The Need for Organisational Resilience - Chapter 3

executed in the north. In this respect, determining the centre of gravity was of critical

importance (see following textbox).

[Text Box starts] Centre of Gravity determination

Identifying centres of gravity 1 is one of the most significant decisions that a commander can make.

The right selection will focus the campaign plan on what is decisive in delivering the end-state,

whereas the wrong choice will lead to effort being wasted on chasing a goal that does not necessarily

lead to campaign success. The choice should be clearly justifiable with evidence to show why

alternatives have been rejected. Intuition will rarely suffice. The process of identifying centres of

gravity will also expose more detail on the operating environment, as the commander and staff focus

their energies on considering their own and their adversaries, sources of strength.

Once centres of gravity have been identified, analysis seeks to expose their vulnerabilities; those

of the friendly force will be protected, and those of the adversaries attacked. In this way centres of

gravity represent an adversarial relationship. Centre of gravity analysis will define the operational

progression, as objectives or decisive conditions are identified and sequenced in different courses of

action. Analysis must also be done from a perspective other than one’s own. That is the obvious

perspective one’s own, but widening the pool of analysts to encompass competitors’ perspectives

(‘red teaming’) may provide valuable alternative viewpoints. (For more information on red teaming,

see DCDC’s Red

Teaming Guide. 2 )

There may be different centres of gravity at different levels but, if so, they should all be nested. At

the strategic level, a centre of gravity is often an abstraction, such as the cohesion of an alliance. At

the tactical level, it is usually a capability or strength that can be affected through defined action over

specified timescales. Identifying an operational-level centre of gravity depends on the context,

circumstances and anticipated military activity. Even where there is no obvious single centre of

gravity, a commander may still find the concept useful to ensure that he remains focused on what is

1 The term Schwerpunkt is most often translated into Centre of Gravity. The definition has gone through multiple iterations. Contemporary expressions combine the notion of concentrated effort but directed at critical vulnerabilities of the enemy. 2 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/142533/20130301_red_teaming_ed2.pdf

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