Envuelve al Enemigo: la Estrategia de la Aniquilación

ENVELOP THE ENEMY
THE ANNIHILATION STRATEGY

People will use any kind of gap in your defenses to
attack you or revenge themselves on you. So offer
no gaps. The secret is to envelop your opponents--
create relentless pressure on them from all sides,
dominate their attention, and close off their access
to the outside world. Make your attacks
unpredictable to create a vaporous feeling of
vulnerability. Finally, as you sense their weakening
resolve, crush their willpower by tightening the
noose. The best encirclements are psychological--
you have surrounded their minds.
Robert Greene


THE HORNS OF THE BEAST

In December 1878 the British declared war on the
Zulus, the warrior tribe of present-day South Africa.
The rather flimsy pretext was border troubles between
Zululand and the British state of Natal; the real aim
was to destroy the Zulu army, the last remaining native
force threatening British interests in the area, and to
absorb Zulu territories into a British-run confederation
of states. The British commander, Lieutenant General
Lord Chelmsford, drafted a plan to invade Zululand
with three columns, the central one aimed at the
capital of Ulundi, the heart of the kingdom.
Legend has it that Shaka altered the nature of
fighting in the region for ever, by inventing a
heavy, broad-bladed spear designed to
withstand the stresses of close-quarter combat.
Perhaps he did: certainly both Zulu sources and
the accounts of white travellers and officials in
the nineteenth century credit him with this
achievement.... His military innovations made
an impact on Zulu folklore, if nothing else, for
Shaka certainly developed fighting techniques
to an unprecedented degree, and there is a
wealth of stories concerning his prowess as a
warrior: he may, indeed, have been one of the
great military geniuses of his age. In place of
the loose skirmishing tactics with light throwing
spears, Shaka trained his warriors to advance
rapidly in tight formations and engage hand-tohand,
battering the enemy with larger warshields,
then skewering their foes with the new
spear as they were thrown off balance. If the
results are anything to judge by, Shaka's
capacity for conquest must have been dramatic.
By 1824 the Zulus had eclipsed all their rivals,
and had extended their influence over an area
many times larger than their original homeland.
THE ANATOMY OF THE ZULU ARMY, 
IAN KNIGHT, 1995

Identifica y ataca los flancos débiles de tus oponentes: Estrategia de la Vuelta

EXPOSE AND ATTACK YOUR
OPPONENT'S SOFT FLANK
THE TURNING STRATEGY

When you attack people directly, you stiffen their
resistance and make your task that much harder.
There is a better way: distract your opponents'
attention to the front, then attack them from the side,
where they least expect it. By hitting them where they
are soft, tender, and unprotected, you create a
shock, a moment of weakness for you to exploit. Bait
people into going out on a limb, exposing their
weakness, then rake them with fire from the side.
The only way to get stubborn opponents to move is
to approach them indirectly.
Robert Greene

The Emperor [Napoleon Bonaparte] , while he
was quite prepared "to break eggs to make
omelettes," as von Clausewitz puts it, was
always eager to gain total victory for a minimum
expenditure of manpower and effort.
Consequently he disliked having to force a fullscale,
fully arrayed frontal battle--that is to say,
marching directly against the enemy to fight
him on ground of his (the adversary's)
choosing, for such battles were inevitably
expensive and rarely conclusive (Borodino in
1812 is a case in point). Instead, whenever
possible, after pinning the foe frontally by a feint
attack, he marched his main army by the
quickest possible "safe" route, hidden by the
cavalry screen and natural obstacles, to place
himself on the rear or flank of his opponent.
Once this move had been successfully
achieved, he occupied a natural barrier or
"strategical curtain" (usually a river line or
mountain range), ordered the blocking of all
crossings, and thus isolated his intended victim
from his rear depots and reduced his chances
of reinforcement. Thereafter, Napoleon
advanced relentlessly toward the foe's army,
offering him only two alternatives--to fight for
survival on ground not of his own choosing, or to
surrender. The advantages afforded by such a
strategy are obvious. The enemy army would be
both taken by surprise and almost certainly
demoralized by the sudden apparition of the
enemy army in its rear, cutting its
communications.
THE CAMPAIGNS OF NAPOLEON, 
DAVID G. CHANDLER, 1966

