Some News on Dr. Ralph Sawyer's "Latest" Book: Lever of Power

An associate sent me the covers of Dr. Sawyer's latest book. 

Those who are interested in implementing a higher grade of deception strategies should be interested in this book.

The Questions of the Day: 36 Strategies Vs. 100 Unorthodox Strategies

The members of the Art of War cult should know the answers for these following questions:

• What are the circumstances for using 36 Stratagems?
• What are the circumstances for using unorthodox strategies?

Thinking Unorthodox in Strategic Competition

Following is a abridged listing of our favorite books on this topic 

• The Tao of Spycraft;
• 100 Unorthodox Strategies;
• Tao of Deception; and 
• Li Quan's Crux of Strategy

More to come.  ... 

The Basics of an Unorthodox Strategy (3)

Before developing an unorthodox strategy, understand the measures and constraints of one's strategic situation is essential. 

The objective of the unorthodox strategy is to influence the rival through pretext and guile.  

Mastering the fundamental tactical principles and possessing the skill to evaluating the settings and the rival's intent and their strategic state is quite important.   

For more insights on the Big Tangible Picture and a few tactical pointers on how to play "the unorthodox game.", we suggested the reading of the first two chapters of Six Secret Teachings. 

A Military Introduction to Unorthodox Strategies

If you are looking for an introductory to how unorthodox strategy is applied in military situation, you can try this book.  Click here for a NYT review of this book. 

For the advanced strategic readers, I would suggest Ian F.W. Beckett, Modern Insurgencies and Counter-insurgencies and Robert B Asprey, War in the Shadows, Volume I and Volume II.

My other favorites are: 100 Unorthodox Strategies and Tao of Deception.

The Basics of an Unorthodox Strategy (2)

The T'ai-tsung said, "If, as Sun-Tzu said, 'dividing and combining are changes, 'wherein lie the unorthodox and orthodox?"

Li Ching said: For those who excel at employing troops there are none that are not orthodox, none that are not unorthodox, so they cause the enemy  never to be able to fathom them. Thus with the orthodox they are victorious, with the unorthodox they are also victorious. The officers of the Three Armes only know the victory, none know how it is attained. Without being able to fully comprehend the changes, how could outstanding generals attain this? As for where, the dividing and combining come from, only Sun-tzu was capable of comprehending it. From Wu-Chi , no one has been able to attain it."
                                                                                                                         Questions and Replies 1  

The Basics of an Unorthodox Strategy (1)

Drumming an advance and setting up a great tumult are the means by which to implement and unorthodox plans.
                                                                                Six Secret Teachings, 27

Those who excel at repulsing the enemy first join battle with orthodox troops, then use the unorthodox ones to control them, This is the technique for certain victory.
                                                                                Wei Liao-tzu, 23

Objective: Influence the Target
To be  the first to gain victory, initially display some weakness to the competitor and only afterward pursue confrontation.  Then your effort will be half, but the achievement will be doubled.
                                                                                Six Secret Teachings, 26

Another Clue on the 100 Unorthodox Strategies

(updated at 18:00 hrs)

The quality of field intelligence is proportional to the category of strategy. 

More to come.

A Brief Note on the 36 Strategies and the 100 Unorthodox Strategies

Someone once informed us that the informational state of a strategic situation establishes whether one implements one or more of the following tactical approaches:

• the numeric advantage approach;
• the mismatch advantage approach;
• the deception advantage approach (36 Strategies);
• the unorthodox advantage approach (100 Unorthodox Strategies)
• the combinational approach;
• the synchronization of momentum and timing approach; etc.

Implementation of 36 Strategies is usually based on the time factor and an assortment of mini situational scenarios where the execution of the 100 Unorthodox Strategies is based on the tectonic-driven configuration of the strategic situation.

It all starts with the Victory Temple Paradigm.

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.  ... 

More Notes on Dr. Ralph Sawyer's "Lever of Power" Book

Source: QuoteAddicts

Lever of Power: Deception Theory and Practice in China and the West
   Although the term always had negative connotations, deception continued to be zealously employed to attain political and military aims in both China and the West throughout history. However, only China pondered its nature and developed an extensive literature on its theory and application in military contexts.

