The Grand Strategy Maker

My commute used to be incredibly boring. I'd drive into work listening to the radio. Uninspired music clogged the airwaves of the new music stations, and old songs that I've heard a million times continued on the classic stations. Don't even get me started on the ads. Nothing made me turn the channel faster than the ads, but what was I supposed to turn it to. Eventually, you get tired of looking for new sources of entertainment only to find the same songs playing. Not only that, but I felt like I was seriously wasting my time. I had moved to the outer edges of the city, which I preferred, and my commute went from 15 minutes to 30-45 minutes, which I didn't prefer. I had stuff I needed to do at home and wasting that time listening to the radio in my car for an hour each day, 5 hours each week, and 20 hrs every month did not sit well with me. So, I started listening to books on tape. Actually, I started listening to audio books that had been uploaded to YouTube. No one really has any excuse not to learn these days.

I'm struck by the parallels of my current project (Regenerative Resource Management) with the current book that I'm listening to: The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene. In particular I'm really struck by the Grand Strategy session. Listening to the description of Alexander the Great's campaign thru Persia and the commentary concerning the strategy employed has so many parallels to Regenerative Resource Management that I am compelled to record my thoughts on the manner. 

Alexander the Great came to power in the Hellenic League and quickly expanded his influence into Persia. The first few battles decisively won, many were urging him onward to destroy is enemy in Persia. Contrary to the advice that he had been receiving his entire reign, he slowed his campaign down. He had earned a reputation as a bold leader and it appeared at this time that that boldness had started to wane. What his advisers didn't know however, was that there was a larger strategic plan in mind. A Grand Strategy. A Grand Strategy that needed a more complete resource plan for success. 

Alexander the Great had clearly seen the Future Context that he wanted to create in his mind, had identified the resources he would need to fulfill that Future Context creation, and had developed the means to influence over those resources. Of course, he didn't use this language to describe the process, but the Grand Strategy did indeed follow this pattern. In this way, it became clear what action he needed to take. His goal was long term, and included more than just the military aspect. The military action may have been the most immediate and noticeable element of his rule and actions, but it wasn't the only aspect of the context in which Alexander was operating. Alexander, when he was developing his strategy didn't focus on the problem, he focused on the larger context.

 

The Regenerative Resource Management framework is a process that leads you thru the development of a strategic plan. It enables a larger view of the world in the use of context as a descriptive element and helps to identify the resources that you need to accomplish this larger context. Upon completion of the RRM process you will have identified your current context, articulated your Future Context, and built a decision making framework to coordinate not only your actions, but the actions of your staff in line with your Future Context. RRM is the Grand Strategy maker.