Paul Myler’s Post

So. I retired - at least from Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It has been an enormous privilege to represent Australia on the world stage - and I look forward to the next phase of my career, including launching and growing StratQ - your (and particularly Perth's) HQ for Strategic Intelligence - in the new year. My retirement cable was sent overnight in a mangled and underwhelming form with half my draft on the cutting room floor as DFAT tried to cram me back into the official template one last time 🤦♂️ 🤣 - a fitting conclusion! So I thought I would share it in an edited form over two posts: As I rocketed through the last 30 years bouncing from one career to another – a DFAT-life is essentially a dozen different careers with one employer if you do it right – I was only fleetingly aware of the impact I was having on Australian foreign policy and global events. Capturing a good example of personal insight or a great case study of strategic vision and storing them away in my knapsack for the next promotion round; promotion rounds that seemed to come oh so slowly and generally unsuccessfully (and yet somehow managed to see me promoted when I was fully ready and not just full of ambition). Looking back with the benefit of sabbatical since leaving Washington, I am incredibly proud of the teams I’ve led and the communities I’ve built within the department, across government and around the globe. We have changed the path of global events – sometimes in significant and noticeable ways; sometimes through a nudge or a well-seeded idea. Always by challenging established positions; generating creative tension within and between governments; seeing the window of opportunity just beyond the confines of the talking points and, sometimes, laying the trap of creative ambiguity to protect Australian national interests. I want to leave two threads of advice. First on objectives: * ‘Diplomacy’ the tradecraft and ‘diplomatic’ the adjective are unrelated. Diplomacy is a full-contact sport – and not just with our adversaries. I headbutted (figuratively) many Muscovites during my time; but also plenty of Washingtonians. The latter probably needed it more. * Always enter the arena with a view to winning. Critics of Australian foreign policy - in the media and community - usually seem to come from a perspective that Australia must have been out-negotiated or forced to bend the knee. I never found this to be the case. * Australia wins when we say no! Have a firm understanding of our national interests and when they are reached just say no – no further, no longer, no more – No. Good negotiators – friend or foe – will keep going beyond ‘mutually beneficial’ until they bump up against a hard no. * Do not be constrained in imagining solutions. Incremental change is important, but so is revolutionary re-imagining. If I learnt anything from my time with Ambassadors Hockey, Sinodinos an Rudd it was not to contain myself to the art of the possible.