The Dao of the Unorthodox (Surprise) Approach or Play #6: The No-Huddle

The success of New England Patriots no-huddle offense can be based on Tom Brady the Pat's QB understanding of their competitor's tendencies in certain situations.  

Side note: We are presuming that this Belichick senior advisor who specializes in exotic strategic activities, is the "brain trust" behind that specific task.

Their no-huddle approach is based on the following steps

• Calls a specific formation (with a base set of tactical plays) from the line of scrimmage; 
• Reads the defensive reaction of the competition; and 
• Responds by adjusting the routes to the reaction.

Primary receivers run their designated route or the alternative route while secondary receivers either execute their "check and release" routes. Proper observation of the competitor's defensive alignment is the key to their adjustment.

This "read and respond" approach only works if the play caller's team have prepared themselves by mastering the entire set of relevant scenario adjustment plays for each formation.

Notes from the Compass Desk

The no-huddle approach has been used in the military and the other professional sports.  It is only a matter of time that certain business organizations utilize a similar approach to dominate their marketplace.

Knowing the objective and the approach for defeating a competitor is slightly easy.  The first step is knowing the tendencies of the competition.  Understanding the tendencies allows one to know the objective of one's competitor.  

Building the executable means that connected the modes to the approach is the other key to building one's strategic power.

You do know how to do both tasks.  Do you?

The Dao of the Unorthodox Play (5)

The following article is something that most businesses can learn from the "Russian Blitz" that occurred in the 17th of August 2008. ... The outcome can be described as the immediate effect of properly implemented strategic power

Military Analysis
Russian Blitz Meld Old-School Onslaught With Modern Military Tactics
By Thom Shanker
WASHINGTON — Russia’s victorious military blitz into the former Soviet republic of Georgia brought something old and something new — but none of it was impromptu, despite appearances that a long-frozen conflict had suddenly turned hot.

The Russian military borrowed a page from classic Soviet-era doctrine: Moscow’s commanders sent an absolutely overwhelming force into Georgia. It was never going to be an even fight, and the outcome was predictable, if not preordained.

/// Finding even parity in any "real" competition, is quite rare. The 2 on 1 is the minimum standard in most extreme street fights. ///

At the same time, the Russian military picked up what is new from the latest in military thinking, including American military writings about the art of war, replete with the hard-learned lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan.

/// The emphasis of most strategic classics is to provide the direction and the tactical view for  completing one's own objective.  ...  Most strategic readers (chief decision makers) faltered on their reading of the situations.   They usually become too entrenched with their obsolete belief. ///

So along with the old-school onslaught of infantry, armor and artillery, Russia mounted joint air and naval operations, appeared to launch simultaneous cyberattacks on Georgian government Web sites and had its best English speakers at the ready to make Moscow’s case in television appearances.

If the rapidly unfolding events caught much of the world off guard, that kind of coordination of the old and the new did not look accidental to military professionals.

“They seem to have harnessed all their instruments of national power — military, diplomatic, information — in a very disciplined way,” said one Pentagon official, who like others interviewed for this article disclosed details of the operation under ground rules that called for anonymity. “It appears this was well thought out and planned in advance, and suggests a level of coordination in the Russian government between the military and the other civilian agencies and departments that we are striving for today.”


/// In our modern society,  securing the political-social support of spectators has been a high priority for any relevant competitors.  ///


In fact, Pentagon and military officials say Russia held a major ground exercise in July just north of Georgia’s border, called Caucasus 2008, that played out a chain of events like the one carried out over recent days.

“This exercise was exactly what they executed in Georgia just a few weeks later,” said Dale Herspring, an expert on Russian military affairs at Kansas State University. “This exercise was a complete dress rehearsal.”

///  We presumed that the Russians spent much of their time preparing and rehearsing their implementation. They knew their Big Tangible Picture and were able to perform well-devised scenario modeling sessions.   In summary,  these activities increased their strategic effectiveness.

Russian special ops are famous for their synchronized offensive tactics. ///

Q:  Do you know how to perform scenario modeling?

Compass Rule of Preparation: 
The time that it takes to deploy one's plan is inversely proportional to the time that is spent planning your plan and preparing your team.

Our Compass AE process requires the project implementers to review and rehearse their recently-built Tangible Vision process before connecting to it. ///

Russian commentators have countered that more than 1,000 American military personnel were in Georgia for an exercise last month. But that exercise focused on counterinsurgency operations to prepare a Georgian brigade for duty in Iraq, a different mission than the seizing of territory or denying an aggressor a new stake on the land.

Even as the Russian military succeeded at its most obvious objectives — taking control of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, humiliating the Georgian government and crippling the republic’s army and police units — serious shortcomings on the Russian side were revealed during the brief fighting, Pentagon and military officials said.

