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On Grand Strategy

Key insights from

On Grand Strategy

By John Lewis Gaddis

Audio available 11 minute read Published Apr 3, 2018

What you'll learn

In his book On Grand Strategy, Gaddis distils lessons from one of Yale University’s most popular courses, one he has co-facilitated for years. There is always a sizable waitlist to join this yearlong survey of primary texts from antiquity and historical case studies. By examining the lives and writings of leaders and writers from the last several millennia, Gaddis shows us how grand plans succeed and where they tend to falter.

Key insights

  1. 1 People tend toward single-minded obsession with one thing or varied interest in a number of subjects.
  2. 2 Means and ends have to touch if you ever hope to accomplish anything.
  3. 3 Augustine and Machiavelli were both brilliant strategists, but Machiavelli handled the tensions of politics with greater levity.
  4. 4 Leaders who retain their common sense even at the highest levels of power are rare.

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