Strategic Analysis Quotes

Without a correct strategy the victory is impossible. But even the most correct strategy cannot give the victory under unfavorable objective conditions.

I don't have any problem with the United States acting on behalf of its own interests. That's what big powers do; that's what all countries do. I would just like to see us analyze in a serious way what really is in our interest. Sometimes we intervene in foreign countries in ways that seem successful at first. In the end, however, we wind up with unpredicted consequences that make us regret those operations.

Of course you know this difference as well as I do, only you failed to draw from it the conclusions for the tactics in Western Europe, at least as far as I am able to judge from your works.

Knowing what an opponent values is a necessary condition for deterrence success.

It is not important what the other side says or means. What is important are the military capabilities of the other side.

The chess player who develops the ability to play two dozen boards at a time will benefit from learning to compress his or her analysis into less time.

CIA has been treated with enormous respect and our expertise is valued for what we bring to the table.

Moving from general intelligence to specific targets is the most difficult part of the intelligence business.

If performance management were a movie, it will become less 'Gladiator' and more 'Moneyball.'

Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain.

If you don't have a viable strategy, you will be defeated by someone who does.

Strategists who don’t take time to think are just planners.

Simply stated, the need for accurate intelligence and prescient analysis from CIA has never been greater than it is in 2013 - or than it will be in the coming years.

One of the things I advised Donald Trump to do was to make sure that, before he commits to certain courses of action, he has really dug in and thought through how various issues play themselves out.

Strategic plans cause more dumb decisions than anything else in America.

We have zero strategic thinking out of our White House. And we have a national security structure that has lost its way when it comes to strategic thinking and strategic decision-making.

With these kinds of proposals, the devil is in the details. We're going to examine this realignment closely. We will fight any measure that compromises our needs - now or in the future.

Strategic thinking rarely occurs spontaneously

Even though plans themselves are worthless, the exercise of planning is very valuable and totally missing in most startups today.

A lot has changed since I first arrived at CIA, but our mission remains as relevant and important as ever. And this is what makes our officers excited to come to work each morning, including me.

If your opponent offers you a draw, try to work out why he thinks he's worse off

A leader needs enough understanding to fashion an intelligent strategy.

You win by struggle, and that requires understanding and serious analysis of the options and the circumstances, and then you can do a lot.

If you do not look at things on a large scale, it will be difficult to master strategy.

Appeals to the past are among the commonest of strategies in interpretations of the present.