Derrótalos por partes: Estrategia de Divide y Vencerás

DEFEAT THEM IN DETAIL
THE DIVIDE-AND-CONQUER STRATEGY

When you look at your enemies, do not be
intimidated by their appearance. Instead look at the
parts that make up the whole. By separating the
parts, sowing dissension and division from within,
you can weaken and bring down even the most
formidable foe. In setting up your attack, work on
their minds to create internal conflict. Look for the
joints and links, the things that connect the people in
a group or connect one group to another. Division is
weakness, and the joints are the weakest part of any
structure. When you are facing troubles or enemies,
turn a large problem into small, eminently
defeatable parts.
Robert Greene

There were, however, many occasions when the
French were faced not by one but by two or a
whole series of enemy armies within supporting
distance of one another. Faced with such a
difficult situation, Napoleon often adopted a
second system of maneuver--the "strategy of
the central position." Very often under these
circumstances the French found themselves
operating at a numerical disadvantage against
the combined strength of their opponents, but
could procure superior numbers against any
one part of their adversaries' forces. It was this
second factor that the system was designed to
exploit to the full. "The art of generalship
consists in, when actually inferior in numbers to
the enemy (overall), being superior to him on
the battlefield." In brief, Napoleon set himself
the task of isolating one part of the enemy
armament, concentrating a stronger force to
ensure its defeat and if possible its destruction,
and then turning with his full strength to attack
the second enemy army; that is to say, instead
of a single decisive blow, he planned a series of
smaller blows against scattered adversaries
and set out to destroy them in detail. How could
this be done? Once again, the sequence of the
Napoleonic attack reveals the formula. First of
all the Emperor would accumulate as much
information about the forces facing him from
captured newspapers, deserters and most
especially from the indications brought in by his
probing cavalry patrols. From the data thus
provided, he would carefully plot the known
dispositions of his foes on the map, and then
select the place where their respective army
boundaries converged. This was the "hinge" or
"joint" of the enemy's strategic dispositions, and
as such was vulnerable to attack. This point
would be selected by Napoleon for his initial
blitzkrieg attack, carried out as often as not in
full strength. Shielded by the cavalry screen, the
French army would perform a crash
concentration and fall like a thunderbolt on the
handful of troops defending this central point.
Invariably this initial onslaught would be
successful. Immediately Napoleon had massed
his army at this newly captured point, he was
master of the "central position"--that is to say,
he had successfully interposed his
concentrated army between the forces of his
enemies who, ideally, would have staggered
back under the impact of the surprise blow in
such a way as to increase the distance between
their respective armies. This would inevitably
mean that the foe would have to operate on
"exterior lines" (i.e., have greater distances to
march from one flank to the other) while the
better-positioned French would have a shorter
distance to travel to reach either enemy.
THE CAMPAIGNS OF NAPOLEON, DAVID G.
CHANDLER, 1966

Golpealos donde les duela: Estrategia del centro de gravedad

HIT THEM WHERE IT HURTS
THE CENTER-OF-GRAVITY STRATEGY

Everyone has a source of power on which he or she
depends. When you look at your rivals, search below
the surface for that source, the center of gravity that
holds the entire structure together. That center can
be their wealth, their popularity, a key position, a
winning strategy. Hitting them there will inflict
disproportionate pain. Find what the other side most
cherishes and protects--that is where you must
strike.
Robert Greene


Man depends on his throat for fluent breathing
and the maintenance of life. When his throat is
strangled, his five sense organs will lose their
sensibility and no longer function normally. He
will not be able to stretch his limbs, which
become numb and paralyzed. The man can
therefore rarely survive. Thus, when the banners
of the enemy come into sight and the beating of
its battle drums can be heard, we must first
ascertain the positions of its back and throat.
Then we can attack it from the back and
strangle its throat. This is an excellent strategy
to crush the enemy.

