Strategy as a Way of Life
"Know the Question. Then Find the Answer"
Is this your life? Breathing and moving in an increasingly linear, driven world with the tick of the market clock, drive-time, prime time… all the forces of our modern life that sometimes push us in a single direction of chaos.
Where going to and from vacations can be more exhausting rather than refreshing. Even the cycle of the seasons has become lost on us in our climate-controlled world. We cover huge distances in a matter of hours, jumping time zones without effort, yet few of us can tell what phase the moon is in or what time the sun rises each morning. If this is your schedule, welcome to the real world.
Here in the United States we are living in a world of macro transitions that is being powered by many macro-sized technologically-driven velocities of change. This can be a place where many people are looked upon as commodities and relationships are identified as transactions. By looking around, one can see that there are many people who are barely finding time to rest and think, while interacting with a continuous time-based world. The question that I hear continuously is "The world is shifting and changing so quickly and I am not changing fast enough. What can I do?"
My first suggestion is to find some quality time for the purpose of developing a proper systematic strategy that will allow you to stabilize your position and direction in life.
Step 1: Avoid the Confusion
Avoid the hypes around you and embrace the changes. Don't read any newspapers or access the Internet. Disregard the TV or radio. Just slow down and focus on spending some quality time re-centering yourself. You can relax by doing a single and simple task. These small but meaningful rituals are important because they allow you to focus on a single task or a sole mission. You can also relax by playing some music or doing Tai Chi Chuan. (In my case, I would just jump on my bike and go.) The bottom line is to focus on being consciously aware of yourself and your surroundings while enjoying the process of doing simple things. This exercise will teach you to become consciously aware of yourself and your surroundings while enhancing your concentration prowess.
"Be peaceful, easygoing, upright, and calm; then the measures you impose will be accommodating. If you are good at managing but are not calm, then empty your heart and even your mind, and wait for unease to fall away. This helps master rank." --- Kuei-ku Tzu (Master of the Ghost Valley)
Finding Your Temple of Serenity
To avoid external chaos, I recommend that you locate a clean, well-lit but serene place to contemplate and reflect. It can be a library, temple, church, coffee shop, or tearoom. Regardless of the location, the ideal locale should be a place where you can consciously slow down the pace of your life and think. It should be quiet enough to allow you to hear your own thoughts and where no one can distract you. Idealistically, this place will be your temple where you can focus on developing your "winning" strategy (presuming that you already know your mission).
"Now, if the estimates made in the temple before hostilities indicate a victory it is because calculations show one's strength to be superior to that of his enemy; if they indicate defeat, it is because calculations show that one is inferior. With many calculations, one can win; with few one cannot. How much less chance of victory has one who makes none at all! By this means you examine the situation and the outcome will be clearly apparent." --- Sun Tzu
Remember, establishing emotional control is important.
"It is the business of a general (or a strategist) to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled." --- Sun Tzu
"Therefore I say, know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril." --- Sun Tzu
REMINDERS
I have always been reminded by my former mentors of the importance of knowing the right questions before getting to the answer. Which is why I always draw a "question mark" on the wall whenever I am lost in midstream.
The next step is asking yourself a list of questions that will guide you in your endeavor.
The following is a list of 30+ questions that I ask myself.
Starting Points
- What is your current mission at this moment?
- Do you remember the importance of "strategizing" remotely away from the maddening crowd?
- What are your standards of excellence?
- Are you constantly prepared for most general "life and professional" situations?
- Do you remember that "developing and implementing strategy 24x7" is a way of life?
