Succeeding in the Info Economy: Assessing a Problem With the Phoenix Checklist

The Phoenix Checklist provides context-free questions that enable you to look at a problem from many different angles. Sometimes, problems aren’t as easy to understand as they may seem at face value—especially problems that are inherently multi-faceted. These questions will help you clear ambiguities and pinpoint the unknown unknowns associated with a problem.

 The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed this framework.

 The Phoenix Checklist is comprised of two components:

• A list of questions used to define problems
• A list of questions to define the plan to solve the problems

Here is the Phoenix Checklist in its entirety:

 THE PROBLEM

1. Why is it necessary to solve the problem?
2. What benefits will you receive by solving the problem?
3. What is the unknown?
4. What is it you don’t yet understand?
5. What is the information you have?
6. Is the information sufficient? Or is it insufficient? Or redundant? Or contradictory?
7. Where are the boundaries of the problem?
8. What isn’t the problem?
9. Should you draw a diagram of the problem? A figure?
10. Can you separate the various parts of the problem? Can you write them down? What are the relationships of the parts of the problem? What are the constants of the problem?
11. Have you seen this problem before?
12. Have you seen this problem in a slightly different form? Do you know a related problem?
13. Try to think of a familiar problem having the same or a similar unknown.
14. Suppose you find a problem related to yours that has already been solved. Can you use it? Can you use its method?
15. Can you restate your problem? How many different ways can you restate it? More general? More specific? Can the rules be changed?
16. What are the best, worst and most probable cases you can imagine?

# Side note: 
The Sunzi's Victory Temple method is one way to identifying the answers to those questions.

THE PLAN

1. Can you solve the whole problem? Part of the problem?
2. What would you like the resolution to be? Can you picture it?
3. How much of the unknown can you determine?
4. Can you derive something useful from the information you have?
5. Have you used all the information?
6. Have you taken into account all essential notions in the problem?
7. Can you separate the steps in the problem-solving process? Can you determine the correctness of each step?
8. What creative thinking techniques can you use to generate ideas? How many different techniques?
9. Can you see the result? How many different kinds of results can you see?
10. How many different ways have you tried to solve the problem?
11. What have others done?
12. Can you intuit the solution? Can you check the result?
13. What should be done? How should it be done?
14. Where should it be done?
15. When should it be done?
16. Who should do it?
17. What do you need to do at this time?
18. Who will be responsible for what?
19. Can you use this problem to solve some other problem?
20. What are the unique set of qualities that makes this problem what it is and none other?
21. What milestones can best mark your progress?
22. How will you know when you are successful?

# In addition to the Phoenix Checklist, here are some other questions to aid with the problem definition and solving process:

1. Are there other paths to the end I’m looking for? Write down the obvious way to get from where you are to where you want to go. Then ignore it. Come up with as many other paths as you can think of for getting there.
2. Can I change any of the variables? List all the variables you see (how much time it takes, who is involved, whether to do something yourself or hire someone to do it, etc.) and play with changing them. What effect could that have?
3. What information do I need? Sometimes problems exist because we don’t have enough information to solve them. Identifying what information you need and what information you’re missing gives you a starting point to change that.
4. How many solutions can I come up with? As you think of more solutions to a problem, you may increase the likelihood of thinking of one that is optimally effective.
5. How would ______ solve this? If there is someone who is known for solving things like this, ask yourself how they would solve it. What unique perspectives would that person have that would enable them to solve the problem?
6. How many problems am I encountering here? There are many situations where what seems like one problem is actually a variety of problems bundled together. When you are trying to solve more than one problem at any given time, you are making things far more difficult than they need to be. Instead, take the time to identify each individual problem that you are facing. Tackle one problem at a time and then move onto the next.
7. What seem to be your main obstacles to reaching the goal? Think of getting from where you are to where you want to go as a process flow. Map out a step-by-step ideal process flow of how you could get there. Then look at that process and identify the obstacles. Where are those obstacles?
8. How can I improve this process? Instead of looking at it from a problem perspective, look at it as a process improvement exercise. What steps and processes can you make easier and faster to perform? How would you accomplish this?
9. Who has done this before? If someone else has already invented the wheel, don’t bang your head bloody trying to create it again. Who else has been up against the problem you’re encountering? Can you talk to them? Read about how they approached it.
10. How could ____ relate to my problem? What are some concepts that you could associate with the challenge that would most likely produce useful connections and insights?

