The following is intended to grow into a comprehensive list of strategic and tactical concepts, including concepts drawn from military science, game theory, chess, and other sources. Eventually, each of these concepts will be linked to an article describing the concept, and providing an illustrative example of its application in the context of litigation. While most of these strategies and tactics are not expressly asymmetrical in nature, my analysis will focus on a “guerrilla application” of each. This list is intended to be used as a brainstorming tool—at every strategic “inflection point” in litigation, brainstorm potential application of these principles to your situation.
The traditional “7 Principles of Warfare”:
Mass (aka Concentration of Force)
Objective (see also Exit Strategy, below)
Security
Surprise (see also Speed, below)
Maneuver
Offensive (aka Initiative, but see Counterattack, below)
Unity of Command (but see Decentralized Control, below)
Simplicity
Economy of Force (see also Selective Retreat, below)
Asymmetric Warfare:
Return on investment
Rapid Innovation (OODA-Loop)
Parallel Innovation
Open-Source
Reevaluate established and one-sided “rules” of the game
Decentralized control
Fight on the Diagonal (Attack in the topography they aren’t/can’t defend, reject Cartesian sense of space)
Game Theory:
Payoff Tables
Iterative Games & Tit-for-Tat
Nash Equilibrium
Minimas & Maximin Theorems
Ultimatum Games
Conventions
Auctions
The Hawk-Dove-Retaliator Game
Nash Bargaining
Condorcet Paradox
Clauswitz:
Total War
Schwerpunkt (decisive point/center of gravity, see also Boyd)
War as an extension of politics by other means
Terrain
Audacity
Moral Superiority
Jomini:
Interior lines (see also Chess – forking maneuver)
Other:
Flexibility
Administration (aka Logistics)
Cooperation
Sustainability
Depth
Urgency (Burning Your Ships)
Selective Retreat/Nonengagement (pick your battles, focus resources)
Counterattack
Deterrence
Grand Strategy (win the war by selectively losing battles)
Speed
Divide and Conquer
Envelopment
Turning
Exit Strategy
Deception
Invite Underestimation
