Strategy: A History
by Alex Ng
“Strategy: A History” by Lawrence Freedman is a comprehensive exploration of the evolution of strategy in various realms, from military to political and business. Freedman combines historical context with insightful analysis, providing a deep understanding of strategy’s role in shaping outcomes across different eras and fields.
The Big Idea
"Strategy is the art of creating power. It emerges when there's a gap between ambition and resources, requiring us to find indirect approaches to achieve what direct force cannot. Great strategy is about getting others to do what you want - often without them realizing it."
Key Insights
Strategy Emerges from Weakness
If you're stronger than your opponent, you don't need strategy - just overwhelm them. Strategy becomes essential when you lack the power to achieve your goals directly and must find clever, indirect approaches.
David's victory over Goliath wasn't about strength - it was about refusing to fight on Goliath's terms. Strategy is the weak's way of matching the strong.
The Limits of Grand Plans
History repeatedly shows that complex, detailed plans rarely survive contact with reality. The best strategists aren't rigid planners but adaptive improvisers who recognize and exploit emerging opportunities.
Napoleon's greatest victories came from his ability to rapidly adapt to battlefield conditions, not from meticulous planning. His defeats came when he stuck rigidly to plans against contrary evidence.
Strategy as Narrative
Great strategists shape narratives that make others see the world - and their own interests - in ways that favor the strategist's goals. The battle is often won before fighting begins, through superior storytelling.
The Cold War was won partly through narrative - the idea that capitalism meant freedom and communism meant oppression. This framing shaped how billions of people understood their choices.
The Principal-Agent Problem
Strategy fails when the people executing it have different interests than those directing it. Much of strategic history involves managing the gap between what leaders want and what their agents actually do.
Military commanders throughout history have faced armies that fled, mutinied, or fought only half-heartedly. Strategy on paper means nothing if you can't align the interests of those implementing it.
Chapter Breakdown
Part I: Origins
Freedman traces strategy back to the Bible and Greek mythology, showing that strategic thinking predates formal military science. The tension between cunning (Odysseus) and brute force (Ajax) establishes a fundamental choice that recurs throughout history.
Strategy emerges when the strong cannot simply overwhelm the weak - when there must be cleverness, deception, or indirect approach to achieve goals.
Part II: Military Strategy
From Sun Tzu through Clausewitz to nuclear deterrence, Freedman traces how military thinkers have grappled with the essential problem: how to translate force into political outcomes. The best strategists understood that wars are easier to start than to end, and that military victory doesn't automatically produce political success.
Part III: Strategy from Below
Revolutionary movements, labor unions, and civil rights campaigns developed their own strategic traditions. These "weak" actors couldn't match the state's capacity for violence and had to find other sources of power - moral authority, economic leverage, popular support.
Part IV: Strategy from Above
Business strategy emerged as a formal discipline in the mid-20th century. Freedman traces how military concepts were adapted for competitive markets, and how this often led astray - markets aren't battlefields, and competitors aren't enemies to be destroyed.
Part V: Theories of Strategy
The book concludes by examining academic theories of strategy - from game theory to behavioral economics. Freedman argues that strategy remains fundamentally an art rather than a science, dependent on judgment, creativity, and adaptation rather than formula.
Take Action
Practical steps you can implement today:
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When facing a stronger opponent, refuse to fight on their terms - find a different battlefield or dimension of competition
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Build adaptive capacity into your plans rather than trying to anticipate every scenario
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Shape the narrative around your initiatives - how others perceive the situation often matters more than the facts
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Before launching any strategy, ask: do the people implementing this have incentives aligned with success?
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Software Engineer & Writer
Software engineer with a passion for distilling complex ideas into actionable insights. Writes about finance, investment, entrepreneurship, and technology.
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