This Is Strategy: Make Better Plans (Create a Strategy to Elevate Your Career, Community & Life)

by Seth Godin

Robert Moses called himself a master builder. He created the conditions for the construction of an astonishing array of roads, parks, bridges, power plants, and more. The entire fabric of New York City was rebuilt during his 50-year reign. He was also a master of strategy. He understood systems and how to take advantage of system traps and status to accomplish his goals. But most of all, he is now known as the master manipulator. He used his strategic skills to create outcomes that those involved came to regret. By focusing on the short run with urgency, he failed to take responsibility for the long-term impact of his actions. He ended up using his power in a way that didn’t benefit the people it was supposed to benefit. Here are some of the Moses manipulations that take advantage of human nature and system traps. I am listing them here not as a manual on how to manipulate or help you maximize power, but so that we can be aware of them and use them with full knowledge that the ends don’t always justify the means. • Stake driving: Moses would begin actual construction work on a project as quickly as possible, often starting with driving actual stakes into the ground before he had permits or funding. This made the projects seem inevitable and more difficult to oppose or alter. Systems are often optimized to slow things down, not to undo things that are already happening. • Whipsawing: He would create crises where groups with competing interests would focus on earning statu...