The importance of Mental Advantage
In the dynamics of business, as well as in life itself, difficulties and conflicts are an inexorable constant. Its presence reaches significant degrees of conditioning on people's behavior.
The way you interact with problems and conflicts is what determines success or failure, victory or defeat. No definitive result can emerge from the desire to avoid or avoid them.
The Strategos is the professional of Strategy and Competitive Phenomenon. As such, he is a professional who is not only inserted in the reality of the rest of the people, he is a professional who is actively involved in the Conflict. Not only does he meet him, he seeks him out. The Strategos needs to interact with the Conflict "face to face", closely, because only there can he find the improvement of his professional work.
Additionally, the Strategos must face other Strategos who hold the same position. Professionals who seek to resolve the Conflict in their favor to the detriment of the interests of the opponent.
All this makes up a picture of extreme demands, of situations that place the capacity and disposition of people at the limit of normal tolerances.
In order to prevail in the dynamics of Conflict, Strategos not only needs knowledge, skill and resources, it also needs to reach a state of mind that favors it, one that allows it to take precious "control of the situation." Only when the Strategos can confidently affirm that he is in total "command" of the situation, the possibility of success is realized.
This state of mind must be one that prevails over contingencies. Thus, it goes from being just a state to becoming an advantage, one that rarely has a comparison or an opponent: Mental Advantage.
Mental Advantage is the greatest competitive advantage. It is one that conditions the entire development of the process and the outcome of the Conflict.
If, as many authors claim, Strategy is ultimately a mental process from which concrete actions emerge, Mental Advantage is the definitive advantage, everything else becomes a consequence of it.
In the logic of military conflicts, it is usual to consider that Mental Advantage is in turn the product of a mental state that is reached by the conviction of a Moral Cause. While the Organization shares the conviction that it is involved in a “just cause” it provides additional energy to the tasks, zeal and sacrifice with which the objectives must be achieved. This is "high morale" and little compares to it in terms of its particular strength. Napoleon said: "The moral is to the physical as three to one."
In the business world, it is relatively more difficult to refer to a Moral Cause that can be objectively recognized as a driving element in the interaction with Conflict and determining a mental advantage. In business dynamics, everyone can legitimately claim a moral cause for their endeavors.
What, however, does constitute an element of enormous benefit is "high morale." This is a powerful driving force and its character is also listed among the mental advantages.
The "high morale" in an Organization is a direct effect of how successful it can be in its permanent interaction with the Conflict. Nothing helps people's morale like the feeling and rationalization of victory, and few things do them as much harm as defeat and humiliation. The latter leads to frustration and bitterness, while the former renews energy and confidence in the possibility of achieving the purposes.
The Strategos has a first-rate responsibility to achieve success and avoid failure. This same responsibility then makes him the first potential victim of the "demoralizing energies", with the enormous difference that in this case the negative energies must be faced making use of all possible personal virtues, without necessarily helping any result, since it is assumed as a product of the process.
Consequently, the conclusion is reached that Mental Advantage constitutes an objective that Strategos himself must conquer. This now becomes something personal, completely independent of the rest of the dynamics.
How is the Mental Advantage achieved?
The task requires the development of a delicate but wonderfully simple and practical process. The process only demands a basic understanding and the greatest possible diligence.
The Mental Advantage is obtained in the same way in which diamonds are obtained: by working the raw stone until reaching the jewel, separating what does not work, polishing the impurities, modeling.
Like diamonds, Mental Advantage has different categories and different value from one to the other. It acquires higher "carats" the harder the test is to obtain it and the greater the inverted temperance to overcome it.
Let's evaluate a process to achieve the Mental Advantage that was already proposed to us (with the greatest humility), a couple of thousand years ago:
1. Have Faith: For the Strategos Mental Advantage begins with the pure manifestation of Faith in the task and in one's own possibilities. The Strategos must be the first and last person in the organization who is certain of what should be expected as a result of the work undertaken; Conviction for the result that has not yet been seen.
Among the most uncertain outcomes and events, the Strategos' faith in the task and in the possibilities must not wane. A huge proportion of failures are explained by abandonment. Success does not feed on time, success conquers time, it dominates it. Success is not a sprint race, success is a long distance race. But the ability to resist adversity, the strength to walk in the midst of them, absolutely convinced of the possibilities of victory, can only be found in an unshakable Faith. Faith should not be confused with hope, Faith establishes complete security in the endeavor.
Fortunately for the Strategos, there are many men of little Faith.
And be careful not to confuse Faith with a lack of flexibility or practicality. The latter are attitudes that must be applied on the road, Faith must be set on the goal, the one at the end of the road.
2. Add to Faith, Virtue: Virtue is summed up by all the natural abilities of the Strategos. Competitive activity demands skill among the protagonists, if this were not the case, anyone would be involved in these tasks. And this is not true. The Strategy is listed among "the big leagues" of approach and interaction with the Conflict. The Strategy is a story written by virtuous protagonists, not by common men.