 Reference:

1. Michalko, M. (2006) Thinkertoys: A handbook of creative-thinking techniques (2nd edition). Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Thinkertoys-Handbook-Creative-Thinking-Techniques-2nd/dp/1580087736/ (Accessed: 12 February 2017).

Source: Idea genius




Click here for previous "Phoenix Checklist" posts.

Succeeding in the Info. Economy Through the Practice of "Preparation Precedes Performance"

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One general principle of strategy is to become flexible in regards to one's own objectives and strategic approaches when operating within an uncertain setting.  It is also important to center oneself on becoming self-efficient until the direction and the momentum of the Big Tangible Picture is established. 

During the preparation stage of the situation, one centers on the act of staging proper logistics and procedures to meet the opportunity from a top-down view.

Whereas, most people preferred to plan and prepare at the wrong stage of the cycle. For whatever reason, they somehow find the act of operating from the seat of their pants to be emotionally enjoyable.

#

"A team that is unable to discern good fortune and misfortune in the as-yet-uninformed does not understand preparations." 

- Military Methods, 22 (A minor revision on a concept from Sun Bin)

Minor Jottings

In chaotic times, some companies have a tendency to take a risk without the understanding the secular effect within the Big Tangible Picture (BTP). 

Simultaneously, some Chief Decision Makers possessed the tendency of not knowing whether their project operation team project have the logistics and the economics to meet the criteria of the Big Tangible Picture. 

... Some people might know the general objectives and the approach for achieving a grand goal. It is quite rare that proper planning and preparation processes are ever implemented promptly. When a major negative circumstance forces them to do so, it is usually too late to execute that grand process.  Better yet, the implementation of the assessment step barely existed.

... Our research and our experience have revealed to us that most organizations do not have a strategic process that enables their decision makers to read and recognize the circumstances that lead to predictable and unpredictable settings.

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Source: Dao of Strategy

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Click here for more posts on the subject of Preparation Precedes Performance.

"Amat Victoria Curam" - Latin quote   

The translation is "victory loves preparation."

Preparation Precedes Performance: Preparing The "Go" Bag for a Chaotic Setting

In our information economy (search, mobile and cloud), some members of the masses have become addicted to the immediate gratification of technology. 

What would happen to the masses if the power source behind the technological element of the information economy is nullified for whatever set of reasons? Concurrently, what would they do if natural disasters become a seasonal trend.  What would you do?

Planning and the preparation are the general steps of our "Position" stage.  ... One must be agile, light and mobile on the field regardless of the situation.  ... . 

To prepare for the uncertainty of life, it is important to possess the right essentials (tools, etc.)  and not use it than to need it and not having it.  ...                              
                    
Preparation Precedes Performance
Here is the updated "Alpha" list of gear for one's everyday carry (EDC) purposes:                  

• a compass        
• a polycarbonatic clipboard and notepaper.        
• a Swiss Army Knife (and a Leatherman's multi-tool)     
• a devoted blade (Emerson, SOG, etc.)  
• a roll of duct tape                     
• a LED flashlight and backup batteries    
• a set of N95 masks
• a set of vinyl (medical) gloves
• a Nalgene plastic water bottle (BPA free)
• a pair of Sunglasses
• a Smartphone  (with backup batteries)
• a light pack of USB gear cables (esp. the USB to mini USB cable)            
• a few large capacity USB flash drives
• a Faraday-type of container. 

Compass Guidelines for Field Preparation

• Be light, agile and mobile.  
• Always carry necessities not accessories.

Here is the updated "Bravo" list of gear for the accessories bag (aka. "The Go Pack #2")  It is nice to have this prepackaged set of gear for extreme climate-driven terrains.                    

