Fantasizing in the Information Economy with The "Art of War "Cult (1)

The Cult of The Art of War are in love with the concept of preaching and teaching the principles from Sunzi The Art of War (AoW).  ... They reminded me of a Sunday school's bible class where the teachers constantly recite the individual quotes without ever discussing the specifics behind the quotes in terms of a particular situation. 

An inspirational message can only go so far. ... Heaven helps those who are following these idiots. 

Beside not knowing the approach to connecting the right practices to the principles, these pseudo experts do not know how to assess a situation in terms of risk, uncertainty and volatility. 

Q: So, why are they teaching this fluff to their flock? 

A: No one cares about their reasoning. They just wanted to inspire their flock.

Side Notes

We have personally felt that there are numerous bogus experts who have tainted the true message of the Art of War.

Some of these bogus experts believed that the Art of War essay (or The Prince essay) is the absolute answer to outwitting their competitors. They also spent an abundance of time, emphasizing on the message of  "rah-rah" leadership  and self-empowerment while presenting an amateurish view of planning. 

This perspective indirectly means that these people could barely assess the predictability and the complexity of a situation without ever knowing how to assess its disposition, its momentum of change and the reality from the abyss of illusions.


Some of the serious strategy professionals quietly viewed this perspective as a moral hazard.  . . . However, these "thoughtless carbos" have served the immediate wants of the mindless masses. 

Why do some of these pseudo experts claimed that they know the Art of War when they do not comprehend the process of assessing their strategic settings?  After awhile, we stopped wondering about the reasons of that behavior.  ... In the information economy, deception is the norm.  ... The masses love the message of a "simple but irrelevant"  solution in a complex world.   ...  The flock that followed these pseudo experts, deserve the obvious  

Happy April Fools Day!

Interesting Trivia on The Best Practices of World Class Strategic Thinkers and Achievers

Following is our abridged list of proven and unproven trivia that we have researched:

Beethoven

• Rewrote his music composition constantly until it was visually perfect

Bill Walsh

• Always scripted a gameplan before proceeding on anything.
• Usually implemented a starter script of plays that barely had any connections from any recent games.
• Always had the minimum of one more scripted play than the competing coach.
• Believed in the concept of the system over goals. (If one believes in the system and follows it, the score takes care of itself.)

Jiang Tai Gong  (known as the Father of Strategic Studies)

• Emphasized on the practice  of creating a situation that lures the "intended and willing" target toward the fisherman 
• Emphasized on the practice  of catching orcas and sharks not goldfishes and guppies
• Emphasized the practice of reading the situation, profiling the principals in a situation and identifying their configuration before ever deciding on the objective and the tactical approach.

John Nash (Nobel Prize Winning Economist)

• Brainstormed his ideas while cycling in a figure eight pattern and humming J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue.

Mike Shanahan (former coach of Washington Redskins) 

• Uses a 15 Plays starter script to determine the tendencies of the competition 
• Always took proud in possessing a larger playbook than the competition

Miyamoto Musashi

• Dedicated himself to his profession by practicing the art of minimalism.
• Utilized two swords in certain combat situation while carrying a minimum of three implements.
• Utilized a wooden sword once he realized his sword skill has reached the highest level of swordmanship.

Mozart

• Was known to use a standing table when writing his music
• Visualized the content of his composition before writing his music
• Wrote his composition in one attempt.  

Steve Jobs

• Always emphasize on simplicity and quality in his products.

Sun Bin

• Emphasized on the practice of being tenacious, guile and insightful in adverse situations
• Emphasized the employment of various bait and lure tactics for the purpose of influencing the competitor into a disadvantageous situation
• Able to recite the entire text of the Art of War essay

Sunzi

• Emphasized the art of strategic efficiency in his famous essay  (Art of War)
• Believed in the approach of prevailing in a competitive situation through the exploitation of unorthodox and orthodox tactics

Wang Xu

• Taught the development of one's foundation of awareness through the various exercises for the purpose of learning strategy 
• Focused on the process of assessing, positioning and influencing one's settings while becoming mindful of the objective of being strategically effective.
• Taught Jiang Tai Gong's Six Secret Teachings to his many students (Sun Bin, Zhang Yin and others) .

Wuzi (The writer of Wuzi's Art of War)

• Believed in dedicating oneself to the grand cause of his employer.
• Specialized in strategic efficiency

Zhang Liang

• Strategize on being positionally ahead of the situation through the implementation of a "complete" strategy.
• Famous for 
• Preferred to operate from a remote site. 
• Buried with his copy of "Six Secret Teachings."  It was  rumored that a copy of "The Three Strategies of Huang Shek Gong" was included in the process.

