LP/OP #10

Welcome back to the LP/OP friend.

This newsletter shares insights from the highly pragmatic military methodologies learned throughout my 20 years spent in the military and private sector.

We do so briefly and clearly with respect for your time to give you an edge over your competitors, adversaries, and enemies.

Every edition we cover new…

• Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)

• Inspirational Exemplars

This week, we focus on one of the most underappreciated yet powerful principles in both military operations and life: Simplicity.

Alongside it, we examine Clarity and Economy of Effort—two complementary concepts that sharpen your focus, eliminate distractions, and make you harder to beat.

Make sure you read through to the end for a link to a tool I personally use in my daily operations to stay formidable.

Tactic: Simplicity

Psychological Insight
Complexity is a weapon wielded by those who seek to confuse, distract, or control.

Scenario
A colleague hands you an overly complex report—full of jargon, unnecessary data, and conflicting conclusions—designed to bury their mistakes or inflate their importance. The cluttered presentation leaves you uncertain, unable to challenge them effectively.

Application
Simplicity cuts through confusion like a blade. Whether in your own work or assessing others’, demand clarity and directness. Strip away the unnecessary, and focus on what actually matters. When your plans, goals, and messages are simple, they’re harder to distort and easier to execute.

The simplest plan is often the strongest.

Technique: Clarity

Psychological Insight
Manipulators thrive on ambiguity, twisting vague instructions or expectations to suit their agenda.

Scenario
You assign a project with general guidelines, and a team member later claims they didn’t understand or misinterpreted the objective. They exploit the gray area to deflect blame and avoid accountability.

Application
State your expectations clearly and succinctly. Define success in a single sentence if possible, and eliminate room for misinterpretation. When everyone understands what’s expected, it’s harder for anyone to dodge responsibility or twist the narrative.

A clear path is harder to stray from.

Procedure: Economy of Effort

Psychological Insight
Overcomplicated plans are easier to derail, and manipulators will gladly overload you with tasks that sap your energy and focus.

Scenario
A supervisor or peer piles on low-priority work, spreading your attention so thin that you can’t focus on your highest-impact tasks. In the chaos, your effectiveness and confidence erode.

Application
Prioritize tasks ruthlessly and allocate resources only where they matter most. Protect your focus by eliminating unnecessary steps, automating where possible, and saying no to distractions. When your energy is concentrated, your efforts become unstoppable.

Strength comes from focus, not from doing it all.

Inspiration: General Ulysses S. Grant

General Ulysses S. Grant, who led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War, was a master of operational simplicity.

He believed that complicated orders sowed confusion and hesitation, so he drafted every order as plainly as possible. To test their clarity, he would give them to the “dumbest” subordinate officer on his staff; if that officer understood the instructions, Grant knew every soldier in the ranks would too.

Grant’s approach shows that the simplest message is the hardest to twist—and the easiest to execute.

Outbrief

Strip away what doesn’t matter with Simplicity.

Define your objectives in plain language with Clarity.

Focus your energy where it counts with Economy of Effort.

General Grant’s legacy reminds us that while others get lost in complexity, the strongest leaders keep things simple, clear, and focused. By applying these principles, you’ll build a foundation that’s harder to undermine and easier to defend.

Stay direct. Stay focused. Stay formidable.

And if you’re looking for a practical tool to keep your notes, plans, and strategies sharp and organized, I recommend picking up the Lockebook—a minimalist, military-inspired notebook designed to streamline your thinking and keep your goals front and center. You can find it here.

Thank you very much reading—genuinely.

— Ryan “DQ” DeQuiroz