completing this task?
Let’s level the playing field a bit. We have two people of similar size and conditioning. One of them has been spending the past week dragging a sled full of really heavy equipment for about 12 hours per day. The other one, other than such activity as is required to maintain their level of conditioning, is fairly well rested. Who will be putting forth greater effort? I know if I were the first person, it would take me significant effort to simply move, much less walk carrying a load.
This changeability of the level of effort required to complete a task is the point that Carl wraps up the chapter with. Naturally, he relates it to friction, one of the topics he is best known for. “We have spoken here of physical effort, chiefly because, like danger, it belongs to the fundamental causes of friction, and because its indefinite quantity makes it like an elastic body, the friction of which is known to be difficult to calculate.” (emphasis mine)
It’s cool to talk in generalities, but what about hard data? At this time I don’t know of any publicly available studies done on cyber operators, but there has been tons of research done on another profession: vehicle operators. This is actually a really good analogue because, on the surface, both jobs don’t seem all that physically demanding: you just sit all day. But sitting all day has some serious physical impacts (which research has been done on, and many organizations have published guidelines).
Anyway. Back to strain over time. At least one study has been done on all the little factors that affect driver alertness. Not just what is going on during that driver’s shift, but how many shifts they’ve pulled recently. What time of day were those shifts? How many days in a row has the driver pulled shift? These are things that managers of cyber operators need to consider, as while there aren’t the same physical dangers as vehicle operators, there are certainly risks. The cyber operator needs to have some significant situational awareness and ability to pay attention to detail during their operation. Whether they are conducting offense, or performing defensive analysis, fatigue can lead to some really costly mistakes.
The quality of leadership has a significant impact as well. “The remarkable thing is that just as only a strong arm enables the archer to tighten up his bowstring, so it is only a strong spirit that can be expected to exact the utmost from the forces of his army.” From my own experience, I am far more willing to push myself when I know my leader gets it, is going to back me up, and gives me a sense of purpose. Furthermore, good leaders know when it is appropriate to push their troops, and when it just isn’t worth it. They understand the risk of burning out their people.
Leaders need to keep in mind that their physical effort is also important. There are people who legitimately only need 4 hours of sleep each night, and so can get more done during the day. Good for them. But not every leader is that person, and trying to do that will lead to the same fatigue as in their subordinates, but with greater risk because they will start to make poor decisions.
As a final note, it is worth remembering that when all is said and done, history judges the effort put forth not on its own merits, but based on the results. The same effort that goes into a crushing defeat may lead to an admirable victory. It is the leader’s job to ensure those efforts are put to greatest use, by applying them in the right direction (I suspect some foreshadowing here…).