Rules of Engagement
Last week I hit on the idea of our values as the guardrails that keep us moving forward towards our objective with honor.
This, of course, ties into a concept I have talked about in the past: Lines of effort, especially LOE 3 ‘Spirit’. This is where we figure out our WHY.
When I talk about the spirit, I’m referring to the thing we believe in that is greater than ourselves, the seat of our emotion and character.
This may be faith-based or philosophy-based, but there should come a time in each life when we critically examine the things that we believe and make sure that they are our beliefs, not those that have been handed down and worn like an old suit of clothes.
These beliefs form our spiritual worldview, which helps us search for answers to life’s big questions:
The Question of Origin- Where did I come from?
The Question of Destiny- Why am I here?
The Question of Morality- How should I live?
The Question of Purpose – What is my why?
Answering this final question, according to Nietzsche, will give you the ability to “…bear almost any how.”
When we have a clear why based on a desire for internal achievement and positive aspirations aimed at a greater good, we can begin to move from being reactive to being active.
I have previously discussed Immediate Action Drills. On a recon patrol, we need to be ready to react to contact with the enemy. But the mission of a recon patrol is to avoid contact and gather information. As soon as a patrol begins reacting to enemy contact, they must cease moving toward their objective.
When we are reacting, whether to enemy contact or to external factors in our life, we are countering. We are on the defensive, responding to the forces imposing their will on us. As Sun Tzu said, “…The possibility of victory lies only in the attack.”
Action is necessarily faster than reaction. When we are forced into a cycle of reacting to external forces, we get caught at the losing end of the OODA Loop.
Only when we are acting towards our own purpose can we remain on azimuth and make progress towards our strategic aim.
A solid grasp of our why serves as the foundation of our worldview.
Our Worldview is composed of our beliefs.
Our Beliefs are defined by our values.
Our Values are demonstrated by our actions.
Our Actions lead to the development of our character.
Those who have been in the military are intimately familiar with organizational values like Honor, Courage, Commitment, and for the Raiders, the tenets of Gung Ho: Selflessness, Excellence, and Trust. But it is important to establish our own beliefs and define the values that we choose to live by.
Once we have examined, considered, and selected the values that we want to live by, we can establish our personal Rules of Engagement (ROEs).
In the military, ROEs are directives provided that define the “circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as provocative, may be applied.”
For us, ROEs establish the rules we live by that determine how we will respond in challenging situations.
We can define our rules of engagement by taking the time to develop a list of the beliefs and character traits that are most important to us.
Imagine the words you would like to see in a one-sentence eulogy inscribed on your tombstone.
We build our character daily through our actions, so it is important to ask ourselves each day whether the character we are building is consistent with the things we believe and the values we profess to hold above all others.
We are all familiar with the story of the three little pigs, and their houses of straw, twigs, and bricks.
If I claim to value security and want to be the little pig that lives in a brick house, then every day I had better wake up and start making bricks.
If instead, I spend my days gathering straw, my actions are not consistent with my values.
What I say is important to me is unimportant if my actions don’t match my beliefs.
The problem is that we can trick ourselves into believing that we are living up to our values.
It may not be until the wolf comes flicking his Zippo, and we seek the security of our character, that we realize that we are surrounded by flammable straw.
So, establish your ROE’s, start hauling bricks, and Charlie Mike.
John - Your arms dealer for the war of life
I like to think of us all as “cosmologists” in the sense that we each must construct a paradigm of the universe and our place in it. Some take one off the shelf, while others craft their own. Your 4 Questions are the key homework for getting it right. Thanks for writing about them, John!
I think a key point of effective LOEs is that they are mutually reinforcing-- they compound effectiveness, and must never conflict. Physio/psychosocial wholeness then amounts to consistency in thought, word and deed.