Who is Gary D. Stewart?
The Drain the Swamp books contain some damning conclusions and reflection on the state of Australia’s Defence Weapons Acquisition, Innovation, Bureaucracy, and Global Competency. Some of these have been in the news… you’ve probably wondered what you are NOT being told and suspected that there was more going on than you ever imagined.
Reading these books will confirm those suspicions. Naturally, you want to know who I am, why I am speaking out while others do not, and what might be the point of shining the light of truth on some unpleasant realities.
The truth is, of course, that you can change anything… but only if you are aware that it CAN be changed, and have some idea of the direction in which you want to move. That’s what these books are designed to provide.
Gary D. Stewart
Product Design and Development Expert
“If we want Australia to take its rightful place in the world, then there are some fundamental problems that we need to address. Fortunately, the expertise and skills needed exist… perhaps not so fortunately our politicians, bureaucrats, and industry leaders don’t seem to possess them.
Maybe it’s time to elect a NEW GENERATION of leaders who do possess the vision, courage, and WILL to Restart Australia.”
My Background
I spent the first 15 years of my career upholding the status quo in product development. That is to say, I spent those years encountering (and contributing to) the unaffordability of incompetent product design and development processes.
I moved to the worlds most effective company and worked alongside the leading thinkers in this field. For over 30 years my goal has been to master and teach reproducible excellence and competency in this area.
Many of my projects involved working with Defence procurement, where both the flawed development methodology and (mostly missed) opportunities for transformation are glaringly obvious.
It was always my hope that things would change as other people saw the opportunities and possibilities that I could see.
Prior to publication, I circulated the manuscript of this book amongst many of my colleagues who work with Defence, and even in general manufacturing, hoping they would support my work. With very few exceptions I received variations on the following response:
“Gary, I agree 100% with what you’ve written. It’s an important message that needs to be heard. Sadly, I can’t put my name to anything or share your work. It would finish my career.
Defence is just too powerful… and speaking out would also cut me off from my colleagues who find the status quo both lucrative and undemanding.“
That was the response to my first book, published in 2020. In 2021, as I prepared Books 2, 3, and 4 in the series, the silence was even more deafening. NO ONE was willing to put their name to a review or admit that they had read the other books in the series.
And so… I am turning to the you.
The people of Australia. I hope you share my conviction that it’s time to stop pretending that “this is as good as it gets;” and to tell our politicians, bureaucrats, and industry fat-cats that we want CHANGE!
For better or worse, the pandemic has transformed so many parts of our lives and now it is time to make this a time to institute the fundamental changes that will jumpstart our economy, offer more and better-paying jobs to everyone who wants to work, and create an Australia that we are proud to pass on to our children and our children’s children.