Analysis Across Examples

While each of the aforementioned examples represents a slightly different approach to achieving surprise, the commonalities among them offer several key insights into this third guiding principle of maneuver warfare . All of the examples involve the management of information to shape competitive encounters by impairing opponents decision-making capabilities, obscuring friendly intentions, and deferring the commitment of resources until the most opportune moment. Five of the examples ”Houston at San Jacinto, Pepsi s Code Red, the Coalition in Desert Storm, the Allies at D-day, and Merrill Lynch s CMA ”show that controlling information can be extremely effective when mounting an offense. The sixth example, Microsoft, illustrates the power of obscuring accurate information in the defense within a barrage of noise that requires a careful response. The Battle of San Jacinto and the activities prior to the D-day landing underscore the importance of maintaining discipline and secrecy among the members of the organization when attempting to achieve surprise. Finally, the release of information into the public forum to achieve surprise by Microsoft and Merrill Lynch suggests that the media can be an extremely effective means to influence the behavior of rivals.