Rapid Strategic Cognition

Rapid Strategic Cognition (RSC) is the skill of quickly recognizing what must be done in complex competitive situations. It is the ability to "thin-slice" a complex, chaotic competitive environment/ Thin-slicing means quickly distilling the key elements of a situations.

The concept of "rapid cognition" and "thin-slicing" comes from a number of recent psychological studies. This research, much of it compiled in the book Blink by Malcolm Gadwell,  demonstrates how skilled individuals can make correct snap judgments in complex situations. These judgments are made so automatically and quickly that there is little conscious reasoning involved. The important elements just seem to jump out of the situation.

Recent research has show that that our "gut" responses have a basis in fact. Our enteric (intestinal) nervous system is wired directly into the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that  orchestrates our thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals. When we get a feeling in our "gut," it is because this part of our brain knows something that we cannot put into words. Through pairing of stimuli and response, we feel emotions that can guide our decisions through what is called "somatic marker hypothesis."

What is the the name that psychologist give these processes in the prefrontal cortex? Our executive functions.

One of the first places that this ability was recognized was on the battlefield. Great generals can look at a chaotic battlefield and at a glance identify the critical points. In French, the rapid strategic cognition is called "coup d'oeil,"  the "power of the glance." This is what the French called Napoleon's ability. Works from Carl von Clausewitz's On War in the nineteenth century to Gary Klein's Sources of Power in the twentieth century put these flashes of insight at the heart of problem solving and decision making.

The good news is that this form of rapid strategic cognition can be taught. How do we know that it is a learned skill? There are studies that show that other forms of rapid cognition can be taught, but in the area of strategic cognition we have more tangible evidence. Napoleon himself learned this skill. He learned it from a book called Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

The even better news is that this skill doesn't only work on the battlefield. It works in any competitive situation where people must make decisions under challenging circumstances.  How do we know? Because we have helped people all over the world master this skill and they write us about their success.

Over the years, we have learned a lot about teaching rapid strategic cognition, putting the ancient lessons of classical strategy into a modern form that is easy to learn. This is what we call the science of strategy.