To the surprise of American military officers, an impaired Georgian air-defense system was able to down at least six Russian jets. The Sukhoi-25, an aging ground attack plane, appeared to be the most vulnerable.

Georgia never has fielded an integrated, nationwide air defense system, and those ground-to-air weapons that survived early Russian shelling operated without any central control — and some without battle-command radars, as they were destroyed by Russian strikes.

That they bloodied the Russian air wing was taken as a clear sign of poor Russian aircraft maintenance, poor Russian piloting skills — or, most likely, years of insufficient funds for adequate flight training.

Russian-language media and unofficial national security Web sites in Moscow, which since the days of the disastrous Soviet foray into Afghanistan have developed a skeptical independent streak, also noted other shortcomings.

A Russian general in command of the 58th Army was wounded in the leg when he led a column of 30 armored vehicles toward the capital of South Ossetia, apparently without sufficient intelligence from scouts on the ground or surveillance aircraft overhead to know a Georgian ambush was awaiting.

The Russians also suffered losses as they came through the Roki Tunnel, which connects South Ossetia to the neighboring region of North Ossetia in Russia proper. Russian national security analysts said there was no air cover to protect Moscow’s forces in their first minutes on Georgian soil outside the safety of the mountain tunnel.

Despite these failings, the Russian military was able to coordinate infantry advances with movement of airborne troops, simultaneously with the deployment of armor and artillery. To be sure, they only had to travel short distances, but Russia was able to inject 9,000 to 10,000 troops, 150 tanks and 700 other armored vehicles onto Georgian territory in the first weekend of fighting, officials said.

Russian warships moved off the coast of Georgia, and Russian special operations forces infiltrated into Georgia through Abkhazia, according to Pentagon and military officials.

“This was not the Russian Army from the humiliation of Afghanistan, and it’s not the Russian military that had to flatten Chechnya to save it,” said one Pentagon official knowledgeable of how the fighting unfolded. Another said: “The Russian military is back. They are to be contended with.”

Despite a recent increase in Russian long-range bomber flights along old, cold war routes near United States airspace, the offensive into Georgia gave little indication of a renewed capacity or renewed interest in global projection of power by the Russians.

But Moscow’s military is wholly capable of pressing the Kremlin’s designs on hegemony over the formerly Communist states along the border that Russian leaders call “the near abroad.”

Russia prepared the battlefield in the months leading up to the outbreak of fighting.

In April, Russia reinforced its peacekeeping force in Abkhazia with advanced artillery, and in May it sent construction troops to fix a railroad line linking that area with Russia.

Georgia’s overmatched army of about 30,000 was able to field four combat brigades of about 3,300 soldiers each.

At the start of the fighting, the Georgian Army’s First Brigade was in Iraq, and subsequently was airlifted home aboard American aircraft — but without their war-fighting gear. The Fourth Brigade was in training for the next rotation to Iraq. The Second and Third Brigades were in western Georgia, closer to Abkhazia than to South Ossetia, where the fighting started.

The American military training for the Georgian troops has been described as involving counterterrorism for domestic security and counterinsurgency for the Iraq mission, with little emphasis on taking ground, holding ground or defending against invasion.

The influx of American training and American support might have left the Georgians feeling that their far smaller military could stand up to Russia in asserting sovereignty over South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

But Georgian command and control withered quickly under the Russian attack, and army and police units were operating on their own, often at cross purposes or overlapping missions.

/// Opposing operational responsibilities usually create internal conflicts. It also wastes time and resources. Poor leadership culture is the usual cause.

With our Compass AE strategic process, the implementers always know their operational objectives and how each objective is connected to each other in a sequentially mode.   ///

Although the Georgian units had been taught that speed of operations brings a mass all its own to the battlefield, and that improving accuracy in firepower brings a mass all its own, the lesson of the conflict is that, in some cases, mass has a mass all its own.

Russia easily smothered the smaller Georgian force.

The Importance of Momentum:
"When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of momentum; ... When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing. ... Thus the momentum of one skilled in war is overwhelming, and his attack precisely regulated. His potential is that of a fully drawn crossbow; his timing, the release of the trigger. ... " - Art of War, 5

Source: NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/world/europe/17military.html?pagewanted=all


The Compass View 
Successful professionals of this caliber are usually capable of coordinating and implementing multiple processes in a parallel order.

With a Big Tangible Picture, one can coordinate multiple processes sequentially while anticipating the next step. This reduces the competitor to the stage of grinding one objective at a time. This standard of performance does not always happen when competing against a competitor with greater resources and manpower.