Apart from examining the concept's parameters, Lever of Power will discuss the important categories of practice, illustrate them with numerous instances of deception's successful application in both cultures, and provide an overview of important pronouncements and refinements over the ages in works as diverse as Sun-tzu's Art of War, theT'ai-pai Yin-ching, and the Stratagems of Frontinus and Polyaenus.

More to come.

Notes on Dr. Ralph Sawyer's "Lever of Power" Book

This book is supposed to be published sometimes in Nov 2016

So, what is the Lever of Power?

Some claimed that it is deception.  

The lever of power is 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 in one's terrain, the smart strategist can conclude the orthodox.  Understanding the connectivity within the configuration enables him to identify the unorthodox.


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


More to come.  ... 

Questions for the Hardcore Strategists Who Wanted to Succeed

Q #1: Do you know what are the situational configurations for choosing any of the 36 Strategems? 

Q#2: Do you know what are the situational configurations for choosing any of the 100 Unorthodox Strategies?

Q#3: To make the proper choice that saves time and cost, are you able to 
assess a complex situation in terms of levels and factors? 

Q#4: After assessing the complex situation,  how many strategic moves can you think ahead?

Q#5: After assessing the configuration of a technical situation, do you ever connect it to the next seasonal cycle of marketplace?

More to come. 

Succeeding in Chess By Implementing Underhanded Tactics (1)

Source: Flicker 

updated at 18:18 hrs

Some of us are gamers.  We enjoyed the intellectual intensity of a table game or a field game. We believed in following the rule of playing the game within the letter of the rules and regulations.  If there is a gray spot in its content, we expected the extreme-minded competitor to exploit it to their advantage.  

During our venturing, we have seen many categories of underhanded tactics. 

Following is an abridged set of those tactics that we have seen in various chess matches or have read about: 

The "Sunlight in the Eye" Tactic
Ruy Lopez,  a Spanish priest  was famous for utilizing sunlight to blind his opponent during a game. This tactic is similar to the tactic that Miyamoto Musashi have used to defeat Suzuki in a sword duel. 

The "Food on Table" Tactic
One associate's favorite tactic was eating a heavy pastrami sandwich and drinking carbonated water during the game. The scent of the pastrami and the burping could moderately disrupt the concentration of the opponent.

The "Tapping on the Table with a Metal Mechanical Pencil" Tactic
Another of favorite tactic of an associate  was the tapping on the game table with a metal mechanical pencil.  . . .  He would start the game by tapping it quite softly and slowly. As the game progressed on, the sound and the rate of tapping increases.  Once the superior position is achieved, the tapping decreases to one soft tap per minute.  It usually disrupts the concentration of the opponent.  (There are other special variations to this tactic.)

The "Humiliating the Winner" Tactic
Whenever losing a game, one would repeatedly yell the following message, "Why did I lose to this lucky moron?" through out the game room.  A certain famous chess player would implement this tactic whenever he loses to a weaker player.  . . .  Some "amateur" tennis players have also employed some variations of this tactic.  . . .  I personally find that tactic to be quite amateurish.  In a strategic game like chess, a focused player who wins, rarely relies on the "chance" factor.  It is better to lose with one's dignity in tact than to win as a classless idiot.

The "Late to The Game or Losing the game by Forfeit" Tactic
The great Robert James Fisher implemented this tactic against Spassky in the second game of the 1972 World Chess Championship.  This move unnerved Spassky so much that he lost the next game.   and did not recover until  the 11th game. ... 

This tactic has also been used in professional labor negotiation.   (We will discussed more on this tactic in a future post.)

Source

Comments From The Compass Desk
Regardless of the quantity of these unique tactics,  some of these tactics are quite crude and uncivil.  

Some desperate people do whatever it takes to win in spite of one's position in the game. They just do not know how to read the greater gameboard.

"According to Fan Li's book, 'If you're last use yin tactics, if you're first then use yang tactics. When you have exhausted the enemy's yang tactics. When you have exhausted the enemy's tactics. When you have exhausted the enemy measures, then expand your yin to the full and seize them.' This then is the subtle mysteriousness of yin and yang according to the strategists."  - Questions and Replies between T'ang T'ai-tsung and Li Wei-kung

One of our preferred set of "counter point" tactical strategies is to wear a pair of shades, a noise filtering head set, a heavy cotton baseball cap,  standing over the game table and drinking warm green tea during the game while pretended that English is not the preferred  language of personal communication.  It works quite well in critical game situations. ... 