THE WILES OF WAR: 36 MILITARY
STRATEGIES FROM ANCIENT CHINA,
TRANSLATED BY SUN HAICHEN, 1991

Controla la Dinámica: Estrategia de Coacción

CONTROL THE DYNAMIC
FORCING STRATEGIES

People are constantly struggling to control you--
getting you to act in their interests, keeping the
dynamic on their terms. The only way to get the
upper hand is to make your play for control more
intelligent and insidious. Instead of trying to
dominate the other side's every move, work to define
the nature of the relationship itself. Shift the conflict
to terrain of your choice, altering the pace and
stakes to suit you. Maneuver to control your
opponents' minds, pushing their emotional buttons,
and compelling them to make mistakes. If
necessary, let them feel they are in control in order
to get them to lower their guard. If you control the
overall direction and framing of the battle, anything
they do will play into your hands.
Robert Greene

"Pressing down the pillow" refers to one's efforts
not to let the head of one's opponent rise. In
battles based on martial strategy, it is taboo to
let your opponent take the initiative, thus putting
yourself on the defensive. You must try at all
costs to lead your opponent by taking complete
control of him. During combat, your opponent
intends to dominate you as much as you want to
dominate him, so it is vital that you pick up on
your opponent's intentions and tactics so as to
control him.... According to the principle of
martial strategy, you must be able to control
your opponent(s) at all times. Study this point
well"

THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, MIYAMOTO
MUSASHI, 1584-1645

Aplasta la resistencia con rapidez y de improviso: Estrategia de la Guerra Relámpago

OVERWHELM RESISTANCE WITH
SPEED AND SUDDENNESS
THE BLITZKRIEG STRATEGY

In a world in which many people are indecisive and
overly cautious, the use of speed will bring you
untold power. Striking first, before your opponents
have time to think or prepare, will make them
emotional, unbalanced, and prone to error. When
you follow with another swift and sudden maneuver,
you will induce further panic and confusion. This
strategy works best with a setup, a lull--your
unexpected action catches your enemy off guard.
When you strike, hit with unrelenting force. Acting
with speed and decisiveness will garner you respect,
awe, and irresistible momentum.
Robert Greene


War is such that the supreme consideration is
speed. This is to take advantage of what is
beyond the reach of the enemy, to go by way of
routes where he least expects you, and to attack
where he has made no preparations.
SUN-TZU, FOURTH CENTURY B.C.

Conoce a tu enemigo: Estrategia del servicio de inteligencia

KNOW YOUR ENEMY
THE INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY

The target of your strategies should be less the army
you face than the mind of the man or woman who
runs it. If you understand how that mind works, you
have the key to deceiving and controlling it. Train
yourself to read people, picking up the signals they
unconsciously send about their innermost thoughts
and intentions. A friendly front will let you watch them
closely and mine them for information. Beware of
projecting your own emotions and mental habits
onto them; try to think as they think. By finding your
opponents' psychological weaknesses, you can work
to unhinge their minds.
Robert Greene


He who knows the enemy and himself Will
never in a hundred battles be at risk.
SUN-TZU, FOURTH CENTURY B.C.


[As to the second case] , that of being drawn into
one [a trap or ambush] ...you must be shrewd
about not believing easily things not in accord
with reason. For example, if the enemy puts
some booty before you, you ought to believe
that within it there is a hook and that it conceals
some trick. If many of the enemy are put to flight
by your few, if a few of the enemy assail your
many, if the enemy turn in sudden flight,...you
ought to fear a trick. And you should never
believe that the enemy does not know how to
carry on his affairs; rather, if you hope to be less
deceived...and...run less risk, in proportion as
your enemy is weaker, in proportion as he is
less cautious, you should the more respect him.
THE ART OF WAR, NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI,

1521

Pierde batallas, pero gana la Guerra: la Gran Estrategia

LOSE BATTLES BUT WIN THE WAR
GRAND STRATEGY

Everyone around you is a strategist angling for
power, all trying to promote their own interests, often
at your expense. Your daily battles with them make
you lose sight of the only thing that really matters:
victory in the end, the achievement of greater goals,
lasting power. Grand strategy is the art of looking
beyond the battle and calculating ahead. It requires
that you focus on your ultimate goal and plot to
reach it. In grand strategy you consider the political
ramifications and long-term consequences of what
you do. Instead of reacting emotionally to people,
you take control, and make your actions more
dimensional, subtle, and effective. Let others get
caught up in the twists and turns of the battle,
relishing their little victories. Grand strategy will bring
you the ultimate reward: the last laugh.
Robert Greene

