The modern term for sketching in strategy is “net assessment,”71 an evocation—never simply a list—of the elements, in environments, most likely to determine outcomes. If done well it will include “knowns”—geography, topography, climate, your own capabilities, the objectives you’re seeking; “probabilities”—the goals of adversaries, the reliability of allies, the constraints of cultures, your country’s capacity to endure adversity; and, finally, a respectful acknowledgment of the “unknowns” that will lurk in the intersections of the first two.
