"Strategy" is a frequently used term that can be found in almost every area of life: warfare, sports, games, but also in business, finance and social areas. But this was not always the case, because until about 200 years ago, the term strategy was still strictly assigned to the military sphere. And if we look at the original meaning, it quickly becomes clear why. Strategy is derived from the Greek "strategia" and means something like "the general's art of leading an army".
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Today, when people talk about strategy, they tend to refer to a general plan with which an overall goal or vision is to be achieved under uncertain conditions. Here, strategy is not the same as tactics, as tactics are maneuvers designed to support the overall strategy. Unfortunately, this is where life often gets in the way, referred to above as the "uncertain condition", or to borrow John Lennon's phrase, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans". No matter how much you plan something, there are always adverse circumstances that can lead to postponement or failure of the plan. Also known as “The best laid plans…” (Poem by Robert Burns, 1785).
That's why it's essential to make planning variable and to support it with different and changing tactics. If the tactics are not successful, they must be replaced. However, if all tactics and thus the overall strategy do not lead to success, it should be considered to change the strategy or even to redefine the vision, especially if you aim too high.
Change of strategy and subsequent success
A famous example of a change in strategy that did lead to success was described by Homer in the Iliad and the Illiu persis: After 10 years of unsuccessful battle between the Achaian Greek alliance and the Trojans, the Greeks change their strategy and completely withdraw from the beaches of Troy. However, they leave behind, as an offering to the goddess Athena, a huge wooden horse in which the strongest warriors of the Greeks are hidden. The Trojans drag the gift of hospitality into the city in front of the temple of Athena, where at night the Greek warriors climb out of the horse and open the gates to the Greek army, who have secretly returned with their ships, and thus, seal the fate of Troy.
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The ruse is attributed to Odysseus and is still considered a prime example of victory through a poisoned gift. Laocoon's saying, "I fear the Danaans, even if they bring gifts," and the American sayings, "There is nothing like a free meal" and "There is always a catch," testify to the realization that everything has a price and there are no "gifts" in negotiations and disputes. Thus, the Trojan horse can still be found in chess today, e.g. as a "poisoned pawn" or as a supposed "queen sacrifice" and has also secured its place in computer science as malicious software ("Trojan").
Change of strategy and subsequent destruction
An example from history shows us how tactics can work perfectly, but a change of strategy then nevertheless, or precisely because of this, led to defeat and ultimately to complete annihilation. When Carthage, the leading power in the Mediterranean around 250 B.C., lost the first Punic War to the rising Romans, Hannibal vowed to his father and Carthaginian commander Hamilkar to bring Rome to its knees. He studied the Roman legions and their warfare very meticulously and tactically brilliantly countered their weaknesses time and again in the second Punic war when outnumbered. His crossing of the Alps with war elephants, which was completely surprising at that time, and his battles at Ticinus, Trebia and Lake Trasimeno are still taught today in military academies as extraordinary strategic masterpieces. But above all, his battle at Cannae, where he and his approximately 50,000 soldiers almost completely destroyed a Roman army of 16 legions (about 80,000 men) by an encircling maneuver, went down in history and brought Rome to the brink of ruin. In the seventeen years that Hannibal roamed Italy, he remained undefeated. Only in Scipio II did he find a worthy adversary, who in turn had studied him just as meticulously and inflicted his first but decisive defeat on him in Africa, sealing the fate of Carthage. History shows that while Hannibal used all tactics perfectly to defeat Rome, the strategy should have been the siege and destruction of Rome, for which he was not sufficiently equipped. The speculation that all allies would turn away from Rome and Rome would capitulate did not pan out. And with each passing year thereafter, Rome grew stronger again and Hannibal weaker. The right "timing" is not only important in military conflicts, but also in motor sports as well as in chess, but also in business, e.g. when a new company or a new product enters the market. Timing is one of many factors that determine victory and defeat in strategy.
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Strategy and tactics are maintained and lead to success
The third and last example from history shows how successful a strategy can be against an overpowering opponent, if the opponent and the way of fighting are well studied, the battlefield is suitably chosen and the tactics are perfectly implemented with the right warriors.
In the year 9 AD, the Cheruscan leader Armenius, with the help of various Germanic tribes, lured three Roman legions of Publius Quinctilius Varus together with auxiliary troops into an ambush and destroyed them and thus about one eighth of the total army of the Roman Empire (Annals of Tacitus, Cassius Dio: Roman History). In order for this strategic coup to succeed, several conditions had to be met: 1) Armenius had to succeed in uniting the quarreling Germanic tribes for the battle against the Romans. 2) As a confidant of Varus, Armenius had to lure the legions away from the actual planned route and lead them into an ambush in difficult-to-pass terrain. 3) In a concerted guerrilla-like tactic, the Roman troops, strung out like a string of pearls, had to be continuously ambushed, destroying the vanguard and supplies first. As a result, the Roman warriors were scattered, becoming easy prey for the Germanic tribes in unknown terrain.
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The victory over Varus and the destruction of his legions by Armenius ended Roman efforts to make the Germanic territories on the right bank of the Rhine a province of the Roman Empire, thereby changing the history of the Germanic tribes.
Building blocks of a strategy
From the examples described above, a number of things can be deduced about strategies, including what the core elements of a good strategy are and what constitutes it. Every strategy needs the desire to change the status quo in the form of a vision, a goal to be achieved. It is essential to formulate the vision or the desired goal realistically, otherwise the best tactics and measures will be of no use and the strategy will fail. For a new product, a goal could be rapid market penetration or a dominant market position within a defined period of time.
While in chess the playing field is given, especially in military areas "the playing field" can be chosen as a tactical maneuver, as the examples of Hannibal and Armenius have shown. But also the economic "playing field" or the market can be of decisive importance for the introduction of a new product or for the approval study of a new drug, e.g. if one decides to serve several markets at the same time. While the risk of failing in one market increases, in the case of success, penetration is faster and revenue growth is significantly higher.
Knowledge of the opponent and his ways of acting, whether in war, in games and sports or in the market, is an important factor for a successful strategy, because it helps us to anticipate foreign tactics and reactions to our own actions. As early as 500 BC, the Chinese royal advisor and military strategist Sunzi wrote: "If you know yourself and your enemy, you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles." (Sunzi: The Art of War). The book focuses on the use of all necessary and available means and flexibility to achieve the goal.
Also, the right timing for certain actions can be game-changing or, as in the case of Hannibal, war-changing. In motor sports, the right timing of a tire change can decide a place on the podium, and in soccer, the right time to substitute a player can turn a game around.
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In chess, gaining tempo can decide a game, or the wrong sequence of moves can cause the game to be lost. In business, a startup can fail if the timing of the market entry was chosen unfavorably or if unforeseeable events (such as a pandemic or a war in Europe) shake the global economy and disrupt supply chains.
You now still need a good overview of your own capabilities or options to win the game, i.e. which players can be deployed tactically in the right positions and what financial and structural resources are available? Hannibal made use of the various warriors with their different skills to position them tactically clever against the numerically superior Romans and to overcome and surround the standard formation of the Roman legions with their specific strengths.
Last but not least, the success and failure of a strategy lies with the leadership. How flexible is the response to external influences. When are employees recruited, financial resources invested and competitors attacked? How are tactical maneuvers chosen, and how rigidly does one cling to the chosen strategy?
Summary
In conclusion, a good strategy needs a vision, a suitable playing or battlefield or market, specific knowledge about the opponent or competitor, a sense of the right time to attack or enter the market, capable warriors or employees deployed tactically wisely in the right position, supporting financial resources, and flexible leadership or management direction to be successful.