Laws of tactics
8 min readDec 31, 2022
In the field of tactics, there are a number of laws that are used to guide decision-making and help organizations achieve their goals. These laws can be applied in a variety of contexts, including business, military, and politics, and can help organizations to anticipate and respond to changes in the environment and achieve short-term success. Here are a few examples of the laws of tactics:
- The law of objectives: This law states that an organization should have clear and well-defined objectives in order to guide its actions and achieve its goals. By having clear objectives, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of feasibility: This law states that an organization’s tactics should be feasible and achievable given the resources and constraints it faces. By considering feasibility, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of surprise: This law states that an organization should seek to surprise its opponents in order to gain an advantage. By surprising its opponents, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the offensive: This law states that an organization should aim to take the offensive and initiate actions in order to gain an advantage. By taking the offensive, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of economy of force: This law states that an organization should use the minimum necessary resources to achieve its objectives, in order to conserve resources for other objectives. By using the minimum necessary resources, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of mass: This law states that an organization should concentrate its efforts and resources in order to achieve a decisive advantage over its opponents. By concentrating its efforts and resources, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of unity of command: This law states that an organization should have a single person in charge of a particular action or objective in order to avoid confusion and ensure unity of effort. By having a single person in charge, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of security: This law states that an organization should take measures to protect itself and its resources in order to increase its chances of success. By taking security measures, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of flexibility: This law states that an organization should be flexible in its tactics in order to respond to changing circumstances. By being flexible in its tactics, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of simplicity: This law states that an organization’s tactics should be simple and straightforward in order to increase their chances of success. By keeping its tactics simple, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of timeliness: This law states that an organization’s tactics should be timely and relevant in order to increase their chances of success. By being timely and relevant, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of surprise and speed: This law states that an organization should aim to achieve surprise and speed in its tactics in order to gain an advantage over its opponents. By achieving surprise and speed, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of concentration of effort: This law states that an organization should concentrate its efforts on a single objective in order to increase its chances of success. By concentrating its efforts, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of maneuver: This law states that an organization should aim to outmaneuver its opponents in order to gain an advantage. By outmaneuvering its opponents, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of audacity: This law states that an organization should be bold and daring in its tactics in order to achieve success. By being bold and daring, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of deception: This law states that an organization should use deception in its tactics in order to mislead its opponents and gain an advantage. By using deception, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the indirect approach: This law states that an organization should aim to approach its objectives indirectly in order to increase its chances of success. By approaching its objectives indirectly, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of economy of effort: This law states that an organization should aim to achieve its objectives with the least possible expenditure of resources in order to increase its chances of success. By being efficient in its use of resources, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of versatility: This law states that an organization should be versatile in its tactics in order to adapt to changing circumstances. By being versatile, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of moral ascendancy: This law states that an organization should aim to have a strong sense of purpose and moral authority in order to increase its chances of success. By having a strong sense of purpose and moral authority, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the center of gravity: This law states that an organization should aim to identify and target the key factors that are most important to its opponents in order to gain an advantage. By targeting the key factors that are most important to its opponents, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the decisive point: This law states that an organization should aim to identify and target the key points or actions that will have the greatest impact on its opponents in order to gain an advantage. By targeting the key points or actions that will have the greatest impact on its opponents, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of critical mass: This law states that an organization should aim to achieve a critical mass of resources or capabilities in order to gain an advantage. By achieving a critical mass of resources or capabilities, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the decisive engagement: This law states that an organization should aim to achieve a decisive engagement with its opponents in order to gain an advantage. By achieving a decisive engagement with its opponents, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the offensive: This law states that an organization should aim to take the offensive in its tactics in order to gain an advantage. By taking the offensive, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the defensive: This law states that an organization should aim to defend itself in its tactics in order to protect its resources and objectives. By defending itself, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the counteroffensive: This law states that an organization should aim to counter the offensive tactics of its opponents in order to gain an advantage. By counterattacking its opponents, an organization can increase its chances of success.
- The law of the counterattack: This law states that an organization should aim to counter the attacks of its opponents in order to gain an advantage. By counterattacking its opponents, an organization can increase its chances of success.
Here are a few laws of tactics that involve equations:
- The law of probability: This law states that the probability of a particular outcome occurring is equal to the number of ways in which that outcome can occur divided by the total number of possible outcomes. This law can be expressed using the equation: P = W / T, where P is the probability of the outcome occurring, W is the number of ways in which the outcome can occur, and T is the total number of possible outcomes.
- The law of averages: This law states that the average of a set of numbers is equal to the sum of the numbers divided by the number of numbers in the set. This law can be expressed using the equation: A = S / N, where A is the average, S is the sum of the numbers in the set, and N is the number of numbers in the set.
- The law of supply and demand: This law states that the price of a particular item is determined by the balance between the supply of the item and the demand for the item. This law can be expressed using the equation: P = S / D, where P is the price of the item, S is the supply of the item, and D is the demand for the item.
- The law of diminishing returns: This law states that there is a point at which the additional benefits of a particular action start to decrease, and the costs of that action start to increase. This law can be expressed using the equation: Marginal Benefit = Total Benefit / Quantity, where Marginal Benefit is the additional benefit of each additional unit of a particular resource, Total Benefit is the overall benefit of all units of the resource, and Quantity is the number of units of the resource.
- The law of exponential growth: This law states that a quantity that grows at a constant rate will increase exponentially over time. This law can be expressed using the equation: Q(t) = Q(0) x (1 + r)^t, where Q(t) is the quantity at time t, Q(0) is the initial quantity, and r is the growth rate.
- The law of probability density: This law states that the probability density of a particular outcome occurring is equal to the likelihood of the outcome occurring in a particular interval of time, divided by the length of the interval. This law can be expressed using the equation: f(x) = P(a ≤ x ≤ b) / (b — a), where f(x) is the probability density, P(a ≤ x ≤ b) is the likelihood of the outcome occurring within the interval from a to b, and (b — a) is the length of the interval.
- The law of marginal utility: This law states that the utility or value of a particular item decreases as the quantity of the item increases. This law can be expressed using the equation: MU = ΔU / ΔQ, where MU is the marginal utility of the item, ΔU is the change in utility, and ΔQ is the change in quantity.
- The law of elasticity: This law states that the elasticity of a particular item is equal to the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. This law can be expressed using the equation: E = %ΔQD / %ΔP, where E is the elasticity of the item, %ΔQD is the percentage change in quantity demanded, and %ΔP is the percentage change in price.
- The law of motion: This law states that the motion of an object is determined by the force acting on the object and the mass of the object. This law can be expressed using the equation: F = ma, where F is the force acting on the object, m is the mass of the object, and a is the acceleration of the object.