Strategy is the art of creating the power to forge our future from our present.

What makes life better? When we realize that our victories are found inside our failures via a potent elixir of strategy, ability, and fearless execution. What we really want out of life is to cope with our challenges, missteps, and failures without losing our minds.

By now, we realize that life is an obstacle course, and material success and security can be fleeting. We don’t want participation trophies. What fun is that? We want to be able to master life's many imperfections, like mere bumps in the road. My endless hours of stressful training honed my perspective and taught me to trust my process and myself, regardless of the odds or circumstances. To be present “in the moment” and resilient in the face of adversity. Strategies are not a means of asserting control over life but ways of coping with life when no one is in total control.  In the madness and the chaos of our worst days, we can write a symphony. 

But life will not slow down to accommodate us. To adapt to the never-ending cycles of change, we must be relentless in our long-term deep thinking and dynamic in our strategy creation and training while being connoisseurs of small incremental improvements. Our ars victoris, or art of the victor, is the creation and implementation of effective strategies. It is the art of getting what we want from what we have by acting on the future in the present.

Everyone should have a strategy or a game plan. Formulating a strategy causes us to think about our actions in advance, in the light of our goals and capabilities. Having a fully articulated strategy implies lifting our gaze beyond the short-term and the trivial, focusing on the long-term and the essential. It means addressing root causes rather than just treating symptoms and having the perspective to see the big picture instead of getting lost in the details. A good strategy earns us the right to survive and thrive in life’s biggest storms. Come along for the ride as I cope with the slings and arrows of my uncertain choices.

Our Strategists

Robert Q. Watson earned a BBA in accounting from the University of Houston and a BS in Political Science in 2022, adding a graduate certificate in Advanced International Affairs from Texas A&M’s Bush School. He has a Master's in International Policy from Texas A&M’s Bush School with an emphasis on grand strategy. He is currently pursuing a Master's in Communication from the University of Houston concentrating on strategic communication. From early 1980 until late 1986, Robert was a senior strategic intelligence analyst attached to U.S. Amy’s Deputy Commander Intelligence (Europe) with the studies and exploitation branch in Heidelberg, Germany, and Vicenza, Italy. During his service, he earned a Strategic Intelligence Certification from the DIA and the Army’s Achievement and Commendation Medals. 

Robert M. Watson earned a BS in leadership with a minor in military studies from Texas A&M University in 2023. A U.S. Army certified logistics specialist in 2019, Robert switched to an intelligence analyst’s role in 2020 for the U.S. Army Command South. He remained in that role for his remaining college years. After his graduation, he began serving in a management role in America’s intelligence community.