But in any case, Virtue is added to Faith, because by itself it lacks a vital foundation to energize it.
The skills that define the virtuosity of Strategos are, at least, the following:
- Ability to interpret and apply Concepts in terms of space and time relevant to the specific needs of the situation Ability to quickly interpret situations and events that are conditioning factors of strategic approaches (VISUALIZATION ability) Ability to quickly interpret situations and events that merit strategic responses (reading opposite movements). Ability to foresee the opponent's responses (Anticipation ability). Ability to know, take advantage of, manipulate or condition the development of the adversary (study of Strategos and opposite strategies).
3. Add to Virtue, Knowledge: Here the professional training of man prevails, not before or after. Here the need to "know" what is practiced is manifested. Here study, experience, research, training, training, doctrine are rewarded.
When this is added to virtue, the difference between one man and another emerges. Knowledge avoids falling into arrogance, a huge strategic weakness.
For strategic practice, the Strategos must know deeply everything that is involved in business theory, in organizational theory, in the concept of Strategy, in the logic of Strategic Principles and in the nature of Conflict.
4. Add Self- Control to Knowledge: How many Strategos, how many people do not know success and victory because they do not know Self-Control! It is true that the greatest Conflict, the main fight is within us.
In Self-Control, Strategos explains the ability to control oneself, to control their emotions, fears, and anxieties, with the serenity of those who have Faith in themselves and in their possibilities, Virtue to support them, and Knowledge to bring them to fruition. end.
The "Self Control" is an indispensable state for the strategic exercise. The control of emotions is a vital balancing mechanism for the very character that Conflict has, since it comes covered with some elements of the greatest intensity known to man.
It is easy to assume the nature of the underlying effects when the Conflict is not treated with high doses of Self Control; there equilibrium disappears, there fire is fought with fire, the flames are fanned, to a point where fire ends up prevailing.
If the Strategos does not have the ability to control himself then he does not have the ability to control the Conflict and he has nothing else to do in the strategic logic.
In the strategic game, reason must impose its good arguments on the set of emotions. Without it there is no chance of victory. In the strategic game the call is established for reason precisely because the game itself is full of emotions. From here we must conclude on something important: this game does not seek to eliminate emotions, it does not pretend to ignore them, or perhaps to ignore their participation in the process. The game is precisely full of emotions, they are there because they respond to a call of their nature, they are everywhere, in every loophole and at every moment of the development of the Strategy and the Conflict. They will never disappear due to the absurd effort that is printed on the task, they will remain impassive as long as a human being exists.Because emotions are ultimately the very fuel of man, the food of the soul and its driving force.
The goal is simply CONTROL. Emotions must be controlled; its impulse must be balanced with a counter force that moderates its effects and channels its energies. This opposing force is the reason.
Reason is accompanied by a vast instrument of logic, common sense, principle, urgency, convenience, conviction. And all this is put before the unbridled emotion in the form of a clear thought, an argument.
In order to control his own emotions, the Strategos must have a Clear Thought regarding his objectives, he must be provided with a solid Argument that supports them. He must be absolutely aware and convinced that nothing can come between him and the achievement of that goal; That is precisely what the Thought repeats to you endlessly, that is what its Arguments demand.
The very desire to make this Thought prevail becomes at the same time an emotion that sustains the process, thereby building a useful and beneficial channel for the development of energies. Napoleon confessed that the moment of his military readiness was plunged into painful agitation, he looked like a young girl giving birth, but this did not prevent him from being serene in front of the people around him, and when he made a decision everything was forgotten, except what was necessary to achieve victory. This is, exactly, Control of Emotions: to feel them ardently, there in the depths of who one is, to have the ability to remain impassive before others despite the emotions burning from within and the moment to act forget everything, except the thought clear and the argument that leads to obtaining the results.In this way the human being works like those steam engines that reach internal boiling and channel that enormous energy to a precise point, one that generates a vital, giant, powerful movement. In man the boiling is achieved through emotions, but control allows that force to be directed to a precise point and from there move the machinery that thought has created to act according to the objectives.but control allows that force to be directed to a precise point and from there to move the machinery that thought has created to act according to the objectives.but control allows that force to be directed to a precise point and from there to move the machinery that thought has created to act according to the objectives.
If this "internal vapor" is not controlled, then it comes out anywhere, it does not move anything in particular, it can burn everyone around and it ends up finding a victim in its own creator.
Always putting a Clear Thought before Emotion when it comes to strategic endeavors, requires a lot of willpower and discipline. Natural fitness is strengthened and fed by them. In this way, a difference with the opponent is established as important as that which is dictated by the degree of Aptitude itself. Willpower and discipline, both restless and wandering tenants of the human personality.
5. Add Patience to Self Control: This is a gift incomparable in scope, filled with magnificent power in itself.
Faith educates Patience and Patience is, in turn, the best advisor for good decisions.
