Scholar | Leadership Coach | Strategy, history & geopolitics. I read heavy books so you don't have to. 🔑Access to only high-quality thinkers.
Manila City
Joined July 2025
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🧵 A Masterclass in Military Thought: 6 Key Takeaways from "On Operations" by B.A. Friedman
Friedman's work challenges modern military dogma, stripping away unnecessary jargon to reveal the true mechanics of warfare.
Here’s how you can rethink operational art.👇
Notes by Dehran retweeted
Final Word : No nation with air superiority has ever lost a war to enemy arms.
John Warden’s 4 rules of air power:
1. Win the sky first.
2. Strike the centre of gravity, not territory.
3. Paralyse command, not just troops.
4. Hold reserves for shock.
#AirPower #MilitaryStrategy #warfare @CAPS_INDIA @Chopsyturvey @BahadurManmohan @AnchitGupta9
Notes by Dehran retweeted
4. The Decisive Shock of Air Reserves.
While many assume every aircraft should fly every day, Author argue for the shock value of reserves that can be committed at decisive points.
The sudden appearance of previously unseen air forces dramatically changes the manoeuvre equation, creating an uncertainty factor that can shatter an enemy’s resolve.
#TacticalShock #AirReserves #Warfare
Notes by Dehran retweeted
3. Paralyzing the Command and Staff System.
Modern victory is achieved by attacking the enemy’s command across the information, decision, and communication spheres to dramatically decrease operational effectiveness.
Warden highlights that in the modern era, the staff system serving the leader is often the true centre of gravity, and disrupting it can lead to total organisational paralysis.
#CommandAndControl #Decapitation #Operations
Notes by Dehran retweeted
5/5
Bryce Hoffman’s [Red Teaming] shows how elite orgs institutionalize dissent: dedicated teams whose job is to attack the plan.
If your ideas can’t survive scrutiny, they shouldn’t survive at all.
#GrowthMindset #Leadership
Notes by Dehran retweeted
4/5
Shane Parrish’s [Clear Thinking] warns that our “emotion, ego, social, and inertia defaults” keep us stuck in comfy echo chambers.
The fix: deliberately seek disconfirming evidence.
#GrowthMindset #Leadership
Notes by Dehran retweeted
3/5
In [Deliberate Calm], Brassey, De Smet & Kruyt talk about the “Adaptive Zone”—where old playbooks fail and you must update your mental models instead of clinging to what once worked.
#GrowthMindset #Leadership
Notes by Dehran retweeted
1/5
Stop bingeing “feel-good takes,” start seeking “think-hard ideas.”
As Adam Grant shows in [Think Again], growth comes from a challenge network, not a fan club.
#GrowthMindset #Leadership
@AdamMGrant
Notes by Dehran retweeted
🧵 48 Laws of Power, Simplified.
1/ Unlocking the timeless lessons from Robert Greene’s classic – “The 48 Laws of Power”. Here’s a simple breakdown of all 48 laws. Let’s dive in! #48LawsOfPower #Leadership
Notes by Dehran retweeted
Reading makes you wiser and harder to control.
These 12 books reveal deep truths about life, history, and how we think. They help you see the world clearly and live with meaning.
theebookclubx.substack.com/p…
Notes by Dehran retweeted
"‘Last night I thought over a thousand plans, but this morning I went my old way’, says the Chinese proverb. Settled habits of thought, over-addiction to the familiar, will smother the dreams and ideas of the night."
John Adair, The Art of Creative Thinking: How to Be Innovative and Develop Great Ideas.
Notes by Dehran retweeted
5/ The Shift to "War Amongst the People"
The paradigm has shifted from industrial war to war amongst the people. This new reality makes it harder to define success, identify the theatre of operations, or manage multinational strategic direction. Today’s operational artists must orchestrate not just firepower, but information and resourcesto achieve complex political goals. #FutureOfWar #InternationalRelations
Notes by Dehran retweeted
4/ Manoeuvre as the Core.
Historically, manoeuvre has been the antidote to static entrenchment. Whether through the corps system of Napoleon or the panzer divisions of the 20th century, the goal is to create opportunities on the enemy's flank and rear. However, the rise of superior firepower and technology-centric thinking can sometimes de-emphasize this creative, non-linear approach. #Innovation #Tactics
Notes by Dehran retweeted
3/ Mastering Two "Grammars"
Modern operational art requires mastering two distinct grammars. The first grammarinvolves defeating an opponent with armed force, while the second grammar deals with insurgencies and irregular warfare. Success in the first does not guarantee success in the second, as seen in conflicts like Vietnam and Iraq. #Geopolitics #History
Notes by Dehran retweeted
2/ The Necessity of Strategic Alignment
Without a clear strategic objective, operational art is merely "grand tactics". Proficiency on the battlefield cannot save a campaign from strategic miscalculation. A plan must include a clear "exit strategy" or termination phase to link the fighting to the desired political end state. #Leadership #StrategicPlanning
Notes by Dehran retweeted
1/ Defining the "Grey Area".
Operational art emerged in the nineteenth century as a distinct component of warfare, acting as the bridge between strategy and tactics. It is the systematic planning of campaigns to achieve strategic goals in a specific theatre, essentially governing tactical creativity to ensure local actions serve the broader political objective. #MilitaryStrategy #ModernWarfare
Notes by Dehran retweeted
Leonhard's four temporal aspects, plus the lessons added on training, readiness, the cognitive minute and the electromagnetic fight.
Save it for later.
Credit for value additions -
@KTB_500 @TrentTelenko @Telos_of_War @TimOnPoint @alcal74
Notes by Dehran retweeted
1/7
We think of war in terms of space: terrain, borders, positions.
Robert R. Leonhard argues the decisive dimension is actually time.
In Fighting by Minutes, he breaks time in war into four parts. A thread 🧵
John Warden’s The Air Campaign,
Here are four key takeaways that focus on strategic air power.
1. Air Superiority as the Non-Negotiable Foundation
Warden emphasises that air superiority is the fundamental prerequisite for victory, noting that no nation enjoying it has ever lost a war to enemy arms.
Because it is so critical, the prudent commander ensures that all other military operations are subordinated to its attainment before attempting secondary objectives.
#AirPower #MilitaryStrategy #Victory
4. The Decisive Shock of Air Reserves.
While many assume every aircraft should fly every day, Author argue for the shock value of reserves that can be committed at decisive points.
The sudden appearance of previously unseen air forces dramatically changes the manoeuvre equation, creating an uncertainty factor that can shatter an enemy’s resolve.
#TacticalShock #AirReserves #Warfare
Final Word : No nation with air superiority has ever lost a war to enemy arms.
John Warden’s 4 rules of air power:
1. Win the sky first.
2. Strike the centre of gravity, not territory.
3. Paralyse command, not just troops.
4. Hold reserves for shock.
#AirPower #MilitaryStrategy #warfare @CAPS_INDIA @Chopsyturvey @BahadurManmohan @AnchitGupta9