Zhuge Liang

• Understood many subject matters (agriculture, engineering, meteorology, geology, etc.).
• Relied greatly on certain circumstances before acting. 

#

The Answer (3)

Lets begin this post with the question. It is an interesting question for those who are competitive.  Now, click here for part one of the answer (This post offers the perspective from the Art of War).  If it does not make sense, then click here for part two of the answer (This post offers another viewpoint from the game of Go (Weiqi).)

The Next to the Final Stage of the Answer
This is not a game theory situation, where there is a direct contest between two principals and everything is near-obvious.  In a competitive situation where there are many involving strategic factors.  Depending on the quality of information,  the situation could be quite complex.

The clues to this approach can be found in the first two sections of Jiang Tai Gong (JTG's) Six Secret Teachings and chapter one of the Art of War.

Step One: Understand the scope of the situation.  
By being two steps ahead of the game,  the successful strategists can play the Jiang Tai Gong approach of pre-positioning and luring.  You can find a good example in the 2010's Samurai movie classic "The 13 Assassins" where the protagonists knew the route, the strategic power and the tendencies of their target. Then, they altered their target's grand setting for the purpose of influencing him toward their lethal trap while transforming other portions of their own setting for the purpose of gaining a higher state of strategic power.

Sun Bin at Mai Ling is a good historical example.  ...  We will post the additional steps in the future.

Minor Jottings
Unlike what the Cult of the Art of War tells their followers, one cannot learn this skill from reading the Art of War.  It offers to the novices a mere glimmer of hope.   As many of us know, that hope is not a strategy or a destination.  Good strategic assessment begins by knowing the Big Tangible Picture of each principal in terms of their objectives, their approaches, the means and the modes.  ... Understanding the complexity, the connectivity, the consistency and the continuity of a Big Tangible Picture are some of the key points to a good strategic assessment.  

Those who are competitively ambitious, could build this exotic skill through the game of Go (weiqi) where misdirecting and luring are the norms.   He or she might get lucky in understanding the mechanics of these grand concepts after playing a minimum of 10 thousand games.  

So, how did we learned it?  We spent time talking to the various no-name experts who indirectly revealed the clues to us.   ...  Humorously, those who know, don't really say. They only offered their hints to us through their actions.

If your in-house strategists do not possess this unique skill, they will fail you in a chaotic competitive situation.


Sun Bin was a student of Wang Xu. In his school, he and his classmates were first instructed to the concepts of Jiang Tai Gong's Six Secret Teachings .  Sun Bin was later given a copy of Sunzi by his instructor. We wagered that he re-learned the approach of "baiting and luring" from reading chapter one and two of that essay and practiced it a few times before ever implementing it in a macro situation. 

The Aftermath of Poor Strategic Assessment

From SF Gate.com
" ... Among the most bitter disputes between the two cities is over library services. Piedmont pays Oakland $350,000 annually for the use of its libraries. In 2011, Oakland, facing severe budget cuts, slashed library services and asked Piedmont to increase its share to $395,000 annually. After all, Oakland taxpayers pay $20 million a year, or about $50 for every resident, to support the libraries. Piedmont residents, by comparison, pay just $35 annually.
Piedmont said no, on the grounds that any California resident can obtain a free Oakland library card, and theoretically Piedmont isn't required to pay anything at all. After months of negotiations, Piedmont still pays just $350,000.  ..."

A Deal is a Deal
The well-to-do citizens of Piedmont always had very experienced lawyers who could out-strategized  Oakland's under-experienced lawyers with minimum effort. 

By assessing the data in terms of the Five Critical Factors, the Oakland lawyers would not have made the blunder of agreeing to a static number.   (Somewhere deep in our blogs, one might find the specifics behind our interpretation of the Five Critical Strategic Factors.  ... The basics can be found in the first chapter of the Art of War. Knowing how to use it for assessing the Big Tangible Picture is a special arcane skill that most members from the Cult of the Art of War do not possess. They are too busy memorizing all 300+ principles.)

Those who cannot think and strategize ahead regarding to connecting the specifics to the Big Tangible Picture, usually falter in their implementation.
  
Establishing a self-serving deal is 9/10th of the game.  ... Escaping with it is the other 10th.  ... 

In summary, "the letter of the lawful deal" overrides "the spirit of the deal."

