The Strategic Mind is inscribed in the Winning Mindset and is perfected through the Tactical Mindset.
The nature and dynamics of the Strategic Mind cannot be explained in a restricted context to what these lines expose, but the exercise is enough to clearly differentiate it from the average mentality, that which is often subjected to impossibility and limitations.
The Strategy, as a system of government of the Conflict and the competitive phenomenon, only recognizes two evaluation parameters: Victory or Defeat.
One factor differentiates Strategy from any other form or system of government: the need to prevail over the opponent, the competitor or any agent who intends to achieve similar objectives.
The Strategy provides elements to resolve this "conflict" in favor of one's own interests.
Without the existence of "conflict" the Strategy is unnecessary as an act of government, and can be perfectly substituted by the Plan.
The Strategic Mind is necessary as a guiding element of actions when disputed objectives must be achieved, which in fact involves the participation of others in search of the same.
The Strategy only recognizes two evaluation parameters for its performance: Victory or Defeat. There are no midpoints.
The same applies to the Strategic Mind. For this reason, it must resort to highly effective reasoning processes.
1.- The Strategic Mind is completely Flexible.
It is based on a simple premise: the need to have an open mind to everything and without any “ties”.
The "closed" minds, linked to rigid precepts, ideologies, dogmas or philosophies, do not reach the effectiveness demanded by the Strategy.
This does not mean that for the Strategy moral relativisms or dissipated behaviors are justified.
The Strategy is a management mechanism, and as such does not define the person, in the same way that the carpenter's trade does not qualify him as an individual. The Strategy does not transcend principles or values, because these correspond to the man behind the professional.
The Strategy demands a Flexible Mind in order to achieve its purposes.
For Mental Flexibility there is a possible solution for every probable circumstance; there are actually many possible solutions for a probable circumstance.
This "elasticity" of thought allows actions to adapt to reality more easily, since each response has the possibility of being based on a set of possibilities.
The Strategic Mind does not assume impossibility, and thereby differs from the mass. The Strategic Mind understands degrees of difficulty but not impossible.
For the Strategic Mind there are some more difficult courses of action than others, nothing more! The solution is not questioned.
By considering the existence of "degrees of difficulty" to achieve the objectives, the Strategic Mind seeks the simplest possible routes, and thus develops that ability to solve problems and puzzles that also differentiates it from the mass.
This is not achieved without Mental Flexibility.
2.- The Strategic Mind does not work looking for solutions, it works classifying Options.
There are always many and different ways to reach a solution, rarely is there just one.
The Strategic Mind focuses on the identification, classification and qualification of the routes, it does not concentrate on the Objective.
The conventional mind assumes that anchoring on the goal guarantees the result, but when the same goal is up for dispute, the route leading to it is far more important. Whoever finds the most practical route not only gets to the target faster, he essentially takes possession of it.
The Strategy is an apology for the practical, an ode to pragmatism and a magisterium of eclecticism. All this is worked on the route, not at the destination.
Not all Options are a solution and many times there are not several solutions to a problem, so it is futile to "seek solutions" and strategic to seek options.
This way of thinking does not characterize the crowd.
3.- The Strategic Mind does not operate with the logic of “plan B”, it works with many “plan A”.
If for Strategy there are only Victory or Defeat as evaluation parameters, then the Strategic Principle demands "to make Victory the only option."
If Victory is the only option and the Strategic Mind works sorting out options, then all the options considered "potential winners" are different versions of a "plan A".
The "plan B" has the character of an "emergency exit" and cancels the consideration of a basic fact: there are many ways to reach the destination, not just two, much less one optimal and the other circumstantial.
The work of searching and ranking options rather than focusing on solutions allows Strategos to operate with many "winning alternatives", not just a couple. When one falls, he is not forced to resort to the "emergency plan", he simply continues evaluating the others.
For the Strategic Mind, "emergence" is the usual, it is a pattern of behavior. The conflict (which is what justifies the use of the Strategy), is in itself an “emergency”, or so the Strategos thinks, and thus it also differs from the mass.
4.- The Strategic Mind corresponds to the individual who achieves Control over his emotions.
Simple!
Who does not have control of himself, in essence does not dominate anything. Much less a topic as complex and intense as the Strategy that interacts with the Conflict.
Emotions are the fuel for human activities and as good fuel they are unstable and can explode.
The control of emotions is achieved in the mind, and for The Strategic Mind this is an imperative not just a necessity. He who best controls his emotions resolves the conflict in his favor.
This is the task of a lifetime, for sure! A battle that is fought on the inside and knows few victories and a lot of frustration.
All men would do well in this endeavor, but since it is a desirable state for everyone, for Strategos it is part of their trade.
And just as a highly competitive athlete cannot assume that he will achieve success without training his body every day, so Strategos must develop Self-Mastery by training his mind.
This itself, possibly more than anything else, distinguishes it from the way of thinking and acting of the masses.
5.- The Strategic Mind interacts with others in terms of Empathy and Negotiation.
Strategy is the art of the subtle, the "not evident", it has nothing to do with imposition or misunderstood Force, for this reason it demands Empathy and Negotiation for its relationship with others.
There are two simple facts that explain this demand:
- Empathy supposes “putting oneself in the place of the other”, and in doing so Strategos takes “control” of the other and “control of the situation.” Negotiation supposes reaching the point where “everyone loses” and simultaneously the one where "Everyone won."
For the Strategic Mind, the "control of the situation" is one of the most valuable assets in the interaction with the Conflict, since in this way there is less uncertainty in the competitive fight that leads to the outcome.
“Control of the situation” is achieved through “control over others”, and when this is the product of Empathy, no clumsy or intrusive act is required. "Placing yourself in the place of the other", understanding what and how he thinks, deducing the nature of his interests and concerns generates Power like few things, and this seeks the Strategic Mind in a subtle way.
Without Negotiation there will be those who assume themselves to be losers, and this makes the work of Strategos difficult.
It is much easier to obtain what you want from who also calculates that he himself has obtained what he was looking for, or not?
This summary is obviously short to explain how the Strategic Mind works, it adjusts to the understanding and application of the Strategic Principles that have been built thanks to the experience of man throughout thousands of years of history in their interaction with the Conflict. Knowing them, applying them and mastering them takes time and requires dedication, for this reason strategic practice is reserved for few.
It falls short, but it is enough to establish the fundamental difference that a Strategic Mind has with others that hardly reach the nature of the extraordinary.
And the extraordinary isn't just something the Strategos appreciates, it's something the Strategos Is.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION.
Carlos Eduardo Nava Condarco, a native of Bolivia, lives in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, is a Business Administrator and Entrepreneur. He currently works as Manager of his Company, Business Strategy and Personal Development Consultant, writer and Entrepreneur Coach.
Author of the book: “Entrepreneurship is a way of life. Development of Entrepreneurial Awareness ”
WEB: www.elstrategos.com
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