Excursus: Overview and Instructions for Worksheets

The worksheet system makes a number of requirements of the instructor and the student. First, the instructor must understand and be able to articulate the structure of the analytical framework and be able to break it down into a step-by-step process. The instructor must also be able to increase or decrease the level of his or her own abstract thinking, and to do so transparently before the class. The instructor should also fill out the worksheet during the time of the class. If the worksheets are being used in more than one application, the instructor must be able to adapt them to these applications as necessary. The worksheets must be varied and they also must be varied in level of difficulty and complexity. Finally, students must have the capacity and the willingness to ask questions before the group. They must also not be convinced that they already know everything they need to know.

There are also structural requirements for the classroom. First, the learning that is expected of students must be structured, and the worksheet system must reflect that structure. There must be successive levels of learning, and successive levels of awareness of that learning. This means that students may start with information provided, but that must be followed with an immediate application, then the context of the learning can be broader, and so is the application. Ultimately, there must be an awareness of learning about learning, or a reflection of learning as a reflection on one’s practice.

The worksheets are:

1. Strategy
2. Key Actors
3. An Actor’s Actions or Tactics
4. Key Resources
5. Key Rules
6. Factors Outside Your Control
7. Do-or-Die Moments
8. Tactics and Counter Tactics
   Blank worksheets can be found in the Appendix.

In Worksheet 1 the student is expected to identify the components of a strategy used by an actor to meet a particular challenge. As with the integration diary, the student should use point form and use no more than a single page. This will require students to be specific, and to choose among competing priorities. It also makes it possible to assess the judgment of the student as well as his or her capacity to think.

The components of strategy are: the problem, to be described succinctly in the top box, ‘Issue’; the solution to that problem that suits the student best, again to be described succinctly in the middle box, ‘Goal’; and the steps that will have the student reach the goal, or the method s/he plans to use, of the collection of actions s/he plans to use, in the bottom box, ‘Tactics’. As usual, the student must be detailed, specific, succinct, and must stay at one level of generality or detail throughout the worksheet.

Worksheet 1: Strategy

In any strategy, there are a number of possible actors. Those actors can be individuals, groups, governments or even groups of governments. The actors can be involved in the planning of a strategy or its application. They may be helpful to strategy, neutral, or opposed to it. The actors may be conscious of a strategy or actions, or they may not. But most importantly, they may have an impact either on the tactics or the strategy being analysed, or designing or carrying out. The goal of Worksheet 2 is to identify which ones may have an impact. It then becomes possible to set the others aside and focus energies on the actors who matter, or identify weak points.

Worksheet 2: Key Actors

Column 1: Give a comprehensive list of actors in the first column. The actors may be listed under various headings, such as civilian, military, domestic, foreign, etc. There is no reason to be concerned about putting people or groups in the correct categories. What matters is that every individual and/or group possible is listed. Ask whether the groups listed ought to be broken down further into smaller groups – for example, should a foreign national government be listed as such, or should it be broken down into ministry of the interior, ministry of defence, legislators, executive council or cabinet, local government, etc. If they can, then do so. Once the comprehensive list of actors is established, the next column helps differentiate between significant and insignificant actors. This differentiation will be repeated throughout the process.

Column 2: An actor can affect whether or not the tactic required can move the strategy toward the achievement of the goal. Ask whether this actor can affect achieving the goal? Or are there actors who stand no chance of affecting the outcome? Answer with Yes or No.

The next step in the tactical analysis of a situation focuses on the tactics, and similarly differentiates significant from insignificant actions, using Worksheet 3. There are a number of actions on the part of each significant actor. Those actions may be tactics, i.e. relevant to the strategy, or not. In order to be tactics, they must directly or indirectly move the situation towards the goal being achieved. Tactics themselves may prevent the goal from being achieved or the strategy from being successful, i.e. they can be key tactics.