THE FOX AND THE MONKEY ELECTED KING
The monkey, having danced in an assembly of
the animals and earned their approval, was
elected by them to be king. The fox was jealous.
So, seeing a piece of meat one day in a snare,
he led the monkey to it, saying that he had
found a treasure. But rather than take it for
himself, he had kept guard over it, as its
possession was surely a prerogative of royalty.
The fox then urged him to take it.
The monkey approached it, taking no care, and
was caught in the trap. When he accused the
fox of luring him into a trap, the fox replied:
"Monkey, you want to reign over all the animals,
but look what a fool you are!" It is thus that those
who throw themselves into an enterprise without
sufficient thought not only fail, but even become
a laughing stock.

FABLES, AESOP, SIXTH CENTURY B.C.

Intercambia espacio por tiempo: Estrategia de no participación

TRADE SPACE FOR TIME
THE NONENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

Retreat in the face of a strong enemy is a sign not of
weakness but of strength. By resisting the temptation
to respond to an aggressor, you buy yourself
valuable time--time to recover, to think, to gain
perspective. Let your enemies advance; time is
more important than space. By refusing to fight, you
infuriate them and feed their arrogance. They will
soon overextend themselves and start making
mistakes. Time will reveal them as rash and you as
wise. Sometimes you can accomplish most by doing
nothing.
Robert Greene

Six in the fourth place means: The army
retreats. No blame. In face of a superior enemy,
with whom it would be hopeless to engage in
battle, an orderly retreat is the only correct
procedure, because it will save the army from
defeat and disintegration. It is by no means a
sign of courage or strength to insist upon
engaging in a hopeless struggle regardless of
circumstances.
THE I CHING, CHINA, CIRCA EIGHTH

CENTURY B.C.

Crea una presencia amenazadora: Estrategia de disuación

CREATE A THREATENING PRESENCE
DETERRENCE STRATEGIES

The best way to fight off aggressors is to keep them
from attacking you in the first place. To accomplish
this you must create the impression of being more
powerful than you are. Build up a reputation: You're
a little crazy. Fighting you is not worth it. You take
your enemies with you when you lose. Create this
reputation and make it credible with a few
impressive--impressively violent--acts. Uncertainty
is sometimes better than overt threat: if your
opponents are never sure what messing with you will
cost, they will not want to find out. Play on people's
natural fears and anxieties to make them think twice.

Robert Greene

Voltea el Tablero: Estrategia de contra-ataque

TURN THE TABLES
THE COUNTERATTACK STRATEGY

Moving first--initiating the attack--will often put you at
a disadvantage: you are exposing your strategy and
limiting your options. Instead discover the power of
holding back and letting the other side move first,
giving you the flexibility to counterattack from any
angle. If your opponents are aggressive, bait them
into a rash attack that will leave them in a weak
position. Learn to use their impatience, their
eagerness to get at you, as a way to throw them off
balance and bring them down. In difficult moments
do not despair or retreat: any situation can be turned
around. If you learn how to hold back, waiting for the
right moment to launch an unexpected
counterattack, weakness can become strength.

Robert Greene

Elige las batallas con cuidado: Estrategia de economía óptima

PICK YOUR BATTLES CAREFULLY
THE PERFECT-ECONOMY STRATEGY

We all have limitations--our energies and skills will
take us only so far. Danger comes from trying to
surpass our limits. Seduced by some glittering prize
into overextending ourselves, we end up exhausted
and vulnerable. You must know your limits and pick
your battles carefully. Consider the hidden costs of a
war: time lost, political goodwill squandered, an
embittered enemy bent on revenge. Sometimes it is
better to wait, to undermine your enemies covertly
rather than hitting them straight on. If battle cannot
be avoided, get them to fight on your terms. Aim at
their weaknesses; make the war expensive for them
and cheap for you. Fighting with perfect economy,
you can outlast even the most powerful foe.

