A Vision So Noble
When one thinks of history's greatest strategists, names such as Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Jomini, and Mahan almost always make the short list. In making such an assessment, antiquity appears to routinely trump contemporary experience, even when the basis of a strategic paradigm is based on observations of a mode of conflict that have but a tenuous threat connecting them to the modern world.
It thus may take a few more generations to pass before a certain 20th century strategist is recognized for his unique contribution to strategic thought. This individual is worthy of our admiration for his unprecedented ability to deconstruct a modern landscape shaped by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) and for the cognitive tools he developed for effectively navigating that landscape in a thoughtful, systematic, creative, and ultimately useful manner.
A fighter pilot by training, John Boyd leveraged the sheer power of an insatiable curiosity and impressive intellect to construct a strategic view that was nothing short of brilliant, an elegant synthesis of the best ideas from a broad array of disciplines -- from philosophy to quantum physics to biology. He offered -- for those willing to explore a strategic framework that reflected a truly renaissance way of thinking -- a wholly new paradigm for approaching the most vexing problems inherent in conflict.
A veteran of deadly aerial combat in the Korean War, he was unimpressed with the alleged value (or necessity) of attrition warfare (one that places great emphasis on body counts as a primary metric) in achieving national interests. Instead, his model of conflict exquisitely incorporated the moral, physical, and cognitive elements of warfare in a manner that paralleled an approach espoused by the esteemed strategist, Sun Tzu, over 2500 years ago: "Taking all under heaven without conflict is the acme of skill."
With an aim toward "taking all under heaven without conflict," Boyd's architecture was shaped by a vision that should be established as the moral foundation for every national security strategy published by the United States:
"For success over the long haul and under the most difficult conditions, one needs some unifying vision that can be used to attract the uncommitted as well as pump-up friendly resolve and drive and drain-away or subvert adversary resolve and drive...a vision rooted in human nature so noble, so attractive that it not only attracts the uncommitted and magnifies the spirit and strength of its adherents, but also undermines the dedication and determination of any competitors or adversaries...a grand ideal, overarching theme, or noble philosophy...within which individuals as well as societies can shape and adapt to unfolding circumstances-yet offers a way to expose the flaws of the competing or adversary system."
Conflict, in the end, is ultimately a battle over ideas -- some small and self-serving, others grand and all-encompassing. The moral high ground in such a battle can always be found in a vision rooted in human nature so noble.
Nobility. Humanity. Vision. These are the building blocks of deep strategy.