The CEO is the guiding mind of the operation.
His job is to craft the rm�s strategic vision. The
CFO knows the rm has limited resources and
manages those resources in pursuit of the com-
pany�s goals. The COO understands the busi-
ness assets available to the rm and delegates
duties to ensure the realization of the strategic
vision. If a scenario General can wear these
three hats as well as the crisp suit of a salesman,
he can turn his jumbled mob into a whirring
machine of paintball terror.
So how does a CEO construct a guiding vision?
Maybe it comes to him in a dream. Perhaps he
learns from studying others. Regardless, one
thing he must do is quit his mind of any fantas-
tic, impractical ideas that clearly won�t work.
So where should the General-as-CEO not look
for guidance? For one, scenario has little to do
with speedball. Speedball matches have short
time limits, are constrained to relatively tiny
areas, and are therefore mainly concerned with
the tactical elimination of opposing players. In
scenario, points are only gained by completing
missions, not for shooting the enemy, and the
wise scenario player seeks to avoid confron-
tations that are not directly linked to point-
earning objectives. So if scenario is not like
speedball, is it like real warfare? The answer to
that is, it depends on what century you�re talk-
ing about. Scenario play has almost nothing in
common with 21st or even 20th century war-
fare. Sadly, there are no stealth bombers, cruise missiles, naval batteries, or reconnaissance satellites in our game. A teammate pointed out that paintball is essentially a clash between two armies of archers. Well put. I would add, arch-ers using the same bows. At the Battle of Crecy during the Hundred Years� War, the English longbows far outranged the French crossbows, giving King Edward�s army a critical techno-logical advantage. In our sport, our �bows� all shoot roughly the same distance. Nevertheless, the point that since we are all roughly equal in armament the General has little he can do by way of strategy is an argument that must be considered. A General who has archers, cannon, cavalry, and spearmen at his disposal has more colors on his palette with which to paint his masterpiece; more so the modern General with surveillance drones, laser-guided bombs, and attack helicopters.Conc eding that, due to homogeneity of arma-ments, scenario paintball is unlike warfare of the present and only barely comparable to warfare of the distant past does not force us to conclude that there is no place for strategy in the sport. In fact, there is still a great deal of military thought to draw from. So where might we look for comparisons? It�s tempt-ing to think that, since we mostly play in the woods, a visionary General could draw inspira-tion from the practitioners of guerrilla warfare. Though it is often convenient for guerrillas to operate in the woods, it is not a condition of Although scenario paintball is not at all like warfare of the present, there are still a number of tools the General or General-as-CEO may have at their disposal.