“The Great German general Erwin Rommel once made a distinction between a gamble and a risk. Both cases involve an action with only a chance of success, a chance that is heightened by acting with boldness. The difference is that with a risk, if you lose, you can recover: your reputation will suffer no long-term damage, your resources will not be depleted, and you can return to your original position with acceptable losses. With a gamble, on the other hand, defeat can lead to a slew of problems that are likely to spiral out of control. With a gamble there tend to be too many variables to complicate the picture down the road if things go on. The problem goes further: if you encounter difficulties in a gamble, it becomes harder to pull out—you realize that the stakes are too high; you cannot afford to lose. So you try harder to rescue the situation, often making it worse and sinking deeper in to the hole that you cannot get out of. People are drawn into gambles by their emotions: they see only glittering prospects if they win and ignore the ominous consequences if the lose. Taking risks is essential; gambling is foolhardy. It can be years before you recover from a gamble, if you recover at all.” WarRiskStrategyGamble Book:The 33 Strategies Of War Source: The 33 Strategies Of War
“The two board games that best approximate the strategies of war are chess and the Asian game of go. In chess, the board is small. In comparison to go, the attack comes relatively quickly, forcing a decisive battle.... Go is much less formal. It is played on a large grid, with 361 intersections — nearly six times as many positions as in chess.... [A game of go] can last up to three hundred moves. The strategy is more subtle and fluid than chess, developing slowly; the more complex the pattern your stones initially create on the board, the harder it is for your opponent to understand your strategy. Fighting to control a particular area is not worth the trouble: You have to think in larger terms, to be prepared to sacrifice an area in order eventually to dominate the board. What you are after is not an entrenched position but mobility. With mobility you can isolate your opponent in small areas and then encircle them... Chess is linear, position oriented, and aggressive; go is nonlinear and fluid. Aggression is indirect until the end of the game, when the winner can surround the opponents' stones at an accelerated pace.” PowerStrategyChessFlexibilityMobilityGoFluidity Book:The 48 Laws Of Power Source: The 48 Laws Of Power
“Defeat Them in Detail: The Divide and Conquer Strategy. Look at the parts and determine how to control the individual parts, create dissension and leverage it.” LooksIndividualStrategyDefeatDetermineDetailsConquerDividesDissensionDivide And Conquer Author:Robert Greene
“If I could simplify the whole game of power and strategy in one equation, it would all hinge on the capacity to see events around you exactly as they are. The closer your mind is to reality, the better your strategies, your responses in life.” IfsMindWholeRealityGamesEventsCapacityStrategyResponseIf I CouldEquationsSimplifyHinges Author:Robert Greene
“You could have a lot of money at your fingertips, the finest education and intellectual knowledge, but if you are governed by fear none of that will matter. You will remain tied to dead ideas and stale strategies. You will not be able to adapt. You will lose what you have.” IfsIdeasMatterAbleLosesIntellectualStrategyTiedLots Of MoneyFinestStaleFingertipsFear None Author:Robert Greene
“True genius, in strategy or anywhere, lies in self-control, self-mastery, presence of mind, fluidity of thought.” MindSelfLyingGeniusStrategyMasterySelf ControlSelf MasteryFluidityTrue GeniusPresence Of Mind Author:Robert Greene
“We happen to live in an era that is incredibly wrapped up in notions of political correctness; everything is seen through the lens of politics. But being political and politically correct is just another way of fighting, another form of power and strategy, an insidious means of manipulation.” WayMeanHappensFormPoliticalFightingStrategyNotionErasManipulationLensesAnother WayPolitical CorrectnessCorrectnessPolitically CorrectInsidious Author:Robert Greene
“Nobody that I know really likes the feeling of having no power and not being able to influence people. But most of us aren't too conscious of what we are trying to do and get that control and that power so people end up sort of playing all kinds of unconscious manipulative games or they're sort of half aware, they have an idea of a strategy or goal they want to use and they think about it. But then in the heat of the moment, it kind of all flies out the window.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWantTryingKindIdeasEndsMomentsUseFeelingsAbleGamesGoalHalfInfluenceConsciousWindowStrategyLikesAll KindsHeatUnconsciousManipulativeInfluencing PeopleHeat Of The Moment Author:Robert Greene
“People who are reading my books, or who are thinking about it, have some general idea about the concept of strategy. They're better off than somebody that has none. So I would never say it's useless.” PeopleThinkingBookIdeasReadingConceptsStrategyUselessBetter Off Author:Robert Greene
“I've always been kind of a strategic thinking person - I love sports for instance, but my interest in sports is 'cause I love watching strategy in action or playing it. I'm not into the drama so much, of the physical action. I'm interested in the coach and how he's strategizing.” ThinkingKindPersonsActionCausesSportsInterestDramaStrategyCoachesInstanceStrategicStrategic ThinkingThinking Person Author:Robert Greene
“I've always been intrigued by fighter pilots and strategy because it occurs in like, milliseconds, you know.” KnowsStrategyFighterPilotsIntriguedFighter Pilot Author:Robert Greene
“Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it.” ArtGoalFocusBattleUltimateStrategyPlotUltimate GoalCalculating Author:Robert Greene
