Real Strategy

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

Bill Carson — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 19:55:45 +0000

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 →

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Bronco Busting; Disruptive Strategy

Bill Carson — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:15:54 +0000

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 →

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Bad Strategy: Unintended Consequences

Bill Carson — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:13:00 +0000

Green River ON a hike in The Canyon Lands, some of our mountain friends encountered the legendary river runner Moki Mac. At the time he was managing operations at Utah’s Dead Horse Point State Park, and was concerned for the safety of the growing number of recreational boaters running the nearby Green River. Because of the extreme conditions, to ensure survival in case of a mishap, boaters would have to get out of the canyon within one day. But there was no known one-day route out of the canyon, so he wanted one found. Sizing up my friends (John, Grant, … Continue reading →

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Distributed Strategy; the Personal Dikes of Hamburg

Bill Carson — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:45:27 +0000

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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How to Defeat Control Strategies

Bill Carson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 16:34:10 +0000

THERE’S a cannon that’s already lobbed a couple of shells at you, creating geysers more nearby than you’d like. The gunner behind that cannon is your mortal adversary. He knows that if you can get in close enough, your torpedoes will blow his ship to Kingdom Come – and him with it. His advantage is long-range cannon power, and the stable platform of a battle cruiser to shoot from. Yours is that you’re driving the fastest, most maneuverable naval boat afloat. Your engines are red-lining and howling. You’re racing at his ship in your Patrol Torpedo (PT) Boat at maximum … Continue reading →

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Control Strategy

Bill Carson — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 04:50:48 +0000

TEA FOR TWO Two young Chinese ladies, performing for passers-by, hold the handles of their teapots two arm-lengths away from teacups and unerringly fill them without spilling a drop. The crowd is amazed. How did they do this? How could they control the tea so well as it was being poured? Answer: by using a control strategy that is at the root of controlling nearly all processes. Look at the ladies’ eyes in the photo. They’re not looking at the spout from which the tea is being poured. Actually, they’re not even looking at the rim of the cup … Continue reading →

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Negotiating Strategy; Selling on the Silk Road

Bill Carson — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:55:45 +0000

PUSHING BAZAAR The largest market in Central Asia is the Pushing Bazaar in Ashkabad. Why ”pushing”? Because it’s packed with potential customers and onlookers, and you have to push your way through the crowd to get anywhere. And once you’re there bargaining for something, if the action is interesting, people will push their way into the situation, offering their own assessment of the item’s value, and arguing with each other about it (in the Turkmen language – you haven’t a clue what they’re saying). It’s a pastime for them. The place is huge, full of color, texture and sound, and is roughly … Continue reading →

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Strategy in the News: Drones, a New Resource

Bill Carson — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 23:16:45 +0000

DRONING THE FARM Robert Blair’s neighbors have grown accustomed to seeing him launch a small aircraft over his fields in Idaho. It’s a nice-looking little plane about 4 ft. long, with a wingspan of around 8 feet, that systematically flies back and forth over sections of his land. What’s Blair doing with this thing? He runs a good-sized operation – 1,500 acres. It’s hard to know where and how much to be tending the crops on a spread this size. And the cost of tending them has risen dramatically as the costs of fertilizer, fuel and water have increased. So targeting … Continue reading →

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Pirate Strategy – Hey, it’s a business

Bill Carson — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 23:55:23 +0000

DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS After a couple of voyages as a youth, a certain young man took to the sea to seek his fortune in 1674. He shipped out of London, bound for the Caribbean and Jamaica. He ended up making 3 voyages around the world, and in the process became a superstar. His written observations and drawings of Galapagos Islands flora & fauna were reference works that Darwin took with him on the voyage of the Beagle some 150 years later (his materials were used by both Darwin and von Humboldt in the formulation of their theories). … Continue reading →

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The Great Wall; Defensive Strategy

Bill Carson — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 00:48:11 +0000

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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