From Sunzi's Art of War essay, these underhanded tactics are always organized under the category of "Unorthodox."    . . .  We recommended the reading of Dr. Sawyer's 100 Unorthodox Strategies and 36 Stratagems for unique ideas.  . . .  If you could transpose some of these concepts to the competitive side of chess, please contact us.  We would like to compare notes.  . . .   In our case, some of us have successfully utilized those concepts in the game of Poker and the game of Go (weiqi).   . . . We will discuss more on this topic in a future post.

Side Notes
Chess is a subset of life and life is an grander extension of chess.  The key to succeeding in one's existence is to be a winner in one's life not just on the chessboard.  ...  There is more to life than a game of chess.    ... Comparing go (weiqi) to chess is like comparing theoretical physics to accounting.  Most of us preferred the myriad of quality lessons that could be learned from the former.

"Win if you could.  Lose if you must.  Never get caught in the utilization of underhanded tactics.   ..."  
-  An Anonymous Strategist

# # # 

The Analysis of the Game Behind the "Rules Changing" Game: Mike Leach vs Nick Saban and Other Interesting Notes

Source: Masterdefense.com

updated at 16:16 hr

In any competitive terrain, the successful innovative strategists are not victorious especially in the macro political game. The non-innovative political-driven strategist who cannot innovates, will occasionally change the rules and regulations for the purpose of securing an advantageous gain.  ... I have seen this category of strategic maneuvering implemented in certain businesses.  (That is a future post.)

View the above video for one approach to slowing the quick tempo spread offense approach by having a player "acted" that he is hurt.  

The great Nick Saban, football coach of Alabama and his comrades in the SEC conference, were not successful against teams that ran the quick tempo, no huddle offense (especially against Auburn). So they decided to implement an end around play by changing the rules.

The NCAA football rules committee is proposing changes for the 2014 season that would loosen the reins on defensive substitutions and lessen the penalties for targeting fouls called on the field.

The committee's proposal would allow defensive players to substitute within the first 10 seconds of the 40-second play clock, except for the final two minutes of each half.

The rules committee says they hope to enhance safety by guaranteeing a small window for both teams to substitute. UCF receiver Breshad Perriman is shown in November after a play for which Houston's Zach McMillian was called for targeting.  ...  Offenses that snap the ball before 29 seconds remain on the play clock would receive a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty.

Current rules state that defensive players aren't guaranteed the opportunity to substitute unless the offense first substitutes. Under the proposal, this policy would remain when the play clock starts at 25 seconds.  ... The proposal would strike a major blow to up-tempo spread offenses that often run plays before the opposing defense is set. Coaches like Alabama's Nick Saban and Arkansas' Bret Bielema last summer said that up-tempo offenses are likelier to cause injuries for defensive players who can't get off of the field in time.
Source: ESPN  SI.com and Yahoo Sports.com.  .

Using the excuse of player's safety is quite deceptive.  If the committee and the coaches were quite concerned about the safety of the players, why don't they "illegalize" the act of pass rushing (five to eight man blitzing) and any type of body tackle?  Playing touch football by using Google glasses while playing "Madden Football" would be more safer. ... What do you think?  ... Would you watched any more college football games with these rule changes?

Do you think that the majority of college fans wanted to see that?  ... What were the NCAA's football committee thinking about? ... 


The Projected Outcome 
This current set of rules favored the offense. If this new set of changes are implemented, the offensive side loses the surprise element. 

Teams who emphasize on recruiting ultra athletic, moderately intelligent players, usually are focused on the mastery of fundamentals. They often centered on a high baseline of strategic efficiency, rarely ever innovate.  ... This is the gold standard of their process.

