The Art of Planning

I like to think that "The Art of War" was indeed written (although there is a little debate) by the historical Sun Tzu - a general who lived in the late 6th century BC. He emphasized the importance of positioning in military strategy, and that the decision to position an army must be based on both objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective beliefs of other, competitive actors in that environment.

Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini, General Douglas MacArthur, Napoleon, and certain members of the Nazi High Command have been inspired by Sun Tzu, and The Art of War has also been applied to business and managerial strategies.

Leading a team for a year charged with planning strategy for the following ten years - with implications for thousands of people across the city and scores of professional colleagues - I am happy, at this moment, not to have Sun Tzu on board. Although his assertion that strategy requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions lies at the heart of this Plan.

All these thoughts followed popping into the neighbour's general office to look for a colleague! I was impressed by the mapping - but that may well have been because I had not a clue why or for what they were positioning themselves. However, I am disposed to believe that their competitiveness is overwhelmingly friendly!