The Strategy considers only two possible outcomes for its actions: victory or defeat. For her, there are no “half victories or partial defeats”. There is only success or failure, nothing more. That is why the Strategy is the ideal government system to achieve disputed objectives and settle conflicts. Now, the Strategy allows itself this rigidity because it skillfully handles balance. Understand that the path that leads to victory never runs to extremes. It is always in the middle way.
Equilibrium positions allow things to settle to one side or the other, according to the will of the person acting. Balance is the “right middle”, the center of gravity, the essential gyroscope of those who act with strategic intelligence.
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The majesty of balance
In any decision or position that you must take personally or professionally, put yourself in the middle. Neither to the right nor the left, nor the front or the rear; In the middle point.
In all acts of life (and in the business, of course), balance provides time and action margins that increase the ability of individuals and organizations to achieve the results they seek. The difficult decisions, crucial determinations, those that define the value of the conquests, are best taken from an equilibrium position.
Strategy is quite elementary: maintaining balance is the only way to keep all action capabilities at their best, ready to be applied effectively. It is the path that leads to victory. The balance keeps standing that fights, be it the martial arts fighter, the warrior who holds a duel, or the team that disputes a result.
In equilibrium conditions, the potential of the available resources remains intact, complete, without any wear and tear. The control of the campaign is an internal spring. Eventualities and circumstances have no power to alter the provisions.
Instead, when the “cards are played”, the actions shift out of balance. The level of control decreases. Everything already depends on the dynamics of events and the quality of the decisions that have been made initially in the balance area.
The final purpose of the Strategy is to maintain control of the situation, which contributes to the fact of acting from the balance.-
The popular adage affirms it well: “no extreme is good”. It is an apology for balance, for balance, for the middle way: the path that leads to victory.
Choosing the “middle way” is smart to manage risks because risks are always higher at the extremes. Therefore there is more risk in a very conservative or very liberal position (on any issue) than in the middle. From here, you can be aggressive or cautious depending on what the evolution of things demands. The potential danger of making the wrong decisions is reduced.
The “black and white” (worth the simplification) always represent more risk than grey. It is because the latter can turn black or white more easily than in extreme states.
Choosing the “middle way”, the path that leads to victory has nothing to do with passivity, lack of determination or lack of courage. Nor with the possibility of capitalizing on opportunities or maintaining the initiative
People and organizations that favor balance act with determination, courage, prudence, or passivity, according to the situation and the objectives they demand. But they do it starting from balance and equilibrium.
Do not confuse the state with the process. And to understand this, the metaphor of the “middle way” helps. Balance is the product of a permanent process of actions. The “road” is not a station or a stop; it is a traveled road. Balance is not an end; it is a means to a further purpose.
Through actions, you are more or less aggressive in something in particular; you take advantage of opportunities and generate initiative, courage, patience, or whatever. But all this is reached from the middle point, equilibrium, and balance.
The “middle way” is not neutral.
Neutral does not exist in Strategy. The equilibrium is “loaded”, prone to bias, awaits definition. It is the same as that state that precedes the firing of a weapon. In the “prepare, aim, fire” sequence, the equilibrium is equivalent to the stage of “aim”. It is the product of “preparation” and leads to action. Aiming a weapon is not the goal, nor is being “prepared.” A weapon is pointed with the intention of opening fire.
Act, of course, but act from the balance that is the recommendation of the Strategy. Seek a haven in the center, away from extremes. The “middle way” is the path that leads to victory. Either because victory is perfected at the ideal moment or because of a retreat that avoids defeat.
Balance in personal life.
In the personal order, the middle way, the path that leads to victory, avoids dogma, pernicious passion, prejudice, fanaticism, and discrimination. All of these are states that do not agree with balance.
The strategic mind is not part of the herd; it is not a crowd, nor a mass. He is far from acting out of dogma or out of reverence. He does not necessarily think what everyone thinks, nor does he always commune with the collective feeling. It does not follow fashions or conform to trends. It acts according to the objectives it has set and nothing else. It is the best way to achieve the purposes, the most effective. And that is what the Strategy has aimed at since the beginning of time.
A fanatic cannot act strategically; he lacks balance. A being dogmatic or full of prejudices cannot be a great STRATEGOS. It is as true as that a person with alcoholic influence cannot drive a car well. Let alone compete successfully with other drivers!
The practice of Strategy is reserved for the balanced individual. Because from that state, it is easier to achieve objectivity, good judgment, appropriate criteria, or stability, and it is not that the latter is synonymous with equilibrium. Still, they are states that can achieve much better thanks to it.
The Power of Balance
Balance is a powerful force. The Universe itself is a sample of this: a perpetual interaction of opposing energies that gestates evolution.
Life is a delicate balance of action and rest, reflection and passion, emotion and reason, unrest and sadness, love and fear. Only balance leads to virtuous action.
If in business and collective interests, the “middle path” leads to victory, in personal life, it leads to fulfillment and longevity. Because there is nothing more stimulating than success, nothing fresher and more refreshing, and that is what balance leads to.
When it comes to making a difficult decision, go the middle way. Please don’t go for extremes, no matter how promising they may seem.
When it comes time to take a position, go the “middle way.”
There will be those who call it lukewarm or cowardly, but those who do not know anything about Strategy. Because he is neither lukewarm nor cowardly, he carefully “aims” the weapon to hit the target with a precision that “restless souls” do not know.
The Strategy is not for everyone. It requires specific mental processes. Reflection and contemplation; the strategic thinker is a Yellow Penguin; he is distinguished, not abundant, and extraordinary. And within the framework of the preparation of the action, he always places himself on the “middle road”, the path that leads to victory.