• A set of paper maps of one's terrain
• A good durable backpack or a quality vest w/ multiple pockets. 
• A disposable cloth towel
• A few elastic bands
• A durable garbage bags            
• wooden and metal toothpicks                   
• non-metallic paper clips and metallic binder clips                           
• Rolls of cash and coins
• chewing gum, chocolate bars and energy food bars                                
• a set of specialized magnets
• a set of small screwdrivers and some screws             
• a digital watch                                                 
• a ball point pen and a wooden pencil                                        
• a colored electrician tapes
• a cloth towel
• a dryer's lint filter                
• a magnesium fire starter
• a set of colored flares         
• a set of colored b-day candles                 
• nylon fishing line and hooks
• a portable hard drive
• a USB to mini USB cable                                       
• a ethernet cable
• safety pins
• plastic straws
• a mini first aid kit (TCM and Western medicine- band aids/gauze, anti germ gel, etc.) 
• Yunnan White Powder (This Chinese powder medicine works for minor laceration)                                                    

Conclusion

Always be prepared and always know when to gear up.  ... As mentioned before, it is important to be prepared (possessing the right essentials) and not use it than to need it and not having it. Fwiw, this bag makes a good X-Mas gift to those who live in the extreme terrain.  

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Succeeding in the Info Economy with the Right Cyber Toolbox for Desktop and Mobile Applications

In the evolving technological driven world. there is no golden ring or any perfect "kitchen sink" software that would maintain the image of 100% efficiency, especially in the cyber security realm.  Things change. Bad hackers abused the gaps. The mindfully and successful  strategists quietly adjust, evolve and stay ahead of the curve.

Regardless of this "flaw", it is better to have the tools and not use it than to need the tools and not have it.  ...  Staying ahead of the curve is about anticipating two events ahead while executing one move ahead.

The successful strategists sometimes prevail because of a combination of their willpower, their focus, their strategic framework, their operational team and their toolbox.  ... 

The List of Necessities not Accessories.
Following is an abridged list of software apps that one should have in their desktop pc toolbox and/or mobile phone toolbox:

• Chrome (free)
• Firefox Browser (free)
• Evernote (free)
• Foxit Reader (A free pdf reader)
• Open Source Suse (A free alternative operating system to MS Windows.)
• Opera Browser (free)
• Kindle reader for the Windows Desktop 
• Perl (This scripting language is the master toolbox of all programming languages. It has a super programming library.)
• C/C++ Programming Language (The "nuts and bolts" of all programming languages.)
• Microsoft Excel (The Excel spreadsheet is still the predominant digital swiss army knife for organizing specific data and composing math formulas and equations for small scale numerical analysis projects.)
• Mindjet (This mindmapping tool is great for conceptual "top to bottom" brainstorming)
• Password Safe (free but effective)
• Sublime text (A good GUI-based vi text editor for programmers. Their older versions are for free)
• Spinrite (This app is great for protecting the data integrity of the hard drive)
• True Encrypt   (Click here for their FAQ)
• Thunderbird  (Good for archiving one's email.)
• UltraEdit (A good text editor for programmers that allows customization.)
• Vim  (A good and free vi text editor for programmers.)
• VM Player 
• VM Virtual Box

Our Favorite Web Services

• CPAN
• Google's Documents
• Grammarly  
• Skype
• WebEx
• Sourceforge
• Feedly
• I Heart Radio
• The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Meta-CPAN
• WSJ
• NYT
• Jacquie Lawson (Greeting Cards)
• Mindjet

Most free products are usually good enough for massive usage.  In some scenarios, we preferred to utilize the tools that allowed the user to implement some levels of customization.