Sun Bin: The Art of Warfare (Military Methods) (10)

(Wikipedia)

Do you know how to connect Sun Bin's practical tactical concepts to Sunzi's philosophical principles of strategy?

Sun Bin: The Art of Warfare (Military Methods) (9)

The two "Questions of the Day" are:

• Do you know how to connect the tactical-based principles of Sun Bin to the Art of War?

• Do you know how to utilize the Sun Bin's concept of ruthless efficiency to your advantage?

Compass Practice: Reading What the Professionals are Reading

Seven Military Classics of Ancient China

" ... Six Warring States texts supplemented by the Questions and Replies -- a late T’ang dynasty work that essentially constitutes a reflective overview -- preserving their concepts, tactical principles, operational guidelines, and world view comprise the Seven Military Classics: T’ai Kung Liu-t’ao (Six Secret Teachings), Ssu-ma Fa, Sun-tzu Ping-fa (Art of War), Wu-tzu, Wei Liao-tzu, and Huang Shih-kung San-lueh (Three Strategies).

(Although the Art of War remains the only book known in the West, the Wu-tzu and Six Secret Teachings proved to be highly important sources for military wisdom over the centuries, and the latter continues to be held in higher esteem among contemporary PRC military professionals.)

The Question of the Day

Do you know why those two specific classics are still relevant in the area of strategic development and analysis?

The Question of the Day

How does one assess their competition with Sunzi's strategic principles?

One cannot effectively plan if he/she does not understand the configuration of their competitor.

The Question of the Day

Do you know how to connect the Art of War principles to the game of Go (weiqi)?

Ask your "local" Sunzi reader/expert if he/she knows how to do it.

If you want to learn how to strategize and operate in a multi-front situation, we recommended that you learn how to play this game. While it takes eight to ten minutes to learn the basics, you would need a lifetime to master the scheme.

So, do you have the time to learn the game and master it?

For advanced strategic thinkers, there is a way to apply the 36 Stratagems to the game of GO. Whether he or she has the time to learn it, is a different story.

The Question of the Day

Ask your "loco" Sunzi readers and experts the following question- What are the distinctions and the differences between Jiang Tai Gong's Six Secret Teachings and Sunzi's Art of War?

When one can determine that connective view of Jiang Tai Gong and Sunzi, he/she is able to increase the scope of their Big Tangible Picture (BTP).

Seeing the Dao of Everything

"In planning, never a useless move.

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

In the "Year of the Dragon", President Obama (and his team) made the right political move to visit San Francisco's Chinatown. ... The President presented his brand of leadership by establishing the act of credibility with some of his vast voter base. He methodically displayed the courage of leaving his car and began the process of "meeting and greeting" with some of the residents of San Francisco's Chinatown while picking up some Chinese food. This act of being benevolent, also displayed the image of wisdom to the Chinese residents. ...

# Update: The above act is a political flavor of implemented strategic power. Do you know why?

Source: KTVU

Exemplary leadership is about properly demonstrating an assortment of actions relating to wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage and discipline to the right people at the right time. ... Smart political leaders of all sorts who are mindfully aware, usually performed this deed quite well.

Seeing the Dao of their settings usually enables one to shape their grand terrain and its "connecting" secondary terrains. ... One who consistently connects these dots, will eventually succeed in the information-based opportunity economy.

Remember, macro coincidences are usually scripted.

The Question of the Day

(Wikipedia)

Do you know how to connect the 36 Stratagems to the principles of the Seven Chinese Strategy Classics (aka. Seven Military Classics of Ancient China)?

If not, ask your "loco" strategy expert (esp. if he/she is a Sunzi's AoW believer) to explain it to you. The serious readers and the prolific experts of the Seven Chinese Strategy Classics should know the answer.

Those who do not know, should spend some time studying the Li Quan commentary on Sunzi. It is all there. (We only took eight hours to solve the essence behind that essay.)

Gaining the Informational Advantage by Knowing the Big Tangible Picture (2)

New England Patriots 45 Denver Broncos 10

When one competitor easily scores five touchdowns in the first half of the game, the serious and insightful spectator could have presumed that they have already identified the absolute weaknesses of their opposition and decided on capitalized on those opportunities.

Look at the stats and see if you have the same conclusion.

When certain strategic and tactical factors between the competition evens out, quality intelligence becomes relevant to those who want the advantage.

Compass Rule: The quantity of quality information is proportional to the quantity of strategic advantage (strategic power) that one might have.

note: There is an exception to this rule.