A good part of the mistakes that are made in the interaction with the Conflict do not come from a lack of Faith, virtuosity or knowledge, they come from a lack of Patience. She declares herself the perfect enemy of Mental Advantage.
An ancient Hindu comic book character always advised his young assistant in the most difficult moments: “ serenity and patience. .., much patience". This remains invaluable advice to any Strategos. And for any man.
6. Add Piety to Patience: Piety is inspired by consideration for others and manifested in acts of self-denial (which so positively qualify a leader) and compassion.
Mercy is the great framework that supports Empathy.
While Strategos is required to have the necessary ability to Control his Emotions, he is simultaneously asked to be a suitable "receiver" of the feelings of others.
The Strategos is a catalyst for the feelings of the people who work in the development of the Strategy, and to properly fulfill this vital function it must be able to look in depth, diligently, the causes and the nature of what others feel. It is imperative for him to get to the origin of these feelings, he is required to try to understand them to the exact point established by reason, and he is required to take them into account personally, as one more of the justifications that guide his action..
If the Strategos cannot properly "tune in" to the feelings of others, then he is unable to harness the energies emerging from the Organization, in fact he becomes a recipient of those that engineers call "fools", "dead". Such a receiver can never "broadcast" anything.
On the other hand, the hierarchy of leadership itself increases as the Strategos reaches higher degrees of Empathy. The recognition of the situation, the difficulties, the challenges, etc. it increases as situations, difficulties, and challenges of others are also recognized. This is the enormous power of integral wealth: give to receive.
When the leader recognizes, he receives recognition; when he identifies he receives identification; When you strive for others, you receive effort from others; When you support, you receive support.
And in this process, the one who wins the most is Strategos himself.
7. Add Brotherly Affection to Piety: Brotherly affection is an essential condition to establish guidance and orientation, commitment and reciprocal affection; and altogether incomparable dynamo of energy.
It should never be forgotten that the path to victory is neither a short nor an easy path, on the other hand it is not a path that no one can walk alone. The unity of the group, the solidity of the team is not only forged by abilities and skills, not even by common commitments, it is made up of men, and men work best when they receive honest brotherly affection from their leader, one that transmits confidence, security and, above all, strength.
8. To all the above add Love: Love summarizes the qualities that are essential to find in any leader:
- Love is long-suffering and the leader is long-suffering. On their backs they carry and support the greatest weights. That is your Responsibility, that is the nature of your condition. Love is kind and the leader is kind. He is required to be good, gentle and benevolent. Love does not envy and the leader does not. Envy is the fruit of mediocre souls. Love is not boastful and neither is the leader. Success is the product of overcoming many failures. Behind every success there is another failure, which is why boasting of success is no more than an absurd banality. Love is not puffed up and neither is the leader. The puffiness only reflects insecurity and over time produces enormous weakness. The professional attitude only finds reward in the satisfaction of the work done. Love does not do anything wrong and neither does the leader.One of the greatest advantages of the leader lies in the quality of the example. Love does not seek its own and neither does the leader. Everything must be subject to the imperative of the task. Love does not irritate and neither does the leader. Love does not hold a grudge and neither does the leader. Love, like the leader, does not enjoy injustice but enjoys truth. Love, like the leader, suffers everything, believes everything, expects everything, supports everything. This is the categorical requirement of leadership, this is the ultimate price of the privilege of commanding others. This is the essence of the Responsibility of the leader. For every thousand men only one is a true Leader, because the cost of the position is not easily paid by anyone.Love does not get irritated and neither does the leader. Love does not hold a grudge and neither does the leader. Love, like the leader, does not enjoy injustice but enjoys the truth. Love, like the leader, suffers everything, believes everything, expects everything, supports everything. This is the categorical requirement of leadership, this is the ultimate price of the privilege of commanding others. This is the essence of the Responsibility of the leader. For every thousand men only one is a true Leader, because the cost of the position is not easily paid by anyone.Love does not get irritated and neither does the leader. Love does not hold a grudge and neither does the leader. Love, like the leader, does not enjoy injustice but enjoys the truth. Love, like the leader, suffers everything, believes everything, expects everything, supports everything. This is the categorical requirement of leadership, this is the ultimate price of the privilege of commanding others. This is the essence of the Responsibility of the leader. For every thousand men only one is a true Leader, because the cost of the position is not easily paid by anyone.This is the ultimate price of the privilege for commanding others. This is the essence of the Responsibility of the leader. For every thousand men only one is a true Leader, because the cost of the position is not easily paid by anyone.This is the ultimate price of the privilege for commanding others. This is the essence of the Responsibility of the leader. For every thousand men only one is a true Leader, because the cost of the position is not easily paid by anyone.
In essence love never ceases to be, and neither does the leader clothed with this power.
Here is summarized the character that the Strategos must have, the same one that without fear of any mistake, will take it as many times as it wants, up to the necessary Mental Advantage that the nature of the Conflict demands
