Defining the Dao From the Perspective of Physics. ...

WSJ

Click here and here for a different perspective of the Dao


Strategy is Physics
Click here for some more interesting books on physics.  

Happy 2017

Assessing the Positional Advantage .

updated at 10:28 hrs

In any competitive situation, it is important to deduce who is ahead of whom and by how many moves.

Some people preferred to ask the question of whether he/she is one move ahead of the opponent or one move behind the opponent.

One could use the factors of time, space, force, and topographical position to assess that specific strategic outlook.. 

Being Two Moves Ahead
How does one determines if he/she is one move ahead?  When he knows his next move and that he has the strategic foundation to make that move.  It does not matter if the opponent 

If that move forces the opponent to meet that threat, the offensive player becomes two moves ahead.

q: How does one knows when one is three moves ahead. 

More to come.

Returning to the Origin: Renewing the Winter Tradition of Reading the Classics and Other Matters

(An Oldie but Goodie)

As mentioned before, being mindfully aware is the key to succeeding in any endeavor. Sometimes it does not hurt to re-read the classics to remind us of the various fundamentals of life. 

Recommended Classics
In a previous post, we discussed the topic of taking one quiet weekend to re-read the classics (The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, Dao De Jing, Zhuang Zi, etc.) during the winter season while standing.

One of the following weekends, some members of the group will be re-reading some of the following books:

• Against the Gods (The Remarkable Story of Risk);
• Sherlock Holmes Detective Stories;
• The Protracted Game;
•  The Thirty-six Stratagems Applied to Go;
• The Tao of Physics; 
• Strategies for the Human Realm;
• The Tao of Deception;
• 100 Unorthodox Strategies;
• Dao De Jing;
• Zhuang Zi;
• The Romance of the Three Kingdoms; and
• other unique strategic classics.

Here is an abridged list of the past "hot" books that we have read:

• Anti-Fragile; 
• Made to Stick;
• The Physics of Wall Street;
• The Signal and The Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail- but Some Don't 
• Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe

For those who are audio listeners, we recommended the following books:

• Sawyer's translation of The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China
• Sawyer's translation of Sunzi's The Art of War

Other Notes One true reading tradition that we always forget to mention is the reading of interesting physics books and  quasi-strategic innovation books.

#

The rest of us will also be working on our Tangible Vision and our Compass Script while drinking hot tea.

This specific tradition and the use of the standing table have also enabled us  to hone our strategic and tactical skills.


Other Traditions and Suggestions
Following are other interesting yearly traditions that some of our strategic associates have always abided by:

• Renewing one's yearly subscription of Business Week, Psychology Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Economist;
• Reviewing and updating one's tactical playbook;
• Reviewing and updating one's contacts notebook;
• Backing up the data bank. 
• Upgrading one's own technological infrastructure;  and 
• Updating one's own security practices.

Our friends at Cook Ding Kitchen and other strategic groups have always reminded us to abide the subsequent list of suggestions that would help the underdogs:

• Donating some cash or books to your local libraries;  
• Donating some cash and/or food to your local charities; and 
• Offering strategic advice to your local non-profit charities.

Comment From the Compass Desk
Practicing the process of reading the configuration of a situation, reflecting on the pluses and the minuses and adjusting to the  situation, is the daily proclivity of a good strategic implementer.

In our case, we preferred the practice of assessing, positioning and influencing.  We will discuss about that specific practice in a future post. 

# # #
...

Some Good Food For Thought: A Very Pragmatic Idea for December 25

source: heeb

Comments From The Compass Desk
On this holy day, many people will pursue the historical (but pragmatic) strategic approach of eating Chinese food .

Click here on some insight on the Jewish tradition of eating Chinese food on Christmas Day.  

A few of our associates favorite Americanized Chinese food is  the General Tso Chicken.
While it is an slightly over-rated dish, some people consider it as comfort food. Click here for a quick history lesson on this "fun" dish.

Celtics Notes
The late and great Red Auerbach the former coach of the Boston Celtics (a professional basketball team) , have always preferred to have Chinese food for dinner before the game or after the game (regardless whether his Boston Celtics team won or lost a game).   ... 