Additional note:

Most football fanatics knew that the Patriots were going to win. The question was: are the Patriots able to play dominance football against the Broncos? ... I presumed that the "inside knowledge" positioned the staff's preparation into a state of readiness and the team into a state of dominance.

Gaining the Informational Advantage by Knowing the Big Tangible Picture

Fwiw, the New England Patriots are playing Mr. Tebow and the Denver Broncos this coming weekend.

Bill Belichick, the head coach of the New England Patriots recently made a masterful move by immediately hiring Josh McDaniels his former offensive coordinator as his new offensive coordinator for the next season, since his current coordinator Bill O'Brien will be leaving for Penn State after the Patriots football season is over.

One can only expected that the Patriots defense will gain a slight informational edge from the presence of Josh McDaniels. He was the former coach of Tim Tebow, the quarterback of the Denver Broncos team and some of the other Denver players who played in the previous season.

What is the chance that Coach McDaniels has an understanding of the habits and the situational tendencies of certain players? ... The Patriots now had one extra week of preparation and the insider information on how to prepare against the Broncos. ... So, which team has the advantage now?

Compass Analysis

• Terrain Factor: Patriots (Home Territory)
• Offense vs. Defense: Patriots
• Strategic Playoff Experience: Patriots
• Informational Advantage: Patriots
• Divine Intervention: Irrelevant
• The Wild Card Factor: Broncos

{There are more factors.}

Prediction: Pick the Patriots to defeat the Broncos.

#

The Information Advantage

When the categories of various critical strategic and tactical factors are evened out between the competitors, the possession of quality intelligence becomes quite relevant. ...

Compass Rule: The quantity of quality information is proportional to the quantity of strategic advantage that one might have.

The Sunzi's Advantage

... Did the reading of Sunzi's The Art of War presented Coach Belichick the true insight to make this move? (In the AoW world, the diehards know that he is supposed to be one of the many enthusiasts of the Sunzi classic.) ... I doubted it. ... It was his ability to see the connections within his version of the Big Tangible Picture and having the mindful awareness to make the right decisions. ...

From our experience, reading any book on strategy and tactics could guide someone so far. ... (However the AoW and the rest of the Seven Strategy Classics are quite good at giving good pointers. By carefully reading those books, one can indirectly find the connections between the exploitation of intelligence to the "terrain" level of the competition. ... Ask your local Sunzi reader/expert if he or she knows that connection?) ... Integrating the principles and the protocols into a d0-able process that would enabled him or her to operate efficiently, is the challenge. If it is done properly, the performance of its users would be elevated toward a higher plane of competition.

The Dao of the Successful Strategist

... The successful strategist begins his endeavor of achieving the state of strategic effectiveness when he sees the Big Tangible Picture by knowing how things are connected. Then he assesses it in terms of advantages and disadvantages. The next step is to position himself with a sound and solid plan and proper preparation. The final step is the influencing of the target with a myriad of orthodox and unorthodox strategies.

Do you know how everything connects in your competitive terrain and beyond? ... Do you have the intelligence advantage?

The Practice of Scripting

It is football season again. In our case, we belong to to that unique group of serious fans who enjoyed the x's and o's of this great game. We also preferred to know what are the best practices that are being used to enhance a team's strategic performance.

One specific practice that we have adapted from the Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense system is the 25 Play (Starter) script.

Following are some of the objectives behind the 25 Play Starter script:

1. To test the tendencies and the possible weak points of the defense with various formations, shifts and motions;
2. To identify the defensive reaction to certain plays;
3. To recognize the decision process of the defensive play caller; and
4. To use the outcome of certain scripted plays to stage the opposition at a later part of the game.
5. To determine whether it is possible to impose one's will's onto the opposition's psyche.

The starter script is one of the most well-used tools in the game of football.

Some preferred to use a 15 or 20 play starter script to pursue the immediate weaknesses of their targeted opposition. This step requires the following: profound intelligence collecting process and implementation; deep strategic assessment skills, a good plan, a deep understanding of strategic fundamentals.

In summary, the script is more about choosing what plan to follow and less about developing a plan on the spot.

You can read more about it by clicking on this link, this link and this link .

From our experience, a script of tactical moves is a good tool to use in an unpredictable setting, . Why? Ask us.