Worksheet 3: An Actor’s Actions and Tactics

Column 1: Give the date and time of the action being analysed. During the first draft, list actions that are obvious, but in later drafts, use research to complete the form. Eventually, list the actions chronologically. Only if more than one action takes place on a particular day is the time listed. Times and dates are not always known.

Column 2: Include detailed description of the action being considered or which has occurred. Use point form rather than full sentences. This will help focus on the most important features of the action.

Column 3: An action is a tactic if it is relevant to the achievement of the goal identified in the strategy. If the answer to the question: ‘Does this affect reaching my goal in any way?’ If the answer is yes, than the action is a tactic.

The third step is the identification of resources, using Worksheet 4. Put at its broadest, resources which make tactics possible are generated by ‘the symbolic experiences, mythic lore, and ritual practices of a group or society [that] create moods and motivations, ways of organizing experience and evaluating reality, modes of regulating conduct, and way of forming social bonds’ (Swindle, 1986: 273–286). The four general types of resources discussed below are: the right materials, the right people, time, and information. Worksheet 4 should be filled out listing as many of the resources as possible. Conventional wisdom usually finds that money is the most important resource, and it can certainly be a severely limiting factor. Much scarcer and harder to increase, however, is the attention and good will of people with power. It is as hard to get as it is easy to squander. Although more ink is spilled and meetings held on money and money-related issues than anything else, the most important resource is human: skills, energy, and goodwill.

The first step is to establish what skills are useful, and then scan for them among the significant actors. Among the non-technical skills that may be needed are: command, writing, speaking, planning, research, tactical analysis, strategic analysis, forecasting, calm under pressure, good judgment, integrity, courage.

Column 1: List here all the materials, services, people (beyond the people who are carrying out the strategy), information, and funds that are needed to achieve the goal. The list should be comprehensive, i.e. it should include absolutely everything necessary. In order to increase the chances of writing a comprehensive list, it is helpful to look at the categories of resources cited above. It is possible to develop categories that are specific to the situation being analysed.

Column 2: Is there enough of this resource for reaching the goal? Is the resource being analysed limited? Is there a specific amount of it available, or is there plenty of it around? Whether the resource is limited or not is an important point for carrying out the strategy. The strategist needs to take into account the limited resources as the strategy unfolds.

Column 3: Here, ask whether the resource being analysed is absolutely necessary for reaching the goal, i.e. the goal can be reached whether there is none of this particular resource left. If so, then write ‘Yes’ in this column.

Column 4: Is the resource being analysed helpful to the goal being reached? Is it something that will move the strategy forward? If so, the answer is ‘Yes’. Only those resources for which the answer is ‘yes’ need to be analysed further.

The fifth step in the tactical analysis requires an examination of the rules. Rules can be either formal or informal, and they may be incomplete in an adversarial or hostile situation these rules may not be obvious. Rules are enforced through sanctions, so one way to spot informal systems of rules is to watch for behaviour changes among the actors, and then look for the reasons that led to the modification. If there were sanctions, then the analysis is correct. Sanctions tend to be more obvious than rules.

Worksheet 5: Key Rules

Column 1: List here all the formal and informal rules about materials, services, people (excluding people involved in the strategy), information, and funds needed to achieve the goal. The list should be comprehensive, i.e. it should include absolutely everything needed. In order to increase the chances of writing a comprehensive list, it is helpful to look at categories of rules. As with resources, categories include materials, services, people, information and funds. It is also possible to develop categories that are specific to the situation.

Column 2: Is the rule being analysed helpful to the goal being reached? Is it something that will move the strategy forward? If so, the answer is yes. Only those resources with the answer ‘Yes’ need to be analysed further.

Column 3: Rules constrain behaviour, but it is important to be aware of how and why each rule constrains which behaviour or action. If disregarding this rule ensures the failure of the strategy, then it is a must-have. If the rule is absolutely necessary for reaching the goal, answer ‘Yes’. If this rule is broken or ignored and the goal can still be reached, the answer is ‘No’.