The presumption was that good Chinese food should never create the feeling of "heavy" with the eater.  Whether Coach Auerbach and his team have ever completed a Chinese "nine course" banquet, is a different story.   

"Being light is right" is the basic principle of consumption.  ...   The state of lightness enables one to be agile and mobile.  Conclusively, this state causes one to feel balanced. 

In our case,  some of us have always followed the Compass Principle of being balanced. 

Chinese Food + Netflix = A Good Day

Be  safe. 

How to Be An Expert in The World of Pseudo Experts

(updated at 16:16 hrs)

In the information economy, there are experts and pseudo experts.  

The fundamentals in selling this specific service do not change too often.  ...   The strategic attributes of price, quality, and good customer service do count   

In our "loud" economy,  noise prevails than signal.   Brand experience is about creating a subtle level of deception while .  Selling short term gratification to the naive. 


To be The Expert in a Noisy Setting 
He or she does not  waste much time on "twittering" or "facebooking"  

He  or she does not waste much inspiring people (Preachers who sell smoke, bells, whistles, snake oil and paper noodles, are great at this activity.)     They do not spent time telling people to join their community. Some of them belonged to this group.

They are focused on solving tangible problems while staying ahead of the curve.

Those who don't, usually do not know how things work and why it works.  But they are able to sell instant answers to the mindless audience.  Pursuing that option and succeeding is subjective because the quantity of quality competition. 

Paraphrasing what the late Bill Walsh said in an early 2000's commercial, "the best coach (strategist) is one who stays focused on the game while being mindful of its settings. ... He can see all 22 players in motion."

In other words, seeing how objects and events are synchronized for that grand strategic moment.

The Essence of the Expert 
The "real" experts are the ones who recognize the on-coming question while their counter-parts are focused on understanding the current answer.  

Depending on the configuration of the situation, they can perform that action without a technological mean!

q: Do you know what are the specifics for that methodology? 

So, how does one stays focused on the game while being mindful of its settings? 

Can You Truly Become The Expert?

It depends greatly on the following attributes:

• one's will to learn as much as possible;
• one's will to to persist and to succeed;
• one's network of subject-based experts;
• one's ability to prioritize and 
• one ability to connect the dots 
• one's ability to capitalize on the connection efficiently before the cycle of opportunity is over.

Having the skillset to assess, position and influence is important.  

Remember, the depthness of one's expertise will triumph over  experience.

More to come.

Automated Sushi

It is a matter of time that most buffet type of eateries and fast food restaurants will be automated.

In California and at other parts of the world, Kula is the lord of the automated sushi.

More Strategic Food For Thought

In most instances, it totally amazes us that most people cannot think one step ahead.  ... They decided on what they presumed is correct, without ever considering  the tangibility of the information. 

They think that everything is as clear as a 11 on 11 football game or a chess game where the  participants and speculators see all of the chess pieces that are involved. .  

There might be some minor level of inductive reasoning behind their thinking.  Against smart and deceptive competitors,  these people grind.  They never know when or why they were deceived. 

The Question of the Day
How do you know when you are two steps ahead?

Sawyer's Lever of Power Book has Been Delayed

This book was supposed to be published sometimes in this month.  Somehow it has been delayed until Nov 2017

So, what is the Lever of Power?

Some claimed that it is some category of deception.  

The lever of power can be described as an unorthodox strategy that enables the strategist to gain strategic leverage in a complex situation. 

Sunzi's Definition of Unorthodox 

• What enables the masses of the Three Armies invariably to withstand the enemy without being defeated are the unorthodox and the orthodox.
• In general, in battle one engages with the orthodox and gains the victory through the unorthodox
• In warfare, the strategic configuration of power do not exceed the unorthodox and orthodox, but the changes of the unorthodox and orthodox can never be completely exhausted.
• The unorthodox and orthodox mutually produce each other, just like an endless cycle. Who can exhaust them?

By observing the configuration of the Big Tangible Picture that is operating within one's strategic terrain, the perceptive smart strategist can conclude the orthodox. 

Recognizing the tangible connectivity that exists within the grand configuration of the strategic terrain enables him to identify the potential "unorthodox" condition.


Side note
One should rarely ever use a spear in a "lever and fulcrum" situation.


More to come.  ...