Here is a list of questions that you should always think about:

1. Have you always assessed your competition before the situation begins?
2. How do you usually assess your competition?
3. Do you know how to integrate your intelligence gathering to your script?
4. Do you ever create a starter script of tactical plays against your competition?
5. Do you know the rules for building a starter script?
6. Do you know how to use the outcome of certain scripted plays to stage the opposition at a later stage of the situation?
7. Do you know when to change the order of the script?
8. Do you know when to exit from your script and when to reuse the script again?
9. Do you know how to use the script as a psychological tool?

Compass Rules:

• A specific process does not make a strategist. It is the strategist who makes the process effectively effective.
• Good strategic assessment is the 1st step to creating a predictable setting.

Q: Do you know the key to developing a very good script?

Final Notes

Based on our experience, our customized script process is a very good planning tool. The emphasis of this script is focused on being prepared for various contingency situations.

It can also be used for scenario modeling.

In most cases, we usually re-configured the format for various strategic projects. For the Chinese strategic fanatics, we have an experimental version that is based on Sunzi's (Sun Tzu) principles of efficient competition. If you are interested in learning about this tool, send us a message by clicking on this link.

Thanks!

Applying the Sunzi's Strategic Principles to the Real World

Click on this link for an interesting article on how the New York Police Department (NYPD) is indirectly using the Sunzi's strategic principles to find domestic terrorists. The Sunzi's AoW aficionado should be able to identify the strategic principles of the AoW that are in play within a New York minute.

In order to prevent terrorism, the NYPD is focused on identifying the possible strategic power of the opposition through their various intelligence gathering activities. ... It all begins by comprehending the macro configuration of the greater terrain, the current state of the terrain and the various adjusted situations. (We will continue this specific point later.)

Process:

Securing the path of minimal resistance begins by identifying the source behind the opposition's strategic power and the grand terrain that encompasses it. Pinpointing the operational attributes of the terrain (i.e, the information flow, the applied economics, the implemented logistics, etc.) take a great deal of time. ... Securing field level intelligence is usually quite different form the data found on-line. Instead of delivering with the context, one could see the specifics behind the content.

With the proper execution of assessing, positioning and influencing (API), one can prevail over their opposition with the greatest impact in minimal time and the least amount of costs.

Is your strategic team doing that for you?

Compass Rule

Assess. Position. Influence.

(minor content update: 09.10.11)

Compass Tradition: Recognizing the Application of the Art of War (and other Strategic) Principles in the Movies

During our off-hours, some of us occasionally spent some of our time observing how the "Art of War" strategic principles are being used in certain action movies (and in political-economic and social matters). In our review session, we also discussed whether the strategic implementation could have been improved.

Recently, the 13 Assassins movie was one of few films that indirectly shows how a battle is strategized and fought from the perspective of the Art of War essay.

This movie never ever mentioned anything that relates to the Art of War . We would only presumed that the chief assassin was a devotee of the Sunzi's classic. The movie quietly preached its principles without ever mentioning it. That is considered to be the way of all ways.

Serious Art of War (AoW) followers can see some of the terrain traps and the strategic leadership errors that Sunzi warned his readers about. They would also see how strategic power can be created through good strategic assessment, the positioning of the strategic power through planning and preparation and the influencing of of their power.

In this movie, the underdog prevailed over the odds of grand numbers by doing the following:

• assessing the terrain;
• positioning themselves ahead of the opposition; and
• influencing them with their strategic power.

The Process of Assess

The protagonist and his team assessed the configuration of terrain, the behavior of the target and the many possible scenarios that could happened.

The Process of Position

Once the assessment was completed,. they built a plan and transformed their arsenal of various strategic factors toward a small but tangible state of strategic power (or strategic advantage).

The Process of Influence

Proper pre-positioning enabled them to influence their target toward a circumstance of implementing poor strategic decisions.

(from Magnet Releasing)

Yusuke Iseya and Takayuki Yamada in '13 Assassins.

Click here for a video trailer and a very good review from the Wall Street Journal. NY Times also provided a well-written review on this movie.

Notes from the Compass Desk

Observe how the fisherman analogy was subtly utilized in this film and how the chief assassin used it against the targeted antagonist. (This concept of baiting and luring the target into a trap is quite popular with ancient Chinese strategists and modern business practices.)

Also, observe how the chief assassins re-configured the terrain into their framework of strategic power.

To the strategy aficionados, we highly recommend this movie. Be aware that it is quite violent and bloody.

Side note: You can also find the various strategic and tactical principles embedded in the Red Cliff movie. We also highly recommended the classic movie titled Seven Samurai.

