The Two Questions of the Day

For the hardcore strategist, why are the final six stratagems of the 36 Stratagems being used in "desperate situations?"

What are the risk consequences for using this set of stratagems?

The answers are not directly in your copy of the Art of War. Of course, you do have to play with the principles in an indirect way in order to get the answer.

The Compass View

(wikimedia)

Click here for an interesting story on taking various macro risks in the information economy.

Regardless of the settings, one needs to be conservative, totally focused and not expand beyond their means. ... Good times and bad times can never last forever. Things always come in cycles.

- The Nameless Compass Strategist

The Dao of Strategic Assessment #5: Assessing the Opposition Via the Art of War

“These are the ways that successful strategists are victorious. They cannot be spoken or transmitted in advance. ... Before the confrontation, they resolve in their conference room that they will be victorious, have determined that the majority of factors are in their favor. Before the confrontation they resolve in their conference room that they will not be victorious, have determined a few factors are in their favor.

If those who find that the majority of factors favor them, will be victorious while those who have found few factors favor them will be defeated, what about someone who finds no factors in their favor?

When observing from this viewpoint, victory and defeat will be apparent.”

- Art of War 1 (Paraphrased from the Sawyer's translation)

We have various ways of assessing the macro situation (the grand terrain) and the competition that resides within it. One of our alternate processes is based on those mentioned factors from the Art of War. (Our macro model is based on the principles of the Seven Chinese Military Classics, Sun Bin's Military Methods and other strategic essays.)

After many thousands of hours of researching and experimenting, we were able to identify those factors and concluded with the correct sequence of those factors.

Our professional expertise and our strategic experience have enabled us to transform it into a hierarchical-based strategic decision management model. ... With the proper collection of quality intelligence, the successful strategists can complete their goal by finding the path of least resistance through the conceptual use of Assessing, Positioning and Influencing.

Our process also allows the implementers to identify the current and the possible future situations of the competitive terrain and the competitors who resided within it.

The amateurs are in love with the concept of imposing their will into the opposition by planning and implementing their plan. (They can't help it. It is in their DNA. Their expediters regularly expired while they might secure a victory.) Depending on the configuration of the situation, success is not always guaranteed.

Our research shows that the successful strategists usually followed the paradigm of assessing the Big Tangible Picture before deciding on any strategic move.  They are also focused on finding and utilizing the path of least resistance to their advantage.

Macro Compass Rules

• Assess the Big Tangible Picture before deciding on any strategic move.
• Identify the vital objectives, the urgent objectives and the grand objectives
• Determine the advantages and the disadvantages behind the approaches for each objective  
• Connect each strategic (or tactical) move into one "active" thread and focus it toward your goal.
• Anticipate two moves ahead while implementing half a step forward.
• Plan purposeful move. Operate with a focus on 100% efficiency. 
• Operate efficiently.  Do not waste a move. 

Minor Jottings
We will discussed more about our Compass strategic process model in a future post.

Through the proper assessment of the Big Tangible Picture, the successful strategists always achieved their strategic power within their competing arena. Understand the specifics behind it is the first step. This is the Dao of the Successful Strategist (or the Compass Strategist).

If you are interested in knowing more about it, please drop us a note.

{ Minor update to this post. 08/18/13 }

The Importance of Preparation

One of the most difficult challenges for most strategists is to stay focused and remain prepared,

Click on this link on an interesting article on how one professional prepares himself.

"In planning, no useless move.

In strategy, no strategy is in vain." - Chen Hao

"I try to act like I'm a starter because I don't want to be put in a situation where I'm not prepared. ... That's the last thing I want to do." - Eli Whiteside, S.F. Giants backup catcher

# One must always plan ahead and be prepared. It begins by becoming focused on one's own center.

“One who excels at competition will await events in the situation without making any movements. When he sees he can be victorious he will arise; if he see he cannot be victorious he will desist. Thus it is said he doesn’t have any fear, he doesn’t vacillate. Of many harms that can beset any organization, vacillations is the greatest. Of disasters that can befall an army, none surpasses doubt.” – Paraphrased from Six Secret Teachings, 26

Summary

The successful strategist (the compass strategist) is one who skillfully assesses the "Big Tangible Picture" and knows how everything connects. ... He is then one step away from being strategically effective.

Pragmatic Practices (6): Preparation Precedes Performance

Here is an interesting article on a poor wardrobe assessment by the USA’s Ryder Cup team.

Compass Rule: Always perform due diligence before investing time and effort into anything relevant. ...

One would usually physically test the gear for all situations before deciding. ...

Regardless of the experience of the tester/decision maker, he or she should know the terrain, the implementers and the tangible standards of performance before testing. ... While the amateurs idealistically think about the simple standards of quality and style, the professionals focused on functionality, durability, dependability, reliability and lightness. Style is the occassional last choice. ... In order to compete efficiently, the team must take the time and effort to do everything thoroughly in order to gain every aspect of a technical vantage.

In an extreme competitive arena, the strategist usually get one opportunity to get it right. ... In a high risk/high reward situation, there is rarely any second chance. Failure is not an option. ...

The Compass View

Following is the role and responsibilities of a Compass Strategist:

1. Comprehending the big tangible picture by knowing the configurations of the grand terrain, the many possible situations within the grand situations and the participants within it;
2. Identifying the vital points, the urgent points and the big points within each possible situations; and
3. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each situation and each strategic move.

Pragmatic Practices (5): Understanding the Importance of Time

The successful strategist always acknowledge the importance of time. ...

While the upper crust wear the watch (or the chronograph) as a status symbol, the successful strategists wear it as a reminder of whether they are in control of our time-lined ventures. They have realized all of their relevant objectives are time-driven.

Hearsay tells us that a person without a chronograph is a person with no acknowledgement of time or anything relevant, just themselves. ... Do you want that person in your alpha team? ... Be aware of those people who do not observe the importance of time. ...

Notes from the Virtual Desktop Strategist

To be an above average strategist, we suggested the following learning points to our audience:

• Realize the importance of competition;
• Understand the fundamentals of intelligence gathering;
• Recognize the various degrees of deception through the competition's use of orthodox and unorthodox tactics; and
• Understand the connective "top down" aspect of the big picture through the use of the Seven Military Classics (Strategy Classics) principles.

Understanding the grand picture from a top down view will enable you to connect the dots and reap the rewards.

Good luck!