p.361 Profound parallels exist between business and chess. Both are complex forms of competition.
Both have been studied for centuries, and both depend on strategy.
p.361-362 sophisticated chess computers depend on rules of thumb and experienced-based policies and procedures
to develop strategies and direct tactics.
These rules to simplify a complex world are the parallels to the mental maps successful managers
develop to determine a corporation's strategy and tactics... Making maps explicit and continually reflective of reality separates
grand masters from computer programs
p.364 Direct lessons from chess are applicable in business... One device is recognizing patterns. This is
the art of making useful abstractions... Patterns filter extraneous information, reduce complexity, focus on the essential.
Only key patterns of competitive behavior are evaluated... The other device is guidelines, rules of thumb. Rules of
thumb are guiding principles that, while never strictly true because of oversimplification, point reliably to the probable
direction of action. Experience builds rules by remembered results of trial and error.
p.365 All good chess programs depend on rules of thumb to simplify calculations... The effort to create
successful chess programs parallels the effort of top management to form successful business organizations. Strategic success
requires:
- Appropriate pattern recognition. The organization must seek out all relevant information but not
be overwhelmed by trivial detail.
- Appropriate rules of thumb. Decision rules reflect competitive reality at several
levels of complexity. Too simple, and decisions will be erroneous; too elaborate, and they will be made late or never.
- Learning. No intelligence networks, reporting systems, filters, or decision rules can be
appropriate always, everywhere. Learning when rules do not apply, and when exceptions justify new ones, is the essence of
adaptive strategy.
