Tag Archives: elements

Strategy in the News: Drones, a New Resource

DRONING THE FARM  Robert Blair’s neighbors have grown accustomed to seeing him launch a small aircraft over his fields in Idaho.  It’s a nice-looking little plane about 4 ft. long, with a wingspan of around 8 feet, that systematically flies back and forth over sections of his land. What’s Blair doing with this thing?  He runs a good-sized operation – 1,500 acres.  It’s hard to know where and how much to be tending the crops on a spread this size.  And the cost of tending them has risen dramatically as the costs of fertilizer, fuel and water have increased. So targeting … Continue reading

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The Great Wall; Defensive Strategy

The Great Wall – Standing on the Great Wall with friend & colleague Guy after finishing up business in Beijing …   You can get a sense for the unending and imposing character of the wall from the picture.  The photo was taken just moments before the Great International Cigar Incident occurred. Our private tour guide, Grace, had let us loose at the entrance to the wall stairs at the Mutianyu garrison.  She knew what we were in for.  We‘d targeted a specific guard tower high up on a hill as our goal.  It was a really tough climb up the … Continue reading

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Strategy Types: Critical Operations

LET’S take a quick look at some compelling strategy situations … 1.      SURVIVAL By a near miracle, or perhaps an actual miracle, you’ve just survived a night time airplane crash somewhere in the Amazon.  The Amazon is a big place and you don’t know where you are.  It’s also a formidable place, night or day.  You probably wouldn’t last more than several days in this environment before perishing, so you have to quickly make your way to safety. You sense that your chances of finding a village are poor and that perhaps you should try to arrange, instead, for someone else to … Continue reading

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The Gray Area

Mt. Sopris  The scene below is of Mount Sopris, a prominent feature of the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness in western Colorado.  We’re here, you and I, because we’re doing a little reconnaissance for a flight in an altitude-limited light plane that will take us past that peak tomorrow morning. It’s a gorgeous day and getting here was an easy hike.  We find ourselves in a benign, rather soft and idyllic scene:  green, rolling hills, open woodlands; it’s sunny and the warm air has amped up the smell of the pines.  We’re sitting here, taking in the mountain, brilliant in … Continue reading

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Found Strategies; Busacco

PALACE HOTEL AT BUSACCO  My wife, Barbara, and I were driving around Portugal on a route created by putting red dots on a road map at locations of interesting wineries, and then connecting them via various other places of interest.  Our friend Tim had bootstrapped this process with some helpful maps and suggestions, from his travels there. When we drove into sight of the great old Palace Hotel do Bucaco (alternatively spelled and pronounced Busacco and Bussaco), we knew we were doing something right.  This fabulous old building, with its lavish Manueline architecture, was once a hunting lodge for Portuguese … Continue reading

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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

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