Quotes About Strategy

They spent the next hour going over their plan and setting up their equipment. Stone loaded his software onto Carlos's laptop, then fit locators on Pike and Cole, one in Cole's hair, and the other on the back of Pike's belt buckle. Both Walsh and Hurwitz made multiple calls, coordinating the tactical SRT team and six additional Special Agents. At

Leopards did not chase prey like cheetahs, or stalk the tall grass like lions. The leopard simply set up on a wet spot, above the mud, out of sight, hidden. The leopard didn't need a cheetah's speed, or have to search for prey like a lion. The leopard knew if he staked out something his prey wanted, his prey would come to him.

Pike knew how to remain calm during the chaos of combat. He had been trained for it, and had survived withering fire in overwhelming combat situations dozens of times. He had learned to keep his head by thinking about one thing at a time. Access the situation, plan a single action, then commit yourself to that action. A war is won one maneuver at a time. Pike

This means that a small state in the midst of adversaries, such as Israel, has to be particularly passive, or particularly aggressive, in order to survive. It is primarily a matter of geography. 29

Since then, as the Chinese navy becomes larger and more wide-ranging, the bent toward Mahan has only intensified in Beijing, especially with the rise of Indian sea power, which the Chinese fear; the Indians, for their part, view the Chinese in similar Mahanian terms.

Grand strategy is about marrying ends to means, about doing what you can, consistent with the nation's capabilities and resources.

Related lessons: Don't go hunting ghosts, and don't get too deep into a situation where your civilizational advantage is of little help.

America is learning an ironic truth of empire: You endure by not fighting every battle. In the first century A.D., Tiberius preserved Rome by not interfering in bloody internecine conflicts beyond its northern frontier. Instead, he practiced strategic patience as he watched the carnage. He understood the limits of Roman power.

Kazakhstan is Mackinder's Heartland!

Direct attacks were foolhardy. The circumspect survived. And the deceitful prevailed.

In terms of game theory, the opposite of a failed tactic is not necessarily success.

Maintenance and resupply are the backbone of any military.

When you're in a weak position, getting the best deal possible is a victory.

Give the agent something easy to reject, something to justify his authority - that way they won't look too closely at the rest of your things.

The secret of victory is to find the point of maximum vulnerability and then strike. No matter your feelings. No matter how much you respect the enemy.

About winning and losing: It isn't important, what really counts is how you play the game. About playing the game: PLAY TO WIN!

To succeed in the game of power, you have to master your emotions. But even if you succeed in gaining such self-control, you can never control the temperamental dispositions of those around you. And this presents a great danger.

12--Lose Battles, But Win The War: Grand Strategy Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it.

He who poses as a fool is not a fool.

The key to power, then, is the ability to judge who is best able to further your interests in all situations. Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.

Hide your intentions not by closing up (with the risk of appearing secretive, and making people suspicious) but by talking endlessly about your desires and goals-just not the real ones.

Power is a game, and in games you do not judge your opponents by their intentions but by the effects of their actions.

Without enemies around us, we grow lazy. An enemy at our heels sharpens our wits, keeping us focused and alert. It is sometimes better, then, to use enemies as enemies rather than transforming them into friends or allies.

It is your own bad strategies, not the unfair opponent, that are to blame for your failures. You are responsible for the good and bad in your life.