Strategic Brilliance: How Island-States Counter Blockades & Power Outages.
For many years I have been grappling with trying to understands strategy. I have been an avid students of grand strategy (credentialed by playing many grand strategy games, like Civ, Alpha Centauri, Europa Universalis to name a few). This whole piece of article was written with the sole purpose of affording me the bragging right to show this screenshot of mine beating Civ 5 in immortal difficulty level.
Every so often, I meet someone equally passionate about visionary strategies. It feels like we’re in a war room, mapping out the future of nations.
Consider Taiwan and Singapore, two island-states. Both face the challenge of being heavily dependent on imported natural gas for power. Imagine a naval blockade stopping that? The country will lose electric supply in the matter of weeks. So, how did Singapore tackle this?
Instead of pouring a massive chunk of the National budget into a giant storage silo for those rare “what if” scenarios, Singapore whipped up Jurong Island from scratch. This man-made marvel is set up to be the go-to LNG hub in the region. The sweet part? Singapore’s always sitting on a mountain of LNG. In peace-time, the nation and businesses rake in the cash from this. But when things get dicey. Boom, they’ve got a mega stash of LNG to keep the lights on. Pretty slick move, right?
First up, Jurong Island isn’t just any island — it’s built offshore, crafted from reclaimed land and strategically distanced from the main island. That means if there’s ever a hiccup or an accident, they’ve got this buffer space to manage the situation.
Next, you’ve got security tighter than our military bases. The island is fortified with top-notch military-grade measures and there’s just one way in and out. Everyone coming or going, they’re under the microscope.
Lastly, it’s not all business. They’ve peppered the island with green spots and, believe it or not, they’ve got a thriving bird population in this restricted base. Bird enthusiasts have ticked off 51 species in their logbooks! Why go to such lengths? From what I gather, it’s a savvy play to keep the public’s nerves in check about the LNG operations. Remember the tales of miners using canaries to check for deadly gases? Well, these birds are the modern-day version, a living testament to the safety of the facilities.
Many in Singapore have the team of leaders and generations of hardworking people to thank for the progress and national security the nation now enjoys.
For years, while I pride myself for having a strategic mind. It’s hard to see these thought translated into real life application.
My latest realization is this. In Chinese “strategy” is called “戰略”. The most important is to decide where your battle is 戰. In ‘The Art of War’”, while majority of us will remember this phrase 百战百胜, translate to “a hundred battles, a hundred victories,” it is not a direct quote from Sun Tzu’s text.
The actual phrase from “The Art of War” is “百战不殆” (bǎi zhàn bù dài), which can be translated as “win a hundred battles without peril.” Sun Tzu did not propose that he is very good at battles and not losing them. He is suggesting us to evaluate all the critical dimension of a battle, and only go into the battlefield where you have absolute certainty that it is not perilous.
If we look across all the market leaders in any industry, we noticed that although they are fighting in the same arena, the leaders often don’t fight on all fronts.
Take the car industry for example. If I say Volvo. What comes into your mind? How about Toyota? Rolls Royce? Ferrari? Tesla? (If you think Safety, Reliable, Luxury, Speed and Tech, then the theory is evident)
Cars not your thing? Let’s try another example. If I say Chanel, what comes into mind? Louis Vuitton? Prada? Gucci? (If I say I know what’s the difference, then I would be kidding you 🤣 I know nuts about fashion)
Each of these brands, while operating in the same market, has a distinct brand image and focuses on different strengths. They pick their battles based on these strengths and do not necessarily compete on every front. So for all the entrepreneurs out there, strategy when distilled down to the fundamental, is what you do with the limited resources that you have. Figure out which battlefield you want to go into. Is it cheapest? Most convenient? Fastest? Biggest?
In the ever-evolving chessboard of life and business, it’s not about having a strategy, but the right strategy that counts. I’d love to hear about the strategies you’ve employed in your own ventures and the impact they’ve had. And stay tuned, as I dive deeper into how startups and organizations are carving out their unique positions in the market in my upcoming article.
// Chat to Changes — a chronicle of random conversations and thoughts for those randomly kindred souls out there.
