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

While each of the preceding principles of maneuver warfare represents a valuable concept on its own, the benefits of this combat philosophy are realized most fully when the principles are working together. Maneuver warfare is not about execution in isolation but about applying the principles simultaneously ”in subsets or as an integrated whole ”to determine the most decisive outcome at the least cost.

A closer look at the Israelis experience in Chapter 2 shows how the seven principles complement and reinforce one another when applied in an integrated manner. In the air attack, surprise complemented boldness; the Israeli pilots ability to conceal their intentions until the moment of the attack decreased the risk associated with the bold move. And both boldness and surprise reinforced focus. The Israelis would not have been able to deliver a knockout blow had they not committed almost their entire Air Force and had the Egyptians been expecting an attack.

On the ground, boldness again reinforced focus. Tal would not have been able to attack with fists of armor had he not risked vulnerabilities elsewhere, and Yoffe would not have been able to deny Egyptian reinforcements had he not risked a crossing of the impassable sands. Boldness also reinforced decentralized decision making, which in turn enabled a rapid tempo. Countless on-the-spot decisions made confidently in the absence of complete information maintained the blistering momentum of the Israeli attack. Finally, tempo complemented targeting critical vulnerabilities. The faster the Israelis penetrated the Egyptian defenses, the more they created chaos and confusion and accelerated the collapse of the Egyptian command and control system.

Once we have provided a thorough treatment of each of the seven guiding principles, we will examine in greater detail this notion that the principles are complementary and mutually reinforcing . We will offer the concept of reconnaissance pull , which encompasses targeting critical vulnerabilities, focus, decentralized decision making, and tempo. Reconnaissance pull is a real-time response to opportunity, whereby an individual identifies an opportunity, directs the organization toward it, and then immediately leads in its exploitation. From there we will demonstrate the synergistic effects of the fully integrated application of all seven principles in the business environment. And we will close with a discussion of leadership ”again, the backbone of maneuver warfare ”without which well-intended strategy never translates into actual results.