Category Archives: strategy types

Strategy in the News: Ratcheting in the Ukraine; Foxtails and Camels

CRIMEA – News articles relating to Russia’s Crimea takeover have been unrelenting for the last month or more.   As well, there’s been much concern about potential incursions into other parts of the Ukraine, and for that matter, other former Soviet countries. A number of different actions and counter-actions have been reported, and many interpretations of the situation have been put forward.  But what do these moves really signify? Something we can call the Ratchet Strategy. Just a little history To understand how and why this strategy is being employed, we need a bit of context.  Then we can talk … Continue reading

Posted in random strategy topics, ratchet strategies, strategy types | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Bronco Busting; Disruptive Strategy

What’s happening here? There was a great deal of commentary by the sports pundits in the immediate aftermath of Super Bowl XLVIII.  The dust has since settled and we can now think more clearly about how the score of Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8, came to be. How could this have happened?  Going into the game, the Broncos had set a bunch of National Football League offensive records, including a remarkable average of nearly 38 points per game. And meanwhile, the Seahawks established themselves as the clearly dominant defensive-oriented team in the NFL.  So the game was framed by … Continue reading

Posted in defensive strategies, disruptive strategy, offensive strategies, strategy in the news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Distributed Strategy; the Personal Dikes of Hamburg

HAMBURG is a special city.   Having recovered from a real pounding during WWII, it’s become the 2nd largest port in Europe.  The prosperity coming with that is everywhere evident, not least along the waterways:  the many canals, and the large Elbe River, itself, with its energetic commerce.  Many of the canals are lined with beautiful homes and trendy old brick warehouse conversions. The Elbe is its own trip.  On the West bank resides the container ship port with all the ship traffic, giant cranes simultaneously unloading and reloading ships, and robotic vehicles transporting the containers to and from awaiting trains and trucks. … Continue reading

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The Great Wall; Defensive Strategy

The Great Wall – Standing on the Great Wall with friend & colleague Guy after finishing up business in Beijing …   You can get a sense for the unending and imposing character of the wall from the picture.  The photo was taken just moments before the Great International Cigar Incident occurred. Our private tour guide, Grace, had let us loose at the entrance to the wall stairs at the Mutianyu garrison.  She knew what we were in for.  We‘d targeted a specific guard tower high up on a hill as our goal.  It was a really tough climb up the … Continue reading

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Strategy Types: Critical Operations

LET’S take a quick look at some compelling strategy situations … 1.      SURVIVAL By a near miracle, or perhaps an actual miracle, you’ve just survived a night time airplane crash somewhere in the Amazon.  The Amazon is a big place and you don’t know where you are.  It’s also a formidable place, night or day.  You probably wouldn’t last more than several days in this environment before perishing, so you have to quickly make your way to safety. You sense that your chances of finding a village are poor and that perhaps you should try to arrange, instead, for someone else to … Continue reading

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The Winds of Patagonia; Cooperative Strategy

Down the E. Coast of Patagonia My friend Marcelo organized a car trip through Patagonia.  As a young guy he had worked on a Patagonian estancia and knew the territory well.  The plan was to start in Buenos Aires, drive down the east side of Argentina through the Pampas, along the Atlantic Coast of Patagonia, cross the Strait of Magellan, spend Christmas week with friends in Ushuaia on the island of Tierra Del Fuego, then re-cross the Strait, head west, drive back north along the Andes Cordillera, and then east again to Buenos Aires.  6000 miles.  We would be stopping … Continue reading

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