The next Worksheet 6 analyses factors. Factors are events outside any actors’ control. The goals may be drawn from a variety of categories, and can be very simple. They should be listed according to whether they help or hinder reaching the goal.

Worksheet 6: Factors Outside Anyone’s Control

The next worksheet identifies the strategic pathway. The strategic pathway is the succession of steps which are likeliest to lead to the achievement of the goal, for a particular tactic. This pathway can be identified using a three-step process: first, identify all possible steps to the goal; second, identify the significant steps out of all the possible ones; third, identify the critical steps. The strategic pathway is made up of these critical steps, i.e. strategic nodes.

Worksheet 7: Do or Die Moments

Steps to Goal	Problem 1	Problem 2

What are the steps to achieving the goal? For each step, what are the alternative steps that can also lead to goal? What are the scenarios that will achieve the goal? Who decides? Who has the power to make the changes? What are the other possibilities? Are any of the alternatives more effective? Likely to succeed? What arguments are convincing to those who decide? What factors affect the decisions of those who decide? If actors were to work backwards, how would they set the steps?

Next, identify the critical steps by asking several more questions: What are the critical actors, actions, resources, rules? Where are they situated on in relationship to another? Once identified, change their font or colour. Then compare the tactics taken in chronological order to the sequence of critical steps. Is the actor focused on those steps? Is the actor concentrating efforts there?

The strategic goal is the goal listed in Worksheet 1. In the first column, write out each of the steps necessary to reach the goal, in sequence. This first column is for reaching the goal with no surprises or problems. Fill in the steps until the goal is reached. Each step should represent a single tactic or action contributing to it. List all the steps necessary to reach the goal. Next, identify which steps are absolutely essential to reaching the goal. Consider each step in turn, and ask whether it would still be possible to reach the goal if the actor failed at this step. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then that step is circled. That is a strategic node that needs alternatives developed to ensure the strategy gets beyond it.

In the middle column, write alternative steps to reach the goal for each of the problems that can be anticipated. If at any point the pathway starts to be the same as in column 1, then just draw an arrow returning to that step. Next, identify which steps are absolutely essential to reaching the goal. Consider each step in turn, and ask whether it would still be possible to reach the goal if the actor failed at this step. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then circle that step. Use as many columns or rows as necessary. When that task is completed, bold or circle each do-or-die moment.

The next worksheet identifies tactics and counter tactics. In designing a response to a tactic, retrace the steps of tactical analysis, using the same sequence of worksheets and instructions as above. Some general rules apply:

• –   Choose the tactics which require a response;
• –   Choose the earliest possible moment in the decision making process;
• –   Choose only key actors;
• –   Brainstorm the possible actions without prejudging ideas, but then assess them carefully;
• –   Initially choose only four possible actions, and assess the cost and benefits of each.

Once the analysis is complete, choose tactics for their economy and maximum benefit. If that is not apparent, it is possible to develop multiple scenarios for outcomes, depending on how favourable various factors are to the tactic. Questions to ask include: Who decides? Who has the power to make the changes? What are the other possibilities? Are any of the alternatives more effective? Are they economical in terms of personnel, equipment, casualties? Who is likely to succeed? What arguments are convincing to those who decide? What factors affect the decisions of those who decide? Working backwards, what are the steps? For the next phase, start with steps, then actors, then factors, then resources, then actions/tactics, then at last rules for system analysis.

The two columns represent the tactics of two actors. On the left, list tactics for one actor, and on the right, those of another. The goals need not be contradictory: they need only be different. Under the heading Tactics, on the left, list all the actions that move that actor towards the strategic goal chosen. Under the heading Countervailing Tactics, on the right, list all the actions that move that actor towards the other strategic goal chosen. The tactics and counter tactics do not have to match up, although many of them will. The list on each side needs to be complete, so that it may be useful to use categories of tactics.

Worksheet 8: Tactics and Countervailing Tactics