Robert Greene

Transforma tu guerra en una cruzada: Estrategias de moral

TRANSFORM YOUR WAR INTO A
CRUSADE MORALE STRATEGIES

The secret to motivating people and maintaining
their morale is to get them to think less about
themselves and more about the group. Involve them
in a cause, a crusade against a hated enemy. Make
them see their survival as tied to the success of the
army as a whole. In a group in which people have
truly bonded, moods and emotions are so
contagious that it becomes easy to infect your troops
with enthusiasm. Lead from the front: let your
soldiers see you in the trenches, making sacrifices
for the cause. That will fill them with the desire to
emulate and please you. Make both rewards and
punishments rare but meaningful. Remember: a
motivated army can work wonders, making up for
any lack of material resources.

Robert Greene

Segmenta tu fuerzas: Estrategia del caos controlado

SEGMENT YOUR FORCES
THE CONTROLLED-CHAOS STRATEGY

The critical elements in war are speed and
adaptability--the ability to move and make decisions
faster than the enemy. But speed and adaptability
are hard to achieve today. We have more
information than ever before at our fingertips,
making interpretation and decision making more
difficult. We have more people to manage, those
people are more widely spread, and we face more
uncertainty. Learn from Napoleon, warfare's greatest
master: speed and adaptability come from flexible
organization. Break your forces into independent
groups that can operate and make decisions on
their own. Make your forces elusive and unstoppable
by infusing them with the spirit of the campaign,
giving them a mission to accomplish, and then
letting them run.

Robert Greene

Evita las asechanzas del pensamiento de grupo: Estrategia de mando y control

AVOID THE SNARES OF GROUPTHINK
THE COMMAND-AND-CONTROL STRATEGY

The problem in leading any group is that people
inevitably have their own agendas. If you are too
authoritarian, they will resent you and rebel in silent
ways. If you are too easygoing, they will revert to their
natural selfishness and you will lose control. You
have to create a chain of command in which people
do not feel constrained by your influence yet follow
your lead. Put the right people in place--people who
will enact the spirit of your ideas without being
automatons. Make your commands clear and
inspiring, focusing attention on the team, not the
leader. Create a sense of participation, but do not
fall into Groupthink--the irrationality of collective
decision making. Make yourself look like a paragon
of fairness, but never relinquish unity of command.

Robert Greene

Crea una sensación de urgencia y desesperación: Estrategia del terreno mortal

CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY
AND DESPERATION
THE DEATH-GROUND STRATEGY

You are your own worst enemy. You waste precious
time dreaming of the future instead of engaging in
the present. Since nothing seems urgent to you, you
are only half involved in what you do. The only way
to change is through action and outside pressure.
Put yourself in situations where you have too much
at stake to waste time or resources--if you cannot
afford to lose, you won't. Cut your ties to the past;
enter unknown territory where you must depend on
your wits and energy to see you through. Place
yourself on "death ground," where your back is
against the wall and you have to fight like hell to get
out alive.

Robert Greene

En medio de la vorágine de acontecimientos, no pierdas tu presencia de ánimo: Estrategia del contrapeso

AMIDST THE TURMOIL OF EVENTS,
DO NOT LOSE YOUR PRESENCE OF MIND
THE COUNTERBALANCE STRATEGY

In the heat of battle, the mind tends to lose its
balance. Too many things confront you at the same
time--unexpected setbacks, doubts and criticisms
from your own allies. There's a danger of responding
emotionally, with fear, depression, or frustration. It is
vital to keep your presence of mind, maintaining
your mental powers whatever the circumstances.
You must actively resist the emotional pull of the
moment--staying decisive, confident, and
aggressive no matter what hits you. Make the mind
tougher by exposing it to adversity. Learn to detach
yourself from the chaos of the battlefield. Let others
lose their heads; your presence of mind will steer
you clear of their influence and keep you on course.

