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Dialectic

"In war everything is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult."
-Carl von Clausewitz

Dialectical thinking in the Strategy Institute focuses mainly on the works of Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, known as the "philosopher of war."

Clausewitz's philosophy of decision making, which follows classical Greek dialectics, does not yield easy answers but leads the thinker through extreme options, thus expanding the opportunity space. Clausewitz defines war, for example, by describing its extreme manifestations (political influence versus physical destruction). The business world is full of such polarities, including:

Strategy versus operations
Make versus buy
Closed shop versus open source
Trading up versus trading down
Clicks versus bricks

In his exploration of the forces that bind or separate opposites, Clausewitz shed light on the range of possible options. He was not aiming for an ultimate synthesis in which the extremes have disappeared. On the contrary, he emphasized how opposing notions are related to and include each other. Consider, for example, strategy and operations: strategy without operations is lame; operations without strategy is blind.

Publications on Metaphorical Thinking

Clausewitz on Strategy: Inspiration and Insight from a Master Strategist

For the Strategy Institute's first book project, Bolko von Oetinger and Tiha von Ghyczy chose to focus on Carl von Clausewitz's 1832 classic, On War. To provide expertise on Clausewitz, historian Christopher Bassford joined the team. They have edited the book so that its focus is on pure strategy rather than just military strategy.

The group understood that Clausewitz would appeal to the real strategist, who knows that even revolutionary change requires solid intellectual analysis. Such a strategist believes in the visionary power of the leader, the richness of opposing options, the value of seizing a sudden chance, the value of the prepared mind, and the advantage of a real surprise.

Bolko von Oetinger, Tiha von Ghyczy, and Christopher Bassford, Clausewitz on Strategy: Inspiration and Insight from a Master Strategist (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001).

Clausewitz on Strategy, which has been translated into six languages, is about making decisions in a highly uncertain environment.

Leadership in a Time of Uncertainty

Globalization, the rise of India and China, and environmental issues such as climate change are shaping and redefining our world, making this a time of great uncertainty. Bolko von Oetinger shows how nineteenth-century Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz described three basic dimensions of leadership in a time of uncertainty: the intellectual imagination to embrace polarities, the personal courage to act decisively, and a practical engagement with the details of execution. In conjunction, they should help broaden the option space of the strategist.

Die Fundamente der Strategie (The Foundations of Strategy)

Bolko von Oetinger explains how Clausewitz's definition of strategy can serve corporate executives in formulating and implementing the best corporate strategy for their business. The essay demonstrates that getting back to Clausewitz can help reformulate the concept of strategy, regarding it not merely as a management toolbox but also affording it the much broader approach it deserves.

Bolko von Oetinger, "Die Fundamente der Strategie-Carl von Clausewitz' Begriff der Strategie als Maßstab für Unternehmensstrategie," in Perspektiven der strategischen Unternehmensführung, Festschrift für Werner Kirsch zum 65. Geburtstag, ed. Max J. Ringlstetter, Herbert A. Henzler, and Michael Mirow (Wiesbaden: Gabler-Verlag, 2003), pp. 3-23.

Available only in German.

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