What is Strategy

The water in the river Rubicon was calm. During daylight, the reddish hue of its waters betrayed the reason behind its name. Locals likely didn’t know then that the iron deposits at the riverbed created the illusion of the colour red. The name of the river came from the Latin word rubeus, meaning red. In 49 BCE, it served as a harbinger of what was about to be unleashed by Gaius Julius Caesar.

Legend has it that Caesar stood on the bank of the river, thinking about his next move. He was there for a reason. Nearly four years have gone since his power agreement with Pompey and Crassus ended with Crassus’s death. For the last three years, he worked hard to ensure his enemies did not destroy his legacy and remove him from power. But to no avail. The Roman Senate, a ruling body of the Roman Republic, overwhelmingly decided to remove Caesar’s support and bring him to Rome to be judged by the people and Senate.

It was here, at Rubicon, that Caesar had to make a choice. Pausing to cross into Italy proper with his loyal 13th legion, he likely spent a few hours contemplating his strategy.

Strategy comes from the Greek word strategia, meaning the art of the general. The generals invented and perfected this discipline in thousands of battles across centuries and millennia. Today, it is a much overused and misused term to primarily describe a plan of action or a list of tasks that a person or a business will take in the future.

So what is strategy? And how can one master it to win in business and life?

Strategy is, first and foremost, an art. There are no formulas that one can use to create a perfect strategy. There are no if-and-then algorithms that would make strategy into a science. As the ancient description suggests, it is an art of the general. It is the art of the commander. And the commander is always someone who can decide what to do.

Strategy is the art of making decisions; it is an art of choice.

Standing on the river bank, Caesar had to make a decision. If he were to cross the river, he would be declared an enemy of the state and the civil war would begin. If he were to stay, he would be stripped of all his official posts and brought to Rome to face the judgement of the Senate. The result would have been the most severe punishment for a Roman citizen, life-long banishment from Republic.

He weighed his options carefully. First, he likely assessed his goals in life. There is no concrete agreement from scholars about his true ambitions. What is known is that he wanted to get a second consulship and ensure his enemies didn’t persecute him. If this was the driving force behind all his actions, then the next step he needed to take was deciding where to focus his effort.

Caesar chose to do what had yet to be done in half a century, take control of Rome. His sole focus was on capturing the city and driving his enemies out.

Next, he needed to figure out how he would do this. His options were limited. He could go to Rome and persuade the Senate using his oratory skills. He could bribe the Senators to ensure that any vote would favour him. He could take his legion with him and seize power by force.

We can not determine why he chose the last option, but through speculation, we can determine that the first two options could have been more optimal. He was not a good orator. Cicero, one of the most prominent men of Rome and Caesar’s enemy was a much skilled and influential orator. Bribing the Senate would be an expensive solution. Most senators in Ancient Rome were super-rich oligarchs.

Caesar chose where he had the most advantage and highest possible chance of success. He chose to take his legion down to Rome and take control through force. And as the people say, the rest is history.

This is what strategy is: an art of making choices to achieve a certain objective. It is not a detailed plan of steps or tasks. Nor is it an aimless pursuit of ever-changing wishes and unachievable goals. Strategy is the art of making focused choices to achieve one objective.

Let’s examine Caesar’s strategy that led him to become one of the ancient world’s most known generals and politicians.

First, Caesar had decided that consulship, something like a post of president, was his one objective. This was the first choice he had made.

Second, with this objective in mind, he understood that he had to be in Rome to gain the consulship. Since he spent the last few years conquering most of modern France, the decision to get to Rome was simple. Get to Rome.

Third, Caesar needed to assess his limitations before deciding on the best action. He knew that his enemies were ready for him. Any non-violent tools he could use to secure a consulship were already out of his reach. Cicero would likely beat his at the oratory game if Caesar tried to influence the Senate through speeches. Bribing influential senators was also out of his reach. Although rich, he wasn’t rich enough to pay everyone off.

He had constraints, and he knew very well what they were.

Fourth, he also understood where his advantage was. From 59 BCE to 49 BCE, Caesar had been leading armies and conquering large tracts of Europe for the last ten years. He had created a loyal army wholly dependent on him for leadership and financial support. His enemies in Rome needed more troops ready to defend Rome. They were still under the illusion that Caesar wouldn’t dare march on Rome and take control. This was Caesar’s major advantage. In business speak, his loyal army was his major competitive advantage.

Finally, on the riverbank of the Rubicon, Caesar weighed his options, analyzed his constraints and measured his advantages. Then he made another decision to take his 13th Legion to Rome as quickly as possible to seize control of the Senate, the treasury and legislative functions of the republic.

These were the choices that he made. This is what strategy is. What makes it a winning strategy is understanding your constraints and advantages and deciding what to do next based on that.

So what is strategy?

Strategy is the art of defining your objective, deciding on the goals that will take you closer to achieving this objective, understanding your constraints and your approach, and taking coherent steps to achieve those goals. In this process, you will be forced to make choices at every turn. What choices you make will determine if your strategy is successful or not.