The West was very saddened by Navalny’s untimely death. He seemed like a “white knight” to offer Russians hope for a more democratic future. He was also extremely brave to return to Russia, after his earlier poisoning, knowing that he would be arrested and imprisoned for a long time. Hence the West had to think long and hard about any form of protest against his death that would have any impact at all.
It is appropriate for this author to ask the question within the West: “What is optimum option for Western nations to pursue against Russia to protest Navalny’s unfortunate death; considering 1) West does not wish to stoke war, 2) Many dissidents already left Russia, 3) Russia to crack down hard on demonstrations, and 4) Additional sanctions to have limited impact?” Again, it’s appropriate to focus on just these four considerations to reduce complexity in your editor’s eventual suggestion, when that ultimate moment arrives – despite there being many other possible considerations out there.
He decided to create yin and yang “bookends” posed by this question, to keep his mind focused. Bookends such as these are vital for preventing our fertile intuitive minds from wandering and losing concentration. We are mostly unaware of how powerfully valuable but foot-loose our intuition can be unless we can keep it properly focused on such occasions.
These came to be: “Leave Russian people to decide” – Not have sufficient confidence to act alone;and “West cut off all trade ties to Russia” – Provoke unpredictable, aggressive retaliation. You will note the italicized detractors associated with these least likely options, which shows why they are not particularly good ideas for consideration. Even so, these bookends will now hopefully nudge this editor’s intuitive thinking into high gear to come-up with a range of realistic options – see ourLatest Worked Option Example.
He then set-out to produce at least five plus realistic options – A thru E or F – that would enable Western leaders to pursue Emotional Distancing (ED). EDwould allow them to take a couple of hours or more of quiet reflection, or even sleep on it, beforecoming to any final conclusion. You can replace these proposed five options with any new ones of your own.
His final options look quite interesting and he was particularly intrigued by – Option B: Targeted sanctions against key Russian officials. While Option B could be the most appropriate immediate option, it will likely take a package of options to have any real impact. Western leaders should stand-by any initial decision, as it would likely only work against them to second-guess themselves once that initial decision is made…no matter the challenges ahead.
If you have an example of your own, please share it with this blogger, through the COMMENTS area or contact him at peter@ileadershipsolutions. What is the optimum near-term option to address the World’s Leadership Crisis? Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Our next posting will be in two week’s time. Let’s have your COMMENTS or go to peter@ileadershipsolutions.com. Allow time to connect with the blogger. Also consider buying the book: “Smart Decisions: Goodbye Problems, Hello Options” through amazon.com)
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