The Marine Corps Way: Using Maneuver Warfare to Lead a Winning Organization

Reconnaissance Pull

A real-time response to weakness, whereby an individual identifies an opportunity, directs the organization toward it, and then immediately leads the organization in its exploitation, reconnaissance pull encompasses:

• Decentralized Decision Making

  • Entrust talented frontline employees and junior managers with the necessary authority to decide when and where to pursue breakout opportunities.

• Targeting Critical Vulnerabilities

  • Individuals on the front lines are ideally positioned to identify and rapidly exploit market openings or rivals critical vulnerabilities.

• Tempo

  • A timely response to the identification of an opportunity requires rapid decision making on the part of the leader.

• Focus

  • The leader must be willing to commit maximum available resources to the exploitation of identified opportunities.

• Develop and designate a wide range of reconnaissance capabilities in your organization.

• Employ distributed information systems to complement and enable pervasive information sharing.

• Ensure a direct conduit exists between senior leadership and the reconnaissance force.

  • Consider making a human investment in the form of the appointment of a talented up-and-comer as your ground intel officer.

• Recognize and reward individuals who discover new opportunities or develop new ideas.

• Build flexibility into your organization.