Gregroy Bateson

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Milton H. Erickson

Mahatma Gandhi

Ulysses S. Grant

Martin Luther King

T. E. Lawrence

Erwin Rommel

The Tao of Strategy
David R. Cross, Ph.D.

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see." Arthur Schopenhauer

"Since when was genius found respectable?" Elizabeth Barrett Browning

This is a list of paper topics for the Tao of Strategy (PSYC 40423), an investigation into the deep structure of strategic action. Students in the course are required to write two papers (2,000–2,500 words), on two different topics selected from this list. Students are expected to read or view the resources associated with each topic, although both topics and resources are negotiable. In the absence of any negotiation with me, it will be assumed that students will base their papers on the resources listed here. The general goal of each paper should be to analyze the selected topic from the standpoint of the strategic framework being developed in class. However, students are encouraged to discuss their chosen topics with the instructor, in order to refine their objectives. Note that this list is a work in progress.

Paper Topics

  • Sarah Allen (Daoist metaphors)
  • David Allen (choose one of his books)
    • Wikipedia: Getting Things Done
    • Website: David Allen
    • Weblog: Getting Things Done
    • Allen, D. (2001). Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. New York: Penguin Putnam.
    • Allen, D. (2003). Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life. New York: Viking Books.
    • Allen, D. (2008). Making It All Work: Winning the Game of Work and the Business of Life. New York: Penguin Putnam.
  • Roger Ames (compare his translation with Minford's)
  • Gregory Bateson (choose 5–6 chapters from the special issue)
    • Wikipedia: Gregory Bateson
    • Website: Gregory Bateson Links
    • Steier, F., & Jorgensen, J. (Eds.). (2005). Cybernetics & Human Knowing, 12(15–2) (Special Issue: Gregory Bateson: Essays for an Ecology of Ideas).
  • John Boyd ("Maneuver Warfare")
  • Jim Collins (choose one of the books)
    • Website: Jim Collins
    • Collins, J. C., & Porras, J. (1997). Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. HarperCollins.
    • Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't. Collins Business.
  • Stephen R. Covey and Stephen M. R. Covey Jr. (choose one of the books)
    • Wikipedia: Stephen R. Covey
    • Website: Stephen R. Covey
    • Covey, S. R. (2004). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (15th Anniversary edition). Free Press.
    • Covey, S. M. R. (2008). The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything. Free Press.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower (as President)
  • Milton H. Erickson (choose one of the two books by Jay Haley)
    • Wikipedia: Milton H. Erickson
    • Wikipedia: Jay Haley
    • Haley, J., & Richeport-Haley, M. (2003). The Art of Strategic Therapy. New York: Routledge.
    • Haley, J. (1976/1983). Uncommon Therapy: The Psychiatric Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, MD. New York: W. W. Norton.
  • Eugene B. Fluckey (as Commander—choose one of the books)
    • Wikipedia: Eugene B. Fluckey
    • Fluckey, E. B. (1992). Thunder Below! The USS Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
    • Lavo, C. (2007). Galloping Ghost: The Extraordinary Life of Submarine Captain Eugene Fluckey. US Naval Institute Press.
  • Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King (The Strategy of Nonviolence)
  • Gerd Gigerenzer (you can't select this topic and Gladwell's Blink)
    • Wikipedia: Unconscious Mind
    • Wikipedia: Intuition
    • Gigerenzer, G. (2007). Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious. New York: Penguin Books.
  • Malcolm Gladwell (choose one of his three books)
    • Wikipedia: Malcolm Gladwell
    • Website: Malcolm Gladwell
    • Gladwell, M. (2000). The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. New York: Little, Brown.
    • Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. New York: Little, Brown.
    • Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown.
  • Ulysses S. Grant (as General—choose one of the books)
    • Wikipedia: Ulysses S. Grant
    • Website: Ulysses S. Grant Homepage
    • Grant, U. S. (1990). Memoirs and Selected Letters (Volume I). The Library of America.
    • Smith, J. E. (2001). Grant (Chapters 1–12). Simon & Schuster.
  • Heinz Guderian (choose one of the books)
  • François Jullien ("China as Philosophical Tool")
    • Wikipedia: China
    • Jullien, F. (2004). A Treatise on Efficacy: Between Western and Chinese Thinking. University of Hawaii Press.
  • Genghis Khan ("The Great Khan")
    • Wikipedia: Genghis Khan
    • Wikipedia: Mongol (2007)
    • Weatherford, J. (2004). Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. New York: Random House.
  • Gary Klein and Caroline Zsambok (choose 5–6 chapters from the edited book)
    • Wikipedia: Naturalistic Decision Making
    • Zsambok, C. E., & Klein, G. (Eds.). (1997). Naturalistic Decision Making. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea)
    • Website: Three Cups of Tea
    • Mortenson, G., & Relin, D. O. (2006). Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... Once School at a Time. New York: Penguin Books.
  • T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia")
  • Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea)
    • Website: Three Cups of Tea
    • Mortenson, G., & Relin, D. O. (2006). Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... Once School at a Time. New York: Penguin Books.
  • Erwin Rommel (choose one of the two books)
    • Wikipedia: Erwin Rommel
    • DVD: Erwin Rommel: The Last Knight. A&E Biography, 2008.
    • Rommel, E. (1937/1979). Infantry Attacks. Athena Press.
    • Hoffman, K. (2004). Erwin Rommel. Brassey's, UK.
  • Scipio Africanus ("Greater Than Napoleon")
    • Wikipedia: Scipio Africanus
    • Liddell Hart, B. H. (1926/1976). Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon. New York: Biblio and Tannen.
  • Sun Lutang (Sun style Tai Ji Quan)
  • USMC (Warfighting)
    • Document (html): Warfighting (FMFM 1)
    • Document (pdf): Warfighting (MCDP 1)
    • U. S. M. C. (1994). Warfighting: The U. S. Marine Corps Book of Strategy. Currency Doubleday.
  • Richard Winters ("Biggest Brother")

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