Episode #28. Chet Richards: Certain To Win

Chet Richards discusses the intersection of military strategy and business leadership, offering valuable insights for navigating complex environments. Emphasizing the importance of agility and adaptability, Chet explores Colonel John Boyd’s OODA Loop concept, highlighting the need for continuous observation, orientation, decision-making, and action. 

He underscores the role of leadership in shaping organizational culture, driving innovation, and maintaining an external focus for sustained success. The idea of being “certain to win” is derived from Sun Tzu’s teachings, emphasizing the importance of constant self-evaluation and continuous self-improvement, conducted from an external perspective.

Resources: 

Chet Richards on LinkedIn

Certain To Win: The Strategy of John Boyd Applied To Business

Zen Mind: Beginner’s Mind: 50th Anniversary Edition

Show Notes:

0:00 | Intro
3:00 | Chet’s Perspective of Strategy: Strategy is about people
09:22 | Vision: Attraction and Uplifting Spirit
17:08 | Centrality of Time in General
25:14 | Helping Companies with Reorientation: Many-Sided Implicit Cross-Referencing
29:15 | Old and New Experiments and Allocating Resources for Success
33:34 | Ambi Dexterousness: Chaos Theory, It’s Called Explore and Exploit
41:52 | Culture as Opposed to Organization
42:24 | Wrap-Up: Culture as Developing External Focus and Acting on It

Knowledge Capsule

Strategy is about people.

• It’s an error to think about strategy in terms of numbers (like market size and shares), spreadsheets, or plans and analyze competitive strengths and construct competitive advantages. 
• Strategy is entirely about people and how they work together.

People should be “stoked up” and in harmony.

• Ask if the people in your firm are “stoked up” – inspired by a shared vision, energized by a shared mission, and excited about what can be achieved.
• And are they in harmony – fully aligned and all pulling in the same direction?

The harmonious team maintains an External Focus and an Open System:

• Leaders emphasize the significance of maintaining an external focus in business.
• Leaders operate as open systems, avoiding internal entropies.
• Stress the importance of adapting to external changes for organizational success.

If these conditions are met, the externally-focused firm can move forward towards success, whatever the chaos of the world.

• Unexpected events, surprises, setbacks, and unplanned opportunities represent the natural state of the world.
• Different people within the firm will react differently, but if they are all pointed in the same direction towards a shared goal, a creative shared response to the changing environment will emerge.

Challenges in Maintaining External Focus:

• It’s hard to maintain an external focus over time.
• Highlights the role of leadership, particularly the CEO, in initiating and maintaining external orientation.
• Emphasizes the need for tangible actions, mechanisms, and a culture encouraging an external focus.

Bureaucratic Challenges:

• Internal bureaucratic hierarchies represent a challenge for the externally oriented firm.
• There’s an inevitable tendency for individuals to prioritize internal career advancement.
• This has a negative impact on innovation when internal orientation prevails over external market dynamics.

Cultural Strategy:

• Think of “culture” and “strategy” interchangeably.
• Culture plays a critical role in organizational success.
• Culture aligns with the principles of harmony and orientation, essential for an effective strategy.

Portfolio of Experiments:

• A business is a portfolio of experiments.
• Discusses Lockheed’s skunkworks approach as an example.
• Notes the challenge of maintaining viability for experimental endeavors alongside established operations.

Certain to Win Philosophy:

• Chet Richards derives the concept of Certain To WIn from Sun Tzu’s teachings.
• Focuses on constant self-improvement and self-evaluation.
• Advises leaders to concentrate on fundamental aspects, harmonize efforts, and remain open to creativity.
• Winning consists of passing one’s tests, not those of others.