Performing Our Annual Strategy Tradition

Our friends at Cook Ding's Kitchen have asked us whether we have followed through with our annual strategy book reading and reviewing session.   ... We quietly followed it as usual.

The Compass Strategy Tradition
Unlike the emotional-provoked people who liked to read the trendy "idea" books at any time of the day,  the smart strategists preferred to focused their time on honing their craft or expanding their influence.

During the winter season, they would spend a day or one weekend to read the various strategic classics for the purpose of reflecting on what is strategy.  Therefore, he/she will be strategically prepared when the spring season arrives. (This is one of the many psychological preparation tactics of the Wudang martial arts section.)  ... It is recommended that one chooses a cold day that would propel him/her to stay indoors. 

Following is an abridged list of books that some of us have reread:

• Peter L. Bernstein's  Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
• Boston Consulting Group's Perspective on Strategy
• Thinking Visually: Business Applications of Fourteen Core Diagrams;
• Weinberg's books on consulting, system thinking and individual effectiveness
• The Romance of the Three Kingdoms 
• Dr. Sawyer's books on ancient Chinese history and translations of strategic classics (especially The Strategies for the Human Realm)
• Dr. Roger Ames's series on Chinese culture.
• Scott A. Boorman's The Protracted Game
• F. Capra's The Tao of Physics

Another good tradition is the Cook Ding's Kitchen's Lenten challenge.

This specific tradition  reminds the reader to be aware of the relevant fundamentals that could guide him or her toward solving a problem.  

Being the readers of the classics, we believed in the philosophical view that there are no real new ideas.  The new ideas of the information economy are just an re-integration of classic ideas, with a new focus and a different message ( In terms of software, it could be a cleaner user interface.).

Regardless of one's profession, it is important to follow the "arcane" traditions that remind the smart strategists to strengthening their strategic foundation while being mindful of their goal.

/// updated on March 21st.