Any project team can achieve this level of performance. They must build a strategic overview  that allows their implementers to view the "multiple process" in a geometric order. By understanding how everything is connected strategically, the team knows how to respond in certain circumstances. 

A project team that connects to their Big Tangible Picture, increases their efficiency while eliminating their redundancy. They are usually pre-positioned to move with momentum. 

In summary, this "automatic blitz" is the way of usurping the competitor's position. One will see more of this approach in business and some sports.

If you are interested in knowing more about our Compass AE process, please contact us at this link.

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.)

The Dao of Executing an Unorthodox (Surprise) Play (4)

Another way to implement an unorthodox attack is to have a multi-option offense. One of those options is to influence the competition to play the reactive game. Forcing them to spend their time guessing on what is the offense's next move, especially in a near-predictable setting.

The New England Patriots usually influence their competition with a no-huddle attack.

This mode of offense focuses on maintaining pressure by not taking a break between plays. It is equivalent to basketball's "fast break" tactic.

"Score first. Score fast. Score again." This is the mantra of a no-huddle attack.

The Pats usually score first in a short time. In some cases, they either were able to score or pushed the competition into a difficult field position.

During the second half of the season, some of their competitors were forced to catch up and usually were unable to maintain that pace.

One of their favorite formations is the dual tight end (TE) attack.

The uniqueness of this attack mode is that the Patroits TE's are quite multi-functionally talented. Beside running the basic TE receiving routines (i.e., post patterns, vertical streaks, 10-15 yrs hook patterns) and blocking like regular offensive linemen, they could also flawlessly run WR's routes with effectiveness.

Because of their size and their unique speed, there are technical and physical mismatches between the New England TE's and their competitor's linebackers and defensive backs.

Whenever their competitor's defense is able to contain them, the Pats QB then focused on their reliable wide receiver on the outside route.

The variational uses of the five eligible receivers within their pass/run game are endless.

Taking What the Defense Gives

In this situation, the QB recognizes the situational intent of the defense and decides on an opposite approach.

Whenever their offense sees a pass defending situation, the double TE(s) sometimes remain in the line formation and block for the run. In a run defending situation, one or both TE(s) occasionally run out for the pass.

Seizing What One Wants

Occasionally, the Patriots completely comprehends their competitor's tendencies and the weaknesses. Then, they would begin to dominate by running on their competitor's run defense and passing on their passing defense.

At that level of extreme competition, one targets the jugular.

Extending the Model to Business

So, how does this viewpoint applies to business?

In the information economy, the grand marketplace is presumed to be near-predictable. To dominate one's own niche, he/she must have the available options before ever implementing the offensive mode. Having multi-functional talent usually enables the chief planners to plan a diversity of efficient tactics.

Influencing their competitor to react out of their norm is the name of the game. The extreme competitor usually forces their rivals to spend much of their time thinking instead of responding strategically.

Summation

Knowing the tendencies and the weaknesses of the competitor and integrating the different options into one framework are two of the many steps to building one's strategic power.

The Dao of Executing an Unorthodox (Surprise) Play (3)

Notes from the Compass Desk

The professionals always surprised their targets

while the amateurs tricked their victims....

Tricks are for kids. - A Nameless Strategist

The objective of a surprise play is to influence the competitor to focus on an irrelevant terrain (situation) while implementing one's intent toward an relevant terrain unexpectedly.

Knowing their tendencies is essential. The next step is to create the proper illusion that baits and lures them into the wrong terrain. Idealistically, the final step is to implement the technical mismatches while attacking the non-obvious gap within the terrain. ... You can find more examples about this stratagem in any essays relating to the 36 Stratagems.

Depending on the situation, a surprise play could be consisted of many levels of steps (minutes, details, and ultra specifics). Many pseudo experts usually do not like to involve themselves in the planning stage of a uncertain situation.

The counter to any surprise play is to have quality manpower who could adjust their Big Tangible Picture (from the field level) and implement their operational tactics on the fly.

Side note: Click here for a previous post on strategizing in a near-predictable setting.

Final Thoughts

In any venture, the possibility of high reward usually means high risk. To compete in this unique economy, one has to be able to make that challenging decision to pursue that risk. It begins by having a Big Tangible Picture and being able to assess it properly. One cannot just plan without knowing their settings. (We see this behavior repeatedly. Willing and implementing a poorly-developed plan will have negative consequences.) ... While one is thinking of a surprise attack, what are the chances of their competition is thinking of the same option?

Understanding the true settings of their competition is necessary especially when one wants to prevent an unethical surprise assault. It is one of those keys that one needs to identify before finding the path of least resistance in the business world. There is no tangible reward for preventing that action. But it does reduce the stress of fixing the on-coming problem.

