Strategy 101: An introduction to power

<p><pre><code> William Dttmer defines strategy as “the means and methods required to satisfy the conditions necessary to achieving a system’s ultimate goal.” </code></pre> Alright. Well that&#x27;s a very long winded way of saying &#x27;general plan&#x27; with a useless pet definition that adds nothing by some dude.<p><pre><code> Similarly, if you are interested in strategy, you will inevitably encounter military and business strategy. That doesn’t mean you need to enlist in the military, or sprout pointy hair. </code></pre> No kidding? This is promptly followed by &#x27;Conjoined Triangles of Success&#x27; type graphics.<p><pre><code> This insight, that strategy is iterative, is the core of John Boyd’s OODA loop. OODA is an acronym for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. </code></pre> This insight, throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks, is the core of Robert Matthew Van Winkle&#x27;s SCALE loop. SCALE is an acronym for Stop, Collaborate, and Listen.

„One of the most fundamental lessons I learned from my training at the Monastic Academy was that wise and loving people should have power. Power is morally neutral—used by people who lack wisdom and love, it causes tremendous harm. Used by those who are wise and loving, it can be of tremendous benefit.“ This is one of these assertions that seem to make complete sense, until you realize that there is no agreed upon definition of “wise” and “loving“, and thus we cannot even start to assess if it is wrong or right. Any assessment not starting with sorting this out will likely end up in circular reasoning („that guy is wise and loving, because he implements policies I like“, „He implements policies I like, because he is wise and loving“). I do not intend to hate, and I do not know the author (seems respected judging by the comments), still if someone says a thing like this is the most fundamental lesson he learned, I fail to understand what he could mean. How could you learn this? It also seems a very simplistic model.

Where are &quot;power&quot; and &quot;strategy&quot; defined in this 101?

OT: The OPs newsletter is one for the few I actually subscribe and read. I met him IRL at a conference in Atlanta. Changed my life. We spoke for about 5 minutes and his words continue to resonate. Thank you, Tasshin!

The core is twofold. Recognize power is an important thing. For good reasons, embrace and seek power.