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December 21, 2004
Strategy – the study of communication
Recently reading TE Lawrence’s biography “Lawrence of Arabia” by B.H. Liddell Hart and came across some really great quotes and thoughts on strategy.
Lawrence was a great student of military and political strategy (as was Liddell Hart – an awesome strategy thinker
in his own right). Before he helped engineer the Arab revolt that so deeply influences world politics today, he read all kinds of more or less obscure books on strategy. Here are some thought provoking quotes from his readings:
From Wilhelm von Willisen (mid 1800s), he found a definition of strategy that truly spoke to him:
- “The study of communication.” This is really interesting – all about how you move, stay in touch with your resources and allies and stay on top of what is going on. Not to be flip but it sounds a lot like the core of marketing – products as conversations, businesses as conversations, teams as conversations.
From Marshal Saxe (mid 1700s) he learned some of the fundamentals of unconventional competition that we think about all the time when it comes to the stealth play:
- “I am not in favor of giving battle, especially at the outset of a war. I am even convinced that an able general can wage ware his whole life without being compelled to do so.
- “The whole secret of the art of war rests in the legs and not the arms”
Valuable lessons for taking the indirect approach. Think of the dynamics. What is the reaction to your action? What is your ability to manuever? What is the value of direct confrontation? What are the risks? What makes most sense given your objective, your abilities and those of the others on the field?
Posted by johnza at December 21, 2004 08:06 AM
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The guys at Marketing Playbook have been reading T.E. Lawrence's biography, where it's disclosed that Lawrence read broadly on strategy. [Read More]
Tracked on December 27, 2004 09:30 AM
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