... Understanding the element of surprise (bilaterally) is one of the many keys to mastering the art and science of creating strategic power.

We will touch on the topic of 36 Stratagems in our future posts.

The Dao of Executing an Unorthodox (Surprise) Play (2)

"Victory has a thousand fathers; but defeat is an orphan." - JFK

In a near-predictable competitive terrain, surprising the competitor can be a challenging task.

In the case of the San Francisco Niners, they successfully executed a surprise play by understanding the tendencies of the opposition.

Objective: Subjugate the Competition's Intention

Situation: 4th Quarter, Saints 24 Niners 23. 2:18 left , 3rd down and seven yards, the Niners had the ball on the Saints 28 yard line

Step1: Assess the Big Tangible Picture by focusing on knowing the competitor's tendencies

Based on the tendencies of previous games and the current game observations, Greg Roman, the S.F Niners offensive coordinator called a play (“QB Whack.”) from the Shotgun formation. It was designed to beat a defense that overloads on one side of the defensive formation. To most amateurs, they believed that Roman's job was to pick the right side.

What Coach Roman did not disclose to the news media was that he saw many tendencies within the defense at a certain situation. By looking at the videos and the stats, Roman knew that Gregg Williams, the defensive play caller had a tendency of calling a blitz play during an absolute pass situation. Coach Williams also had a tendency of targeting the competitor's key strength and then forcing the QB to do things that he is not proficient at.

So, how does one exploits this tendency to one's advantage?

Step 2a: Position the competition toward a grand illusion by creating a bait and lure situation

By looking at the above video, the Niners offense presented the disposition of passing. The QB was five yards back from the line of scrimmage and no one was positioned in the backfield. Everyone on the defensive side were thinking "the pass" play was on.

Step 2b: Deceive the competitor from the trenches

Goodwin's instructed to the offensive line that suggested a passing play. The Saints countered by blitzing from the right side of the offensive line and Smith ran to the left side of the field.

Step 3: Influence the competition by implementing mismatching secondary situations

When the ball was hiked, Smith took the ball and ran to the non-blitzing side of the field. Kyle Williams, the wide receiver who was in motion, delivered the first key block – crashing down from the slot position on the left side to level Saints defensive end Will Smith. Then Joe Staley, the left tackle pulled from his position, sprinted downfield and neutralized Isa Abdul-Quddus, the Saints safety with a textbook cut block at the 10-yard line to ensure the touchdown.

Step 4: Know the score and the situation

After the Niners scored, there was 2 min and 11 sec left to the game. The Saints quickly scored and took the lead.

Step 5: Return to step 1 to step 4 until the game is over

The Niners adjusted to the situation and re-scored again with fourteen seconds left in the game.

The Saints defense went with a zone coverage, thinking that the next play was a run or the possibility of a short and outside pass. The Niners braintrust called a pass play that gave the image of a run. The key intent of this specific play was targeted on the tendency of the Saints safety. One should not be surprised that the Niners knew that he had an ankle injury from the week before.

The Final Score: San Francisco Niners 36 New Orleans Saints 32

One should always remember that the configuration of a successful situation is a composite of many elements, especially if the situation can be quite complex.

Compass Rule: Always assess, position and influence.

(More to come)

The Dao of Implementing an Unorthodox (Surprise) Play

"In the field of observation, chance (fortune)

favored the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur

Our associates are always asked this question, "how does one surprises their target?"

The answer is: understanding the tendencies of the competition. Click here, here and here (the video) for an unique example.

The Niners Implementation

One wonders how did Brad Seely, the Niners coach find this operational inefficiency within the St. Louis Rams special team?

One presumption is that the coach could have noticed that opposing special team signal caller does NOT always perform the due diligence of counting number of opposing players before the play, during the game review video session.

It is one of the many basic signals that some football fans missed. They become so involved in the action and rarely see the other parts of the bigger picture. (Fwiw, the game video for the coaches is quite different than the TV version of the game. It offers a broader scope of the game. The coaches usually have more tangible information to be processed.)

The Niners kicker was quite observant and fully prepared, that he quickly read and scan the full field for situational mismatches before executing it. This "read and respond" approach only works if the play caller's team have prepared themselves by mastering all of relevant scenario adjustment plays.

There are some other presumptions. Drop us a message and we will tell you.

Side note: Regardless of the predictability state of the situation, the successful strategist always ensures that the expediters are prepared for all tangible situations. If the execution errs in any way, then the root cause would be focused toward their execution. ... Do you plan and prepare your team to do that? ... In your settings, what is the probability of your competition surprising you with a new marketing tactic.

In summary, how do you assessed your competition? Better yet, how does your competition assessed you?