So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will win a hundred times in a hundred battles. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you win one and lose the next. If you do not know yourself or your enemy, you will always lose. - Sun Tzu The Art of War

The concept of strategy predates the Greek Empire but the word itself is derived from the Greek word Strategos which meant military commander. Over the centuries it has come to mean a long term plan of action, often military, by which certain specific goals can be achieved. A strategy is implemented through a series of tactical actions, all of which are designed to meet the goals that in turn feed into the overall strategy.

Today, corporations, governments and the military all talk about strategy. However, the pace of political, military and corporate decision-making has led to the compression of strategy into what a century ago would have been seen as the tactical execution of a broader and longer range plan. This is a mistake. We know from history that those who wage any kind of war – corporate or military - absent a coherent strategy are doomed, especially against an enemy who thinks long term.

Here in the United States, the centers of strategic thinking such as the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff , the Director of National Intelligence or corporations such as IBM or Microsoft routinely confuse tactics with strategy. The demands of the present or the immediate future overwhelm the opportunity to think further ahead. The result is reactive responses instead of proactive planning.

The purpose of the Adams Strategy Group is to provide the kind of long term thinking that it is often so difficult for leaders to deliver themselves. Whatever the question, ASG can draw on its extensive network of intellectual capital to look at the critical issues, understand the long term opportunities and then design a strategy to maximize those opportunities to deliver the best return on investment.

For many clients, it is not enough to simply deliver a strategy. For effective implementation, an execution plan with clear goals and objectives, with detailed metrics to which individuals can be held accountable is essential. At the same time, it might be necessary to deliver a communications plan to ensure all stakeholders are fully engaged. ASG creates all these deliverables for clients in the public and private sectors.