Business management and leadership directly, or most often indirectly, borrows strategy from military doctrine. The 21stcentury lawyer, be it barrister or solicitor, is, by necessity a business person. Often, however, lawyers are slow to adapt successful business modelling, especially when first starting out. The same might be said for those starting mediation practices.

Many readers might be surprised by the assertion that business strategy implements military doctrine or maxims, but the literature is quite clear. As an example, have you heard these before?

• “Leaders eat last”;

• The OODA loop (Observe, orient, decide, act loop);

• “Defending our position”; and, or,

• A litany of ‘Clausewitzian’ or ‘Art of War’ quotes?

This article is in no ways designed to glorify or promote military conquest, particularly during a time of increased divisiveness. However, when looking to effectively plan and implement decisive action, few models are more effective than those practiced by the worlds military forces.

Interestingly, Eastern businesses more readily adopted principles from warfare adapted for business success. Some Japanese business people, for example, often have a ready reference to famed swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi’s, text Go rin no sho (‘the book of five rings’), a copy of Hagakure, or Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu’s, famed ‘The Art of War’.

Western influence is equally found in the writings of Caesar, Machiavelli, Otto Von Clausewitz (Vom Kriege: ‘the Art of War’), Napoleon, George Patton, and more recently Colin Powell and James Mattis. 

About me:

So, who am I? I’m A lawyer, mediator, MBA graduate and Australian Veteran, having served 7 years in the Australian Defence Force.

Having set up my own practice now 12 months ago (and survived!), I’m hoping to engage with those who have similarly embarked on the journeys of setting up their own practice, or perhaps have hit a rut, and provide a different perspective at looking at your core business operations.

I am also an avid reader of military history, studying in particular the Napoleonic, Anglo-Zulu and Crimean campaigns.

So what are the principles of war?

These differ between Nations, but the Commonwealth nations utilise the ’10 principles’. The following are taken from the 2011 edition of the British Defence Doctrine:

• Selection and Maintenance of the Aim - A single, unambiguous aim is the keystone of successful military operations. Selection and maintenance of the aim is regarded as the master principle of war.

• Maintenance of Morale - Morale is a positive state of mind derived from inspired political and military leadership, a shared sense of purpose and values, well-being, perceptions of worth and group cohesion.

• Offensive Action - Offensive action is the practical way in which a commander seeks to gain advantage, sustain momentum and seize the initiative.

• Security - Security is the provision and maintenance of an operating environment that affords the necessary freedom of action, when and where required, to achieve objectives.

• Surprise - Surprise is the consequence of shock and confusion induced by the deliberate or incidental introduction of the unexpected.

• Concentration of Force - Concentration of force involves the decisive, synchronized application of superior fighting power (conceptual, physical, and moral) to realize intended effects, when and where required.

• Economy of Effort - Economy of effort is the judicious exploitation of manpower, materiel and time in relation to the achievement of objectives.

• Flexibility - Flexibility – the ability to change readily to meet new circumstances – comprises agility, responsiveness, resilience, acuity and adaptability.

• Cooperation - Cooperation entails the incorporation of teamwork and a sharing of dangers, burdens, risks and opportunities in every aspect of warfare.

• Sustainability - To sustain a force is to generate the means by which its fighting power and freedom of action are maintained.

This article will consider the first principle of war, the Selection and Maintenance of the Aim, when beginning a legal or mediation practice.

Principle One: The Selection and Maintenance of the Aim 

The aim is your aspiration or desired outcome of your practice. Whether this is appealing to a particular legal sector, challenging and overcoming a competitor, or offering a boutique experience distinct from your competition.

As the practice manager (or sole trader, as the case may be), it is essential that you are able to accurately and succinctly state your aim. It should be simple and surmised in a single sentence. For example, on my website “gcbarrister.com.au”, you will see:

“to provide the Gold Coast with cost-effective, practical and client-focused legal and mediation services”

However, to the practice managers in the audience – you have a dual function, being both manager and leader. If you, the leader, are unable to succinctly state your desired endstate, how is it that others may work towards achieving your aim and direction?  (Note: the ‘whys?’ and ‘hows?’ come later).

 This might appear straight forward – but let me ask you – how many of you have given serious thought to the question: “what is it, exactly, that you do?”. If you’re comfortable with replying, “oh, I’m a lawyer/mediator”, I would suggest there is some room for improvement!

It is common place in the realm of our professional lives that we often forget to simplify our goals and desires, or change them against what seems to be an insurmountable obstacle. This principle reminds us, from the outset, our desired destination. How we get there will be considered in later principles.

How to select or decide upon an aim?

When selecting an aim, there are a number of considerations that help properly define your endstate. 

A common saying in the military is ‘time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted’. Indeed, “knowing” is half the battle!

The better you understand your endstate, in terms of the necessary steps, competition or obstacles required to achieve, the better positioned you will be to commence a planning process to achieve it.

You will be in a position to assign tasks with realistic timings to your subordinates (and superiors, if required); it will shape your planning cycle to include as exhaustively as possible all of the relevant factors which may in turn steer your decisions away from what may have become obstacles later.

How is ‘selection’ different from ‘maintaining’ an aim?

Maintaining the aim is something quite different. As a child it was common place that you may keep a clipping or picture of a desirable bicycle, piece of sporting equipment or toy that you were saving hard earned pocket money towards. ‘Maintaining the aim’ is no different.

Sometimes we need a little reminder of what it is exactly we decided upon when we first set upon our journey. When we met a forked-road or decision point later in the future, reminding ourselves of our aim should steer our decision-making towards the direction that most effectively and efficiently meets our desired endstate.

In summary, the Selection and Maintenance of the Aim is most appropriately the first principle of war. To be an effective leader or sole trader you need to trim away at the periphery to arrive at the central goal, and if you have employees, to then work towards inspiring your workforce towards its realisation. 

Throughout a further discourse into the principles of war, I encourage you, whenever you lose focus, to refer back to the first principle and reset / re-sight.

Stay tuned for the next principle that will be considered. The Concentration of Force.