Mike Leach's Comment to the Possible Rules Change
" ... It's always been a game of creativity and strategy. So anytime someone doesn't want to go back to the drawing board or re-work their solutions to problems, then what they do is to beg for a rule. I think it's disgusting.  ...   My suggestion is rather than spending a bunch of time coming up with a bunch of really stupid rules, spend that time coaching harder,  ....   Worry about your own team and try to make your product better rather than trying to change the game so you don’t have to do anything.  ..."
Source: ESPN 

The Football Concept of Offense and Defense
While the grand tactical objective of any ideal offense model is about knowing the primary target, the optional targets and the starting timeline of the execution for each play,  the grand tactical objective for the ideal defense model is about anticipating where the offense is targeting and then being there with the right number of players to crush the offensive play.

By removing the "surprise element" on both sides of the game (no hurry up tactics and no blitzing tactics), what type of game would one have? ... Would the college fans still watch it anymore?  

Notes From The Compass Desk
Competitors who rarely innovate, regularly played the "maintaining status quo" game. They regularly stay efficient by centering their attention on recruiting the best talent that fits their system.

If those particular rules are changed, Saban could be able to continue with his process of recruiting his type of players and secure his legacy of winning college football championships.

As mentioned before, this type of "rule changing" game playing has been done in other competitive venues especially in politics and businesses. We will discuss that matter in a future post.

Side Notes 
To compete effectively against the slow and  non-creative dinosaurs in the information economy, the up-tempo offense is the new model. If one could move faster (with organizational order) and recover from the errors quicker than the competitor. One would be ahead of the curve.  (It is being indirectly used in information technology's project management  There is a minor flaw to that model. But that is another topic  that we will talk about it later.   ...) The "no huddle, hurry up model works as long there is the proper personnel who could master its concepts. scheme and plays. 

Compass Rule

Players --->>> Concepts/Scheme --->>> Formations --->>> Plays

Fwiw, it originated from Sam Wyche's "Sugar" offensive approach with the 1988 Cincinnati's Bengals Super Bowl run.  .... Psychologically it requires a deep sense of aggressiveness and the understanding of the specifics on when to "take what the defense offers to you.  ... "  (That is also another topic.)

Think of what positive growth could be gained when running a no-huddle offense in a capitalist's endeavor.

Many months ago, we posted an note on how the Russian military  implemented their synchronized version of up tempo offense approach against the country of Georgia. With the right leadership, tactics, resources, technology/infrastructure and strategy, this model could be used for certain business situations. 

###

The Dao of the Unorthodox Approach #7

"Hit them where they ain't" - Anonymous 

There is more to the concept of unorthodox strategies than espousing irrelevant quotes.

To successfully implement an unorthodox tactic in a competitive situation, the smart strategist employs the tendencies of every relevant participants as a starting point.  Click here for a good example.

By reading Bill Walsh's autobiography and the other strategy classics (i.e, the Seven Strategy Classics, 100 Unorthodox Strategies, etc.)  one could conclude the following points for implementing an unorthodox tactic in a competitive situation:

• Utilizing the flow of the script to stage the competitor toward a disadvantageous situation;
• Implementing it early in the situation while being positioned at a safe location; 
• Implementing the same play once per season;  
• Utilizing it to influence your competitor's choice of tactical play while maintaining the initial scheme; and 
• Utilizing it to demoralize the fighting spirit of your competition.

There are more points to implementing an unorthodox tactic.  By reading the right strategy books and properly practicing it (within the right setting), your odds of prevailing slightly increases.   

The Question of the Day
Do you know how to successfully implement an unorthodox strategy?

Next to Final Point
The particulars of any situation usually decide whether this approach can be used for unique competitive situations. The chief decision makers have the responsibilities to analyzing those particulars before ever deciding whether it can be properly executed.

Notes 
Those who believed that reading the Art of War, OODA and/or B.H. Liddell Hart's view of strategy will provide the proper foundation, are spending too much time preaching their inspirational quotes while sipping on their numerous cans of diet drink. Quotes do not really espouse the specifics for  playing the strategy game  Knowing the tangible specifics of the approach does help a lot.

It all begins by assessing the big picture. Then, positioning oneself through planning and preparation. Finally, influencing one's target through the use of their grand settings  It is that simple from a conceptual viewpoint.

Life is complex for those who strive for higher goals. They must understand that assessing the order of the complexity within their terrain is the first step toward strategic success. This exercise is simple to a few.  To the rest of the masses, it is an exercise of futility.

We will talk about the topic of transforming the complexity to a simple and predictable setting in a future post.