Non-Techie Tools for the Cyber Realm 
Here is our abridged list of above average non-cyber gear for unpredictable times

• CCrane (This is a great source for high performance radios. A good radio enables the user to be in touch with the real world without being entirely connected to the digital grid. During the spring to autumn season, it is always fun to listen to a baseball game or a radio talk show while writing code.) 
• Emerson Knives (It is nice to have a reliable bladed implement for the rare worst case  scenarios.)
• Saunders Clipboards (Their metal clipboards are just great for focusing one's attention in a non-techie setting. They are usually manufactured in the USA.)
• Bulletproof Clipboard
• Lamy Pens  and Tombo Pens (Both companies have been manufacturing durable and functional writing instruments for many decades)
• Red Blossom Tea (They sell great green tea)
• Standup Desks

Tools for Fools
Utilizing throw-away gimmicks that served the minimum purposes is the norm.  ...  Successful strategists that we have met, do not collect irrelevant tools. They are focused on having the best quality tools...  You would rather have a quality tool that performs to its highest standard 1,000 times than to purchase 1,000 of the same tools that barely work once or twice. 

Conclusively. some of us possessed a grand infatuation for superior utilitarian workhorse type of tools. ... 

Side Notes
While most people believed in the view of the pen is mightier than the sword in most instances.  Some of us preferred to position both items in accord. 

The successful strategists sometimes prevail because of a combination of their willpower, their focus, their strategic framework, their operational team and their toolbox.  It is rarely about one attribute.  They instinctively understand how to effectively balance those attributes. The usage of rules and simplifications are for novices and amateurs who are looking for stop gap solutions.

Comments From The Compass Desk 

Being mobile and having immediate and fastest access to the right data are two of the many keys to strategic success in our information economy. Knowing how to assess the Big Tangible Picture and comprehending what tools work for that unique moment are the prerequisites to positioning ahead with sound and solid planning  and preparation.  

Having the large toolbox is one thing. Utilizing it in an integrated mode and knowing when to carry certain tools for certain situations are some of the keys to tactical success.  

There is more to building a pragmatic but favorable setting than to reading the manual.  It is all about comprehending the configuration of the Big Tangible Picture (BTP) in terms of the Five Critical Strategic Factors (CSF) and building a defensive mechanism around it. 

You can read more about the basics of the Five Critical Strategic Factors in our future book project. 

More to Come

Succeeding and Profiting Through the Process of Assessing, Positioning and Influencing (The SF Niners Style)

This post is an updated version of a previous entry on the San Francisco kicker.  

Throughout the past football season. some of us followed  Phil Dawson's progress. (Side note: The others are New England Patriots fans.)

In early December, Dawson was responsible for the final score against Seattle and named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his four-field-goal performance. 

After that game, Phil Dawson,was named the NFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week again against the Phoenix Cardinals.  ...  He centered himself and kicked the winning field goal again.

The head coach thought quite highly of his performance. Statistically, his scoring record was greater than the quarterback.

A few months later, The San Francisco Forty Niners re-signed him for another season for his previous season successes.

The 2013 Post

Everyone prepares for a competitive situation in their own way.  Some mediates. Others either talk and wait or practice their tactical routines.  Phil Dawson of the San Francisco Forty Niners strategizes his next game time situation by studying the weather reports and practices his kicks.

#
Dawson, 38, routinely mines data from Weather.com, AccuWeather.com and WeatherBug.com.

“I’m pretty psycho, I’ve got to admit,” he said. “It’s a borderline problem.”

Dawson’s history in wind, sleet and horizontal-blowing snow became relevant when he signed with the 49ers in March. Dawson’s new home stadium, Candlestick Park, is known for its swirling winds that mess with field-goal attempts, and kickers’ heads.

But Dawson has been there. Endured that. He’s played 204 of his 215 career games outdoors, with 108 coming at the Browns stadium, which is perched on the shores of blustery Lake Erie.

Dawson has played 12 percent of his career games in Cleveland in December. The average forecast for the city in the final month of the year: High of 30.9 degrees with 12-mile-per-hour winds and .38 inches of snow fall (that’s from climate-zone.com, Phil).

