In 1757, in the middle of the French and Indian War, Major Robert Rogers composed a list of 28 rules intended to serve as operational guidelines for his legendary and groundbreaking light infantry force, the original special operations unit known as “Rogers’ Rangers.”
These “Rules of Ranging” were a hybrid combination of Native American combat techniques and his own blend of guerrilla warfare, revolutionary in their own time and still a foundational element in special operations units such as the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment.
Rule 1: ‘All Rangers are subject to the rules of war’
Or ’Never compromise your integrity.’The legal rules tend to be pretty black and white; it’s your company’s code of conduct and your own internal moral compass that are often more complicated to apply evenly across the spectrum of what you’re doing on any given day.
Rule 2: ‘In a small group, march in single file with enough space between so that one shot can’t pass through one man and kill a second.’
Or ‘Diversify or die.’Never assume that the harvest of last year is due to you this year, and never get so comfortable that you become complacent. There’s a reason why advice like never putting all your eggs in one basket is timeless: When you allow success to make you susceptible to catastrophe, you have written the story of your own defeat in the blood of those who look to you for leadership.
If your entire business balances on one client, you’re completely and utterly susceptible to the whims and budgets of that client. If you grow comfortable with your cash flow and neglect the new business pipeline, you’re foolishly vulnerable to outside forces. This principle extends to your team members and the technology you use. You’re grouping your entire organization around a single element and, therefore, building a single point of failure into the framework and foundation of the organization. You’re hardcoding failure and fragility into everything you do.
Rule 3: ‘Marching over soft ground should be done abreast, making tracking difficult. At night, keep half your force awake while half sleeps.’
Or ‘Operational security, at all times.’One of the most shocking things for me entering the corporate world after serving on several Special Forces teams was how lax many organizations in highly competitive industries were with information about their operations.
It doesn’t take industrial espionage to sabotage a company, just poor operation security. In World War II, the posters warned us that “Loose Lips Sink Ships” and that’s just as true today as it was then.
Operational Security, or OPSEC as we called it in the military, should be a part of your organizational culture, from the bottom to the top. Simple things such as reminding people not to discuss projects or clients in the elevator or at lunch reduce the amount of exposure and risk of compromise for both yourself and your stakeholders. It’s far less likely that nefarious agents or bad actors are going to give up sensitive information than the possibility you'll be compromised by the careless and/or reckless behavior of your employees.
