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Category Archives: strategy design
Bad Strategy: Unintended Consequences
Green River ON a hike in The Canyon Lands, some of our mountain friends encountered the legendary river runner Moki Mac. At the time he was managing operations at Utah’s Dead Horse Point State Park, and was concerned for the safety of the growing number of recreational boaters running the nearby Green River. Because of the extreme conditions, to ensure survival in case of a mishap, boaters would have to get out of the canyon within one day. But there was no known one-day route out of the canyon, so he wanted one found. Sizing up my friends (John, Grant, … Continue reading
Posted in bad strategies, strategy design, strategy review Tagged bad strategy, brainstorming, Canyon Lands, cobra effect, cobras, creative thinking, devise, football helmet, Green River, how to, monkies, objective, side effects, strategy review, thinking skills, unintended consequences, Utah 6 Comments
Distributed Strategy; the Personal Dikes of Hamburg
HAMBURG is a special city. Having recovered from a real pounding during WWII, it’s become the 2nd largest port in Europe. The prosperity coming with that is everywhere evident, not least along the waterways: the many canals, and the large Elbe River, itself, with its energetic commerce. Many of the canals are lined with beautiful homes and trendy old brick warehouse conversions. The Elbe is its own trip. On the West bank resides the container ship port with all the ship traffic, giant cranes simultaneously unloading and reloading ships, and robotic vehicles transporting the containers to and from awaiting trains and trucks. … Continue reading
Control Strategy
TEA FOR TWO Two young Chinese ladies, performing for passers-by, hold the handles of their teapots two arm-lengths away from teacups and unerringly fill them without spilling a drop. The crowd is amazed. How did they do this? How could they control the tea so well as it was being poured? Answer: by using a control strategy that is at the root of controlling nearly all processes. Look at the ladies’ eyes in the photo. They’re not looking at the spout from which the tea is being poured. Actually, they’re not even looking at the rim of the cup … Continue reading
Posted in control strategy, strategy design Tagged closed loop, control strategies, control strategy, devise, feedback loop, freeway, how to, loop, rolling mill, tea pouring 5 Comments
Resources in Strategy; Lye Brook Wilderness
BOURN POND Its nice sitting in this tree. The sun has broken through intermittent clouds, switching on the brilliant leaves of my red maple. This is no ordinary tree. It’s a cage. The main trunk is normal for the first two or three feet. Then it splits into 5 sub-trunks that start horizontally for a couple of feet, then go straight up, creating a cage. Once inside it, your visual field is saturated red leaves. Gorgeous. The tree is on the shore of Bourn Pond in the Lye Brook Wilderness in southern Vermont; it’s the only place I’ve seen trees … Continue reading
Posted in Gray Area, strategy anatomy, strategy design, strategy elements Tagged Bourn Pond, creative thinking, devising, Gray Area, how to, Lye Brook Wilderness, resource, resourceful, silk, spider, survival, thinking skills, web 3 Comments
The Winds of Patagonia; Cooperative Strategy
Down the E. Coast of Patagonia My friend Marcelo organized a car trip through Patagonia. As a young guy he had worked on a Patagonian estancia and knew the territory well. The plan was to start in Buenos Aires, drive down the east side of Argentina through the Pampas, along the Atlantic Coast of Patagonia, cross the Strait of Magellan, spend Christmas week with friends in Ushuaia on the island of Tierra Del Fuego, then re-cross the Strait, head west, drive back north along the Andes Cordillera, and then east again to Buenos Aires. 6000 miles. We would be stopping … Continue reading
Posted in cooperative strategies, strategy design, strategy types Tagged Andes, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Argentina, Buenos Aires, bump drafting, car, cooperative strategy, dogfight, elements, external factors, Great Enabler, mismatch, NASCAR, parties, Patagonia, resource, Strait of Magellan, sub-strategy, Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, wind 4 Comments
