Quotes About Strategy

Not randomly, though. Farder Coram was a chess player, and he knew how chess players looked at a game in play. An expert player seemed to see lines of force and influence on the board, and looked along the important lines and ignored the weak ones; and Lyra's eyes moved the same way, according to some similar magnetic field that she could see and he couldn't.

Adelaide played statecraft with all the guile and passion that she put into her other games, and Becky began to realize that perhaps she had been preparing for this with every throw of the dice, every move of a chess piece.

we can only defend democracy by being undemocratic

And Lord Asriel has a way special to himself of bringing about what he wants, he just has to call for something and—

try to shorten the base paths in order to reach home plate faster and score. All you will have accomplished by that technique is to cheapen the value of a run.

Sampras, por otro lado, parece flotar como si fuera caspa por toda la pista. Philippoussis es como un ejército de tierra grande y terrible; Sampras es más naval, más de la escuela de acercarse con sigilo y rodear al rival. Philippoussis es oligárquico: él tiene su voluntad y busca imponerla. Sampras es más democrático, es decir, más caótico y también más humano.

to let the military direct the entire process...is so dangerous that it must be resisted at all costs.

Relying on luck, however, does not constitute a policy.

The counterinsurgent reaches a position of strength when his power is embedded in a political organization issuing from, and firmly supported by, the population.

Prévenir le terrorisme, et non pas attraper le terroriste une fois qu'il a commis l'acte, est sans aucun doute la tâche la plus difficile de toute contre-insurrection.

Je veux que le lecteur comprenne bien ce qui était en jeu pour moi à ce moment-là. Les guerres d'insurrection et de contre-insurrection sont extrêmement vicieuses puisqu'elles impliquent personnellement tous les hommes, militaires ou civils, des deux camps, qui se trouvent être dans le théâtre d'opérations. Personne

You can't take on the Nadir army with three men, said Harokas. What do you suggest? Four would even the odds.

Beware the wooden horse, Agamemnon King, Conqueror, for it will roar to the skies on wings of thunder and herald the death of nations.

grinned. 'Xenophon taught me that victory is achieved by putting the thought of defeat into the heart of your enemy. To him goes the honour.

As long as you react, your enemy holds your destiny in the palm of his hand. When you force him to react, you hold his neck in yours.

Never to let your enemy read your eyes. Do not think of an attack—just do it!

A servant brought them food and watered wine, and Parmenion sat and listened as Xenophon told of the March to the Sea and the evils that beset the Greeks. He outlined his strategies and his successes, but also talked of his failures and the reasons for them. The hours passed swiftly and Parmenion felt like a man dying of thirst who has found the Well of All Life. He

Respecting your opponent is the key to winning any bout. Hold your enemy in contempt and you may miss the strategy behind his moves

Mao's conviction, "Give me a path wide enough to move a mule and I will move an army.

General Bruce Clarke's Guidelines for the Leader and the Commander

These goals are not unique to us. Our best competitors almost certainly have similar, if not identical goals. If we are to outperform them, we don't need a better vision, but a better approach to making it happen.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission properly.

No single move traps the king.

We must conserve our strengths for the battles we can win.