... Despite consistently weathering less-than-ideal conditions, Dawson ranks ninth in NFL history in field-goal percentage (84.0) and third in percentage from 50-plus yards (70.6). Seventeen months removed from his 40th birthday, he’s improving with age: He ranked second in the NFL in field-goal percentage (93.5) in 2012 en route to his first Pro Bowl and has drilled 14 of 15 attempts from 50-plus yards since 2011.

The 49ers believe they’ve upgraded after six-time Pro Bowler David Akers, 38, who was cut in March, endured his worst season in 2012. Dawson has missed 14 attempts (93 of 107) since 2009, one more than Akers missed in last year’s final 14 regular-season games.

Given his sustained success, Dawson is optimistic he can handle the inevitable surprises during the 49ers’ final season at The Stick.

PHILD“I think those experiences can only help, but they’re no guarantee,” Dawson said. “So I’ve still got to put the work in. I’ve got to wear out Weather.com like I always do trying to figure out hourly forecasts and wind directions. Has it rained that week? Is the field going to be soft? Is it going to be firm? All that kind of stuff. I’ve got to do my homework.”

Dawson did some advance Stick scouting in the offseason, visiting the stadium several times to get more acquainted after only playing two career games in San Francisco. In 2003, Dawson missed his only attempt, a 48-yarder, at Candlestick. In 2011, he made his only kick, a 52-yarder. Not surprisingly, Dawson recalls that he kicked in ideal conditions during his previous visits to the stadium.

“The weather’s been perfect,” Dawson said. “I’m still holding out hope that I’m bringing that with me. Lord knows I’ve played in rough stuff elsewhere.”

Dawson has also endured rough seasons, from a team perspective. He’s appeared in just one postseason game and the 49ers’ recent success was alluring when he weighed his free-agent options.

Now, the weather wonk who has kicked in all elements is eager to experience playoff conditions for the first time since 2003.

“I’m more looking forward now to kicks that are more team-centered, rather than personal accomplishments,” Dawson said. “It’s been communicated to me that’s why I’m here.”

The full post may be read here. Click here for another view of this story

Assessing the Process of Phil Dawson 
On the field, Mr. Dawson operates without any gadget. His research already told him what would the weather be at that game day and at that specific time. Dawson knows the direction and the momentum of the wind at any part of the football field at any specific moment during the game and methodically follows his sequence of "readiness to implementation" with no hesitation.

Assess
He assesses by intuitively focusing on the range, the wind direction, the wind speed (by looking at the flags), the temperature, and humidity. 

Position
The first step of Positioning is the maneuvering toward the right place where Dawson begins the process of visualization while synchronizing his breathing with the projected execution. He then pre-positions his kick to the ready position while being mindful of the wind direction and the location of the yellow-colored goal posts.

Influence
This step begins when he scores the field goal and after the play is over. His team becomes more confident with him. In a climate-challenging situation, they know that there is a positive chance that he will score the field goal.

Influence always comes from a well-honed assessment and well-planned positioning.  Execute the influence is the endpoint of the process

To an outsider, it looks simple. But, Mr. Dawson have spent many hours, preparing himself for all types of complex-driven competitive situation. But nothing is ever simple especially in a highly stressed, high reward situation where there are other multi-components that also allowed the kick to be effective.

The Questions of the Day
Regardless of the situation, do you assess, position and influence your strategic situation with a script?

Like Phil Dawson, are you willing to spend the time assessing the specifics of your situations or bonding with your teammates?

Remember, victory love preparation. 

The Compass Approach to 
Maneuvering and Prevailing 
in a Complex Situation

Compass Rule: The time that it takes to assess, and position is inversely proportionally to that the time it takes to influence.

By realizing the complexity, the risk, the uncertainty and the volatility of a given situation, the successful strategists take their time to assess their situation systemically.  After a few sessions of intense preparation, the practice of implementing the "assess, position and influence" steps becomes automatic in a "real-time" competitive situation. 

The process model of Assessing, Positioning and Influencing requires absolute act of planning, preparation and practice.  Do you have the time, the discipline and the drive to do that?

From our experience, assessing, positioning and influencing through a script enables the implementer to become psychologically methodological. With practice, one could becomes subtle in one's own action. 

