The Dao of Competitiveness (New England Patriots and Spygate)

In terms of the professional food chain, spying is supposed to be the second oldest profession.  

The amateurs have a proclivity of claiming that spying is unethical and unfair. Regardless of their view, these people are either idealistically ignorant or quietly being a hypocrite. 

However most historical dynasties succeeded in their endeavor due to their ability to secure "tangible" intelligence about their opposition.

It has been rumored that some NFL teams have cheated by spying on their competition. Catching them in action is a different story.  It was a surprise that the great Bill Belichick was caught for "spygating."  It was a rarity because someone err in their operations.

Bill Cowher, a former competing coach admitted that he ordered some of his staff members to steal the opposition's signals during the game. 

“We didn’t lose the game because of any Spygate, because of them having any additional things,” Cowher said. “I think if they’re guilty of anything, they’re guilty of arrogance, because they were told not to do something. But it was something that everybody does. The only thing they got caught [was] doing it with a camera. We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone’s signals was a part of the game, and everybody attempted to do that.

“Part of the things we had [were] wristbands that we were using to do it. It’s not even an element anymore because of the communications that take place on the field to the quarterback, to the linebacker. So it’s an element of the game that doesn’t exist, and really, what happened when we lost that game is they outplayed us, and it has nothing to do with stealing signals, or cheating, or anything else. They were a better football team on that day.”   - CBS Local

He also didn't think much of Spygate.


At this level of competition, some people do whatever it take to win. 


Side Note 
Bill Parcells (Belichick's ex-boss) also accused Bill Walsh, the great SF 49ers coach of cheating too. Without pristine evidence, his accusation had no grounds.

Know Ahead. Act Before 
In the game of baseball, some teams would have their coaches or their scouts stealing signals between the pitcher and the catcher or the third base coach and the hitter. 

There has been a rumor that Bobby Thomson received some foreknowledge on what was the next pitch from Ralph Branca. It lead to his game-winning home run that helped the New York Giants to win the National League pennant at 3:58 p.m. EST on October 3, 1951.

Other Examples of Extreme Competitiveness 
To compete correctly in the information economy, countries must have their intelligence agencies.

Certain business companies have been known to hire ex-spooks and former law enforcement officials for irregular projects.  We will touch more on that topic later.

Click here for a high tech approach for stealing data.

Compass Prediction

"Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal."  - Pablo Picasso

Those who cannot innovate, will steal or copy. 

In our moderately innovative economy, the non-innovative companies will be building cyber armies of spies to gain the advantage. If caught, they will go to court, work out a deal and everyone might be happy.  ... Life goes on.

Comments From The Compass Desk
If you do not know what your competition is doing, ask yourself if your competition knows what you are doing.

Knowing how to utilize the acquired intelligence and having the resources to capitalize on it, is the name of the game. ... In some instances, some people do not have the audacity to make the big move.

Regardless of what the members of the peanut gallery are saying about the "spygating" incident, we are admirers of Bill Belichick's and his many coaching achievements. 

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