Obama Runs Plays in the Middle Kingdom

President Obama's first state visit to China is underway. Predictably, strategists from all disciplines - geopolitical, environmental and even fashion - are making the media rounds to critique the POTUS's performance.

Underlying every move - whether it's by Obama, his Chinese counterparts or pundits - are influence strategies, what we colloquially refer to as plays.

So how can we be so sure plays are being run?

Because we know that whenever there's an agenda to push (or a rival's agenda to blunt, bend, co-opt or flip) there exists a need to run plays. This unavoidable reality is why we founded this consultancy and created the software and systems that underlie it.

So in the spirit of our Plays for the Presidency blog and our newest blog Playmaker China, here's a breakdown of the major plays being run by, on and around Obama as he makes his way through the Middle Kingdom:

• Obama's first major move was a Preempt on the liberal wing of his party and conservative members of the opposition. At a university event, he spoke out against Internet censorship and the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.
• Obama's second play of significance was a prickly Challenge directed at state officials to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

What makes a play a play is that it is irreducible in its nature. As a singular element of influence, the stratagem is at its purest state. But as we often say here around the water cooler, one man's Filter is another man's Fiat. And President Obama's plays might not be to him what they are to others. For example:

• Obama's Preempt against U.S. liberals and conservatives may be interpreted as a Ping to pragmatic members of the Communist party to lighten up and as a Call Out by communist hard-liners who see it as an affront to China's sovereignty.
• Similarly, Obama's appeal to deal with the Dalai Lama is almost certainly viewed as a Call Out on current policy.

Understanding how plays are interpreted by different audiences is one of the basics of playmaking, which is why we've created our Factors at Play resource.

So take note: Whether your strategy expertise lies in diplomacy, cloud seeding or tangzhuang, plays abound in China, especially when Barack-comes-a-knockin'. Have we missed a play or misinterpreted one? We welcome your feedback.

Posted by: John Koval

Photo Credit: voanews.com