Final Notes

Whether you are in a competing or cooperating situation, always follow these three Compass rules:

• Always assess the Big Tangible Picture before positioning and influencing.
• Identify and comprehend the risks behind the various advantageous and disadvantageous factors within the Big Tangible Picture.
• Always know the small points, the urgent points and the big points of your situation

By assessing properly, one can decide on whether "the act of subjugating the predominant paradigm" of the target is possible.

Assessing the Basics of Strategic Leadership

Unlike some other strategy forums, we have avoided the practice of treating the Art of War like a book of fortune cookie sayings. Not only does it demeans the essence of that book, it gives the new reader a narrow view of what strategy is about.

One key to assessing a specific situation is to study the quality leadership behind each competitor and then connecting the situation to a set of principles.

Someone sent us this news item and asked us to offer our assessment.

We viewed the situation where the vision of the leadership contradicted with the intent of the staff.

“In competition, two of the six types of organizational errors are chaotic and setback. This disaster is not caused by nature and the marketplace but by the leader's errors. ... If the leader is weak and not disciplined, unclear in his instructions and leadership; the implementers and the expediters lack discipline; and their deployment of expediters into formation is in disarray, it is termed chaotic. ... If the leader, unable to estimate the prowess of the opposition, would make a poor strategic match up decisions, it is termed setback. ... if you know the competition and know yourself, your victory will not be jeopardy. If you know the nature of your terrain and know the configuration of your terrain, your victory can be complete.” - AoW 10

Mr. Newt Gingrich misunderstood the strategic power of his competitors and the relationship with his team. He should have focused his attention on securing more political and economic capital for his team, not going on vacation with his wife. Since there are more than five candidates, the competition for the pie of GOP donors was going to be fierce. Without this capital, his campaign was grinding. In a high-risk, high reward competitive situation, a right-minded group of professionals wanted to work for a campaign that had a winning chance.

Side note: What is the probability and the possibility of his former team is now heading to the Lone Star State?

Retrospectively, Mr. Gingrich did not show the discipline to make the right strategic move. The consequence is that his credibility for making the right move has been temporarily destroyed. ...

However, Newt can always fix his image by following the legend of Wuzi. Whether he is able to do something like that, is a different story. ... You can make up your own conclusion on this matter.

We wished much success to Mr. Gingrich in his next professional move.

Compass Rule: Always assess the Big Tangible Picture before deciding on the next move.

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 }

Applying the AoW Principles in the Real World

Governor Jerry Brown has been known as a major implementer of the Art of War (AoW) principles.

The Process

In his past political campaigns, Governor Brown and his team usually assessed the big picture within his grand terrain and the massive participants within it. Once the situation and the prevailing influences are recognized, they examined the advantages and the disadvantages and then quietly adjusted to the relevant points with solid planning and preparation.

This practice of the process has put Jerry Brown into a strategic position of near-political invincibility.

During the 2010 campaign, Jerry Brown consistently displayed the political image of wisdom, benevolence, credibility, discipline and courage while adjusting to the political voice of his terrain.

At the end, he was able to win back his old job as the Governor of California, with minimum effort from the competition.

Then and Now

Governor Brown is currently trying to influence his fellow politicians and his constituents on the benefits of his tax extension measure. Getting the votes behind it while countering the argument of the possible drawbacks has been a grinding challenge for him

Photo from Artofwarchess.com

Ruminations from the Compass Desk

The key to strategic success is to understand the Big Tangible Picture (BTP) in terms of the prevailing influences (political, economic, social, etc.).

There are many approaches to viewing the BTP. Some people prefer to see it from a result-oriented outcome view. Others would rather look at it in terms of different categories (i.e., the civil factors, the martial factors, the leadership, the tactical essentials and the tactical specifics.) Whether they can connect those categories of data together and see the risk-benefits and the risk-consequences, that is a different story.

Certain situations demand different view. It all depends on one's own skill and the specifics of that situation.

In our world of instantaneous demand, the only thing that counts is the results. Whether the people are able to achieve their ends is a different story.

Side note

Interestingly, there are some strategic implementers who prefer to espouse the virtue of the Art of War principles by using one or two principles (from a pool of 360+ principles) at a time.

Serious strategy professionals usually prefer to read the Seven Strategy Classics (Seven Military Classics of Ancient China). It gives them a grander perspective of the following points:

• grand strategic view;
• macro strategic view;
• operational strategic view; and
• tactical strategic view.

In our future posts, we will elaborate on how to connect those points into one big tangible picture.