The Dao of Strategy: Planning and Scripting Your Plays

The following article is from our archives

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Can Mariucci, Walsh coexist?

GWEN KNAPP, EXAMINER COLUMNIST

Thursday, September 23, 1999

SANTA CLARA - Steve Mariucci has lost count of how many television interviewers have heard him say that working for Bill Walsh is an honor. But he knows exactly how many times the quote has appeared on screen.

"Not once," he said after Wednesday's practice. "They always cut it. Always."

Mariucci looked perplexed, as if he had no idea why his message kept getting lost. He couldn't see that any time he pays homage to Walsh, he's bound to sound predictable, maybe even insincere. In fact, anyone who lavishes praise on a boss sounds like a spin doctor at work. ...

But when Walsh became the Coach of the '80s, he was a different sort of creature, too. On the sidelines, he looked as if he had just stepped off the back nine. He had an elitist aura that galled opponents.

I tried to act like Vince Lombardi or Mike Holmgren or Bill Walsh, it would be a big mistake," Mariucci said. "I can learn from all of them, but I can't- be them."

He said Walsh has already taught him a lot about the politics of NFL personnel. During offseason negotiations with agents, Walsh often called in Mariucci and player personnel director Terry Donahue to listen in on the conference calls.

"Just like we script our first 15 plays, he had the whole conversation written out in advance," the coach said. " "If they say this, we say that.' It was like a game plan."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/09/23/SPORTS12585.dtl

This article appeared on page E - of the Examiner

Side Note

To secure the initial advantage, all smart strategists usually script their starting sequence of tactics for every strategic situation in a moderately predictable setting.   The secret to that approach is that they know the static variables and the dynamic variables for that situation, before the script is ever developed.

Q: In a competitive endeavor, do you ever script your list of tactical plays?