Robert Greene 

No libres la última guerra - Estrategia de la guerra de guerrilas mental

DO NOT FIGHT THE LAST WAR
THE GUERRILLA-WAR-OF-THE-MIND
STRATEGY

What most often weighs you down and brings you
misery is the past, in the form of unnecessary
attachments, repetitions of tired formulas, and the
memory of old victories and defeats. You must
consciously wage war against the past and force
yourself to react to the present moment. Be ruthless
on yourself; do not repeat the same tired methods.
Sometimes you must force yourself to strike out in
new directions, even if they involve risk. What you
may lose in comfort and security, you will gain in
surprise, making it harder for your enemies to tell
what you will do. Wage guerrilla war on your mind,
allowing no static lines of defense, no exposed
citadels--make everything fluid and mobile.

Robert Greene 

Declara la Guerra a tus Enemigos: Estrategia de la Polaridad

DECLARE WAR ON YOUR ENEMIES
THE POLARITY STRATEGY

Life is endless battle and conflict, and you cannot
fight effectively unless you can identify your
enemies. People are subtle and evasive, disguising
their intentions, pretending to be on your side. You
need clarity. Learn to smoke out your enemies, to
spot them by the signs and patterns that reveal
hostility. Then, once you have them in your sights,
inwardly declare war. As the opposite poles of a
magnet create motion, your enemies--your
opposites--can fill you with purpose and direction. As
people who stand in your way, who represent what
you loathe, people to react against, they are a
source of energy. Do not be naive: with some
enemies there can be no compromise, no middle
ground.

Robert Greene 

[Salvador Dali] had no time for those who did
not agree with his principles, and took the war
into the enemy camp by writing insulting letters
to many of the friends he had made in the
Residencia, calling them pigs. He happily
compared himself to a clever bull avoiding the
cowboys and generally had a great deal of fun
stirring up and scandalizing almost every

Catalan intellectual worthy of the name. Dali
was beginning to burn his bridges with the zeal
of an arsonist.... "We [Dali and the filmmaker
Luis Bunuel] had resolved to send a poison pen
letter to one of the great celebrities of Spain,"
Dali later told his biographer Alain Bosquet.
"Our goal was pure subversion.... Both of us
were strongly influenced by Nietzsche.... We hit
upon two names: Manuel de Falla, the
composer, and Juan Ramon Jimenez, the poet.
We drew straws and Jimenez won.... So we
composed a frenzied and nasty letter of
incomparable violence and addressed it to
Juan Ramon Jimenez. It read: 'Our
Distinguished Friend: We believe it is our duty
to inform you--disinterestedly--that your work is
deeply repugnant to us because of its
immorality, its hysteria, its arbitrary quality....' It
caused Jimenez great pain...."
THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY: A
BIOGRAPHY OF DALI, MEREDITH
ETHERINGTON-SMITH, 1992

Sea cambiante en su forma

Al adoptar una forma definida y tener un plan claro para todo el mundo, usted se convertirá en el blanco de ataques diversos. En lugar de brindar a sus enemigos algo concreto que atacar, manténgase flexible, adaptable y en movimiento. Acepte el hecho de que nada es absoluto y de que no existen leyes fijas. La mejor manera de protegerse es mantenerse tan fluido y amorfo como el agua. Nunca apueste a la estabilidad ni a un orden perdurable. Todo cambia.
Robert Greene 

No vaya más allá de su objetivo original; al triunfar, aprenda cuándo detenerse

El momento del triunfo es a menudo el momento de mayor peligro. En el fragor de la victoria, la arrogancia y un exceso de confianza en sus fuerzas pueden llegar a impulsarlo más allá de la meta que se había propuesto en un principio, y al ir demasiado lejos, serán más los enemigos que le creará que los que logre vencer. No permita que el éxito se le suba a la cabeza. No hay nada como la estrategia y la planificación cuidadosa. Fíjese un objetivo y, cuando lo alcance, deténgase.
Robert Greene 

Nunca se muestre demasiado perfecto

Siempre es peligroso mostrarse superior a los demás, pero lo más peligroso de todo es parecer libre de toda falla o debilidad. La envidia genera enemigos silenciosos. Lo inteligente es poner de manifiesto, de vez en cuando, sus defectos y admitir vicios inofensivos, a fin de desviar la envidia y parecer más humano y accesible. Sólo los dioses y los muertos pueden parecer perfectos impunemente.
Robert Greene y Joost Elffers