The Strategy Multiplier

An Excerpt from The Game Within

In a high percentage of cases, the successful outcome of a complex endeavor or contest is the result of a specific strategy. Too often, ill-conceived attempts to achieve results are concocted from ego-centric origins which do not allow for the acceptance of negative realities. Weaknesses, inability, and lack of resources are down-played or dismissed in an effort to remain unrealistically confident before an action is taken. Positive results that are achieved without a realistic plan are just the result of unforeseen good fortune or blind luck. In short, denial and wishful thinking are not strategies. The primary elements in the formation of a sound strategy to achieve a specific goal are firmly rooted in all things honest and accurate. This inventory of parameters must contain all positive elements available as well as all known limitations. An informed strategy can then be built and then implemented by merging all positive attributes in a concerted effort to maximize strength and mitigate shortcomings. 

During the failed Apollo 13 mission to the Moon a dire situation developed in the space craft concerning a build-up of carbon dioxide. The filter on board to remove this harmful gas was no longer functioning and the astronauts were in grave danger of dying of affixation. Back on Earth a group of engineers at NASA were given a box of random articles known to be on the space craft and told that they needed to create an air filter out of those items. Any one of the engineers could have built a filter if given access to all things but they could only use what the astronauts had available to them in the capsule. The engineers did not complain or ask for components they knew the astronauts did not have, but instead they separated the items and formed a plan to come up with a makeshift air filter. In the end, they sent up a list of instructions on how the filter could be built out of the random items on board the space craft including one of the astronaut’s socks. The make-shift filter was a success and the rest is history. They saved the three astronauts lives by forming a strategy out what they had at their disposal not from a fantasy of possibilities or hopeful dreams.

Sports are a prime example of the absolute need for very specific individual and collective strategies. In athletics, a strategy or plan is a specific course of action that can only be formed after the individual and combined talents of a team have been ascertained. Once the players have been evaluated it is the coaches job to introduce a strategy which cobbles the layers of talent together in such a way that each players abilities are accentuated and subsequently the aggregate power of the team is maximized. Once this is done then the strategy must be implemented with the opponent in mind. With a specific strategy in place and players situated in defined roles, adjustments can be made within a game that can allow for the team to adapt to change as a unit. A universal team plan incorporates the skills of every player and is therefore able to add to the overall strength of the team the energy and power of substitution. It affords each player the ability to prepare for their role within a defined strategy with a clear understanding of expectations. Conversely, the lack of a comprehensive strategy can seriously hinder the adaptability of a team in terms of situational adjustments and the substitution of players.

I have coached teams and have had the pleasure of watching players succeed within a game who possess all different levels of talent. Their success was predicated on and thus achieved by singularly focusing on their portion of the overall strategy. This singular focus allowed for others to act in kind and therefore the team to collectively succeed. I am not claiming this recipe always produced victory but it did create a competitive environment in which the knowledge of their particular tasks allowed for the players to freely express themselves athletically. I have experienced times when I had to admonish a player or the entire team for a lack of focus in the implementation of a plan or a dysfunctional effort. I have not hesitated to call out certain players for their sub-par intensity. My criticisms were roundly accepted because the players knew that my critique was not based on a level of talent or a particular physical mistake. My negative evaluation was the recognition of a lack of adherence to the individual and team strategy. Finally, and this is the most important of all; when the players gave effort and followed the prescribed plan; when they tried to use the strategy that I installed for a particular contest and it failed, I took the responsibility for the failure. This did not diminish my ability to lead the team or for my future plans to be accepted and followed. Actually quite the opposite is true. By taking responsibility for a failed strategy I increased my credibility in the forum of criticism and demonstrated to the players that I held myself to the same standard of focus and effort that I demanded from each of them.

An attempt at success by a group of people void of strategy is haphazard gamble that relies solely on the exceptional performance of a select few in combination with the disconnected luck of the rest. A strategy is a defined pursuit of success that becomes a multiplier of talent and allows for the output of a team to be far greater than the sum of its parts.