The Noble Strategy
Pathways to Strategic Success based on Lessons from Ancient African Philosophy and Modern Case Studies (Part 1)
Laying Your Foundation in Strategy
1. Orunmila, the father of African wisdom and philosophy teaches that in order to survive — we must know the ways of the world, the nature of our true self, and the path to destiny
2. Learn from the wisdom of Orunmila, the best strategies are those that reflect an understanding of reality and their alignment with own capabilities, matched with clear objectives.
3. 4500 years later, how the ancient pyramid of Egypt was constructed remains a mystery.
4. If your thinking is right, and your accuracy is precise, your strategy will be shrouded in mystery to the World for a long time.
5. To master the world, you must first master yourself; these is best achieved through critical thinking, self-reflection and an expansion of consciousness of the self
6. Don’t be like the King tortoise, who said it is an abomination not to conduct his mother’s funeral with a cow, but when asked to produce one he couldn’t afford it. You should only build a strategy that you have the resources to pursue
7. If a child’s hand cannot reach the top, that of an adult cannot enter the Gourd — this teaches that to be open to others, to embrace the younger generation and accept minorities is noble
8. During turbulent times you should keep your eye on the goal, discover new possibilities and take care of your people
9. Always protect yourself from the bad and good strategy of others, because they can jeopardise yours. Even the lion, the king of the forest, protects himself against flies
10. Quality, respect, on time, cooperativeness, hard work and innovation are offspring of responsibility: the chief foundation to a decent strategy
11. Standing up to take action is far better than dwelling on conversations about your lose ways or losses
12. Your value and principles are defined by your culture, without good culture you have an empty strategy
13. Your fate and destiny are in the hands of your strategy, good strategy can mitigate against bad destiny
14. Where money fails, good strategy can win. Where strategy wins, money can fail
15. When a man is lost and wonders about, he discovers and learns of new ways. — This is a teaching about learning from your mistakes; when you make one, accept it and joyfully learn from the experience
16. Learning even from mistakes and the good value of following various roads, constantly searching here, there and everywhere so that you may learn, is a source of wisdom
17. Knowledge is power, invest in it by all means
18. Self-righteousness is self-deceit, let your strategy reflect the situation and the view of others
19. Learn from Tesi, the ancient slave master who was told that the King had taken his slave. When Tesi was told the news, he said that the King was right because he reigns over all things; everything that belongs to him belongs to the King.
20. Tesi was again informed that the King had released his slave, then he responded that the King had no choice, because the King did not acquire the slave for him in the first place.
21. Tesi was told once again that the Slave had absconded to his village, then he retorted that the slave had every right to his own freedom, it’s his human right and he has his own biological father.
22. Like Tesi, be swift to accept changes that you cannot control and always be ready to adapt to natural demands
23. You can reap good return from your innovation but remember that crony innovation destroys everyone involved
24. Don’t be overly reactive or aggressively proactive, but be subversive and be an agent of change
25. Strategy is not conferred and does not come by chance; it is to be formed and honed over time
26. Good strategy can build, a bad one can destroy
27. As the egg sits in the nest before it is hatched, so must your strategy sit in the realm of thought before they are executed
28. No two days are same, that is why the priest consults the oracle every day. Your strategy today may not work tomorrow
29. Wise strategies are like the Iroko tree, their shades are wide, their roots are interconnected. The Iroko is unmoved by the display of other trees
30. Don’t be quick to change your strategy when they don’t deliver, you need to be stable and consistent
31. Do not strategize to compete, thinking beyond the competition puts you ahead
32. Your best investments are those invested in your people
33. If you leave opportunities around you untapped, others will develop it and take advantage
34. Do not destroy the strategy of others to make yours, instead make yours to be indestructible to others
35. Your survival tomorrow depends on your strategy today
36. If you have no adversaries, you have territory to conquer
37. Your greatest enemies are not among your competitors, they are not in the opposition, they are not outside the shores of your proximity, they are among your accomplices, most often than not, they are at within and among those who deliberate with you
38. If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do no harm
39. Don’t follow the crowd, strategy is about creating a new path to success
40. Your strategy is not necessarily about competitiveness, it can be about operational excellence
41. If your strategy has not changed for many years, it is you who need changing
42. Don’t grow based on your anticipation, grow based on demand
43. Complacency is the number one sin of strategy
Watch out for Part 2
