These four pillars form the structural components of a Navy transformation strategy. They build upon and support one another. Taken as a package, they can combine the power of innovative ideas with the strengths of both the Navy of today and the programmed Navy to forge the Navy after next. In the information era, workers have a different value from the days when skill was defined by the ability to operate a machine or perform a repetitive task. The number of unskilled workers has fallen to less than 20 percent of the nation's workforce.
People are the heart and soul of any successful organization.
If the Navy is to continue to prosper in the highly dynamic environment of the information age, we must be able to recognize, attract, nurture, and retain enough innovative individuals with the specialized skills necessary to dominate in this highly competitive arena. These will be the same people and skills that are in high demand in our increasingly information-dependent civil economic sector. To compete successfully for them we must ensure that our personnel management practices are consistent with the realities of the twenty-first century. For example, we should review and perhaps revise practices to encourage our most experienced people to stay and to provide them a vital, growth-oriented environment. Everyone should expect new practices to disrupt the old.