Business Management Tactics to Stay on Top

Counter Moves

When military strategist John Boyd spoke on counter moves in air combat, he was teaching us how to think - not just of the maneuver, but of the effect each maneuver had on airspeed, what countermoves were available to an enemy pilot, how to anticipate those counters, and how to keep enough airspeed to counter the countermove.

As a leader, we must understand the nuances of the organization and relationships between networks of people. The network of leaders and people in that group setting will require some levels of negotiations and compromises if there is something you want done. Additionally, where all the resources flow to become a point of interest and possible attack. At every encounter or meeting, every maneuver has its effects. How was our emotional state when we transferred knowledge or information? Was the tempo of a meeting ideal and the agenda followed? Was there anything that merited a follow-up? Having counter moves requires having at least three to five counter points or key pieces of information that have a baseline to anchor around.

Situational Awareness (connected with countering)

When a pilot goes into an aerial battle, he must have a three-dimensional picture of the battle in his head. He must have “situation awareness”; that is, he must know not only where he and each of his squadron mates are located, but also where each enemy aircraft is located.Situation awareness boils down to two things: first, the pilot must know the enemy’s position, and second, he must know the enemy’s velocity or energy state. The cognitive aspect of the company, that it was possible to isolate not only every maneuver a fighter pilot could perform but also the counter to those maneuvers. And the counter to the counter.

In leadership, having situational awareness is crucial when it comes to communicating the right way. With communication, it’s important to understand your counterpart’s cultural upbringing, gender, and being more aware of the people you are leading and their conditions in order to communicate what you want them to understand.

Debriefing

Going over how well a fighter pilot conducted the debrief was one of the most important criteria in evaluating that student as a possible instructor/leader. Boyd was often found debriefing after meetings saying, “If you want to understand something, take it to the extremes or examine its opposites.”

This might seem like an obvious one, but is often missed. As a leader, how often do we have the time to sit down and debrief on what went well or badly after projects or tasks? In the debrief, it is imperative to document points of reflection, both good and bad, and to be able to recall what happened in the debrief in order to improve.