Some More Questions 
Do you ever methodically assess the targeted terrain before implementing your action? 

Do you make selective assessment a daily habit?   

Side note: The key to building this habit begins with the act of centering.

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Victory Wears a Red Shirt: The Myth Behind Tiger Woods's Red Shirt

Source: Washington Post

(updated at 22:38 hr) 

Whether it is competition or everyday,  Many of us are believers or followers of certain superstitions and practices. Some carry rabbit feet, others wear baseball caps and a few of us preferred the practice of carrying a specialized script.  There are other exotic practices. 

There are some people who do believe in the power of the red shirt. 


The Red Shirt 
Since the 1990s, the great Tiger Woods has always won his final round of tournament golf while wearing a red shirt.

After his recent injury, Tiger has not won a major tournament regardless of the wearing of the red shirt.  

Speculators and rivals started the rumor that the Tiger's magic was now gone and that fear, uncertainty and doubt have begun to penetrate into the head that wears the crown.


A New Follower of The Red Shirt
A few weeks ago, Patrick Reed emulated Tiger Wood's tradition by wearing the red shirt and black pants in the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship golf tournament and winning it with four strokes under par.
. 
There is nothing more humorous than a competitor who uses a psychological tactic against its originator.   It is slightly underhanded but harmless. 

Side Notes
Click here on the NY Times article on the mythology of the red shirt. You could also click here for another view. 

Psychology is Strategy
While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the smart strategists rarely enable the competition to use their own tactics to affect them. They always have a counter move ready for that possibility.  

Minor league rituals do not always win contests and wars.  Sound and solid preparation usually positioned the competing strategist one step closer to the starting line.  Effort and attitude usually enable him or her to break through the finishing line. 

Without depending on extreme chance, the mindful implementation of "proper execution" (in a moderately predictable setting) triumphs in most cases. 

It does not matter whether you believe in this category of tactical preparation. From our own experience, we concluded that this practice is a good psychological booster for the implementer.  

In an extreme competitive scenario, each and every advantage point must be secured from contest preparation to ritual practice to field competition. In your area of competition, do you know what it is?


Minor Jottings
"Concentrate every effort on subduing its heart and mind." 

Military Methods  33 

Implementing the counterpart's favorite tendencies could be distracting and disruptive against them. 

"In planning never a useless move.  In strategy, no step is in vain."

Chen Hao

From our own private research, extreme but successful competitors quietly mastered the technicalities behind it before ever committing to it in a real time scenario .

Conclusively, the implementation of this "unique" approach is "fair game."

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Succeeding in the Info Economy by Assessing a Problem with the Phoenix Checklist

(updated 09/23/13 12:33 pm)

Do you think that you can succeed in our complex economy with a checklist without ever having to grind?

This "Phoenix Checklist" post originated from 

the plannersdilemma.misentropy.com.

The Phoenix Checklist

Was looking through my notes recently and came across the Phoenix Checklist - a set of questions developed by the CIA to enable their agents and operatives to think about a problem thoroughly. It should come in handy for us planners and strategists.

The problem

• Why is it necessary to solve the problem?
• What benefits will you receive by solving the problem?
• What is the unknown?
• What is it you don't yet understand?
• What is the information you have?
• What isn't the problem?
• Is the information sufficient? Or is it insufficient? Or redundant? Or contradictory?
• Should you draw a diagram of the problem? A figure?
• Where are the boundaries of the problem?
• Can you separate the various parts of the problem? Can you write them down? What are the relationships of the parts of the problem? What are the constants of the problem?
• Have you seen this problem before?
• Have you seen this problem in a slightly different form? Do you know a related problem?
• Try to think of a familiar problem having the same or a similar unknown
• Suppose you find a problem related to yours that has already been solved. Can you use it? Can you use its method?
• Can you restate your problem? How many different ways can you restate it? More general? More specific? Can the rules be changed?
• What are the best, worst and most probable cases you can imagine?