Achieving Strategic Effectiveness

Strategic Effectiveness occurs: 

(a) when a competitor  implements a play successfully whether their opposition knows about it or not.

(b) when a competitor  implements an unorthodox play successfully especially when their opposition do not know that it is coming.

Q: How does one implements an unorthodox play?

A: It begins by assessing one's situation- the order of the situation, the projected time line of the situation, the configuration of the terrain, the proclivity of the leadership and the standards of the logistics.    .

By weighing the prevailing order of a situation, the successful strategist knows the fundamental  objective and the general tactical approach.  It is that simple.  

The answer is not in your copy of the Art of War.  Ask your local Art of War (AoW) expert if he/she knows how to do it.  ((They could be too busy drinking their diet drink, to know how to do that.) If not, it is time for you to remove their name from your address book. 

Side note
The key to becoming a good decision maker/playcaller is knowing when to stay on course with a certain set of plays or when to exit from it while managing the pressure all within five seconds after the previous play is over.  ...

Shock and Awe

The following contribution is from an associate.

Shock and Awe

The often taunted Shock and Awe  tactic was not invented during the 21st century.  One can find some aspect of it during  the warring history of Imperial China. 

Many of the students of the AoW know about the story of how Sunzi used a "Shock and Awe" maneuver to transform an undisciplined group of the Emperor's royal concubines into a perfectly marching platoon.

The Fan Li's Tale
During the warring states, the great Fan Li who served Goujian, the ruler of Yue, implemented a psychological "Shock and Awe" strategy that shattered the mind set of their opposition- Wu's state.  It also enabled the Yue troops to subjugate their Army.

Side note: Sun Wu (aka. Sunzi) mentored the ruler of the Wu State in the principles of strategy.   ...  The Wu's ruler and his advisers had already exiled him from their court by the time Fan-Li and the Yue army fought them.

Fan Li utilized an unorthodox  tactic that is called "Killing the Chickens to Shock The Monkey" where 300 condemned prisoners was inspired to march to the edge of the enemy's line where the troops of Wu were stationed at. Concurrently, there were 500 warriors from the Yue state that were concealing behind the bushes.

After arriving at their enemy line, these 300 condemned men announced their loyalty to the Yue state and slitted their throats altogether. This surprised action shocked the Wu Troops so dramatically that they began to scream in utter confusion. The confidence of the Wu solders immediately dissipated and fled in terror.

Yue's troops immediately attacked the retreating opposition. During the onslaught, thousands of the Wu troops were slaughtered and Helu the King of Wu became mortally wounded.

Summary
The alpha intent of this unorthodox strategy was to target the psychological weaknesses of the competitor's leader and their troops.  Due to its originality, the targeted competitor was caught off guard.  The outcome became devastating for the losing side. 

Retrospectively, an underdog usually prevails in an extreme competitive situation through the approach of combining the qualities of directness and indirectness. 

Q: Do you know how to subjugate your competition through the use of various unorthodox means?  

# # #
Side note:  It was rumored that Fan Li was an ardent reader of  Tai Gong's Six Secret Teachings.  

Click here for an interesting perspective on Shock and Awe" from St Petersburg Times.

The Dao of the Ultra Class Strategists: The Basics

To prevail in the global economy, some of the Asian businesses are using the strategic basics from "The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China" and "The 100 Unorthodox Strategies."

By reading the Seven Military Classics, one understands the following points:

• The Fundamentals of the Competition,
• The Way of Competition;
• The Way of Strategic and Operational Leadership;
• The Operational Essentials; and
• The Operational Specifics.

To disrupt the strong, the smart learns everything about the competitive terrain and the opposition within, in order to position oneself ahead of the curve.

The 100 Unorthodox Strategies is a tactical guide that the ultra class strategists have used as the intellectual foundation to create deceptive illusions. In our future posts, we will focus on the details for detecting the reality from the mountains of illusions.

Final Thoughts

Ask yourself what is your strategist reading these days!? What is the foundation of his/her strategic aptitude? Is their knowledge helping your company compete effectively in the ever-changing global economy?

Knowing the principles are good. But do the strategist have the fundamentals and the strategic process to assess the big picture. and your competition!?

All strategy viewpoints are worthless if the consultant does not have the proper process model to achieve the end in mind.