The plan

• Can you solve the whole problem? Part of the problem?
• What would you like the resolution to be? Can you picture it?
• How much of the unknown can you determine?
• Can you derive something useful from the information you have?
• Have you used all the information?
• Have you taken into account all essential notions in the problem?
• Can you separate the steps in the problem-solving process? Can you determine the correctness of each step?
• What creative thinking techniques can you use to generate ideas? How many different techniques?
• Can you see the result? How many different kinds of results can you see?
• How many different ways have you tried to solve the problem?
• What have others done?
• Can you intuit the solution? Can you check the result?
• What should be done? How should it be done?
• Where should it be done?
• When should it be done?
• Who should do it?
• What do you need to do at this time?
• Who will be responsible for what?
• Can you use this problem to solve some other problem?
• What is the unique set of qualities that makes this problem what it is and none other?
• What milestones can best mark your progress?
• How will you know when you are successful?

Our Comments on the Checklist  
The conundrum of planning is that it requires some forethought. The complication occurs when one has no foresight of the opportunities or any experience in maximizing those circumstances. Sometimes the predictability of the settings and the experience of the strategist determined the quality of planning.

The list is long and dreary.  Why would anyone in their right mind use that list?  Would you assess your situation with that list?

Lifehacker

The Gist of a Checklist

A basic checklist usually enables the implementers to be prepared to operate in a predictable setting. It also reduces some stress while allowing for a fewer surprises.

The Checklist vs. The Script
What are the differences between a "script" and a list?

• The list sometimes produces the illusion of stability. 
• The list is for people who believed that their settings are always static
• The script is designed for competitive people who proactively operate with a purpose and are methodical by style.
• The scripting process occurs after they have assessed the completeness of the Big Tangible Picture.
• The script enables its implementer to operate in the settings of order and disorder.

I presumed that you know why the Checklist-based scheme does not always work!?  ...  

Why the Script Works 
The script only works when one's strategic operational team has comprehended the configuration of their Big Tangible Picture (BTP) and possessed a grand understanding of the various strategic and tactical principles.  By understanding the strategic efficiency of their Big Picture, the implementers recognized what adds up and when it multiples.
Then they decided whether to play the "risk game of pursuing the multiplier" or "to stay focused" on their objective, be efficient until the project is completed.

Amateurs compile lists of objectives or steps while professionals devise scripts.

The Process of a Script Verses An Assortment of Rules 

Having a large list of strategy principles and operational measures cannot always help the strategic implementer if he/she does not know how to script their operation in a concise way. (Some of the pseudo experts tell their followers to utilize a few of their interpreted principles for the purpose of resolving their problems regardless of their situation. It should idealistically work. The key word is "idealistically.")

Fwiw, the size of one's endeavor is proportional to the importance of having a well-devised script.

The Compass Script

The Compass Script is our macro approach that enables the implementers to organizes their assortment of lists of tactical plays for specific situations. It also enables them to adjust their process and their objectives for certain situations

Our approach is specifically designed for short-term, reward-based projects with long-range implications. These projects are usually aligned to unpredictable strategic situations where the macro variables could change.

We will discuss how a typical Compass Script works in a strategic terrain in a future post.

Question of the Day

Does your team operate from a script?

Organizing Data is the 1st step.

Organization 
(Five staccato syllables to live by)

Organization leads to preparation
Preparation eliminates the unexpected. 
Be ready for everything. . . . 
Overlook nothing. ... 

"A team that is unable to discern good fortune and misfortune in the as-yet-uninformed does not understand preparations." 
- Military Methods, 22 (A minor revision on a concept from Sun Bin's Military Methods)

In any competitive strategy situation, the well-prepared and successful strategists are always focused on securing the last base camp before assaulting the summit.

In summary, preparation is the key. Knowing when and how to prepare for a planning and preparation situation is the first stage of preparation. ... Knowing what to plan for and how to plan is the next stage. ... It starts by assessing the situation and following your script to build the new situational script.

Trivia
Cate Blanchett, a famous Aussie actress, enjoys making lists and crossing items off as she accomplishes them.
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