Seeing Clearly in a Contested World
How GRIPS and PIVOT Offer a 360° Lens for National and Institutional Strategy
Strategic competition today cuts across missiles, markets, supply chains, standards, semiconductors, and storylines. Democracies and authoritarian regimes are not just contesting territory—they are racing for systemic advantage.
To compete and win in this era, clarity is power.
That’s why I developed two complementary frameworks that offer a twin lens for navigating a complex and contested world:
GRIPS – What nations must prioritize to remain secure and competitive
PIVOT – Where nations or institutions are exposed, misaligned, or advantaged
Together, GRIPS and PIVOT equip leaders with the tools to set strategy, diagnose posture, and realign strength before it’s too late.
GRIPS: What Nations Must Do to Compete
GRIPS identifies five strategic imperatives that must be actively pursued—not assumed—by any nation serious about securing freedom and influence:
Governance – Inspire trust through legitimate, responsive institutions
Resilience – Withstand coercion, crisis, and systemic shocks
Innovation – Drive frontier capabilities in science, technology, and production
Perception – Earn global legitimacy through credible, visible performance
Security – Deter aggression through modern, integrated force and alliances
The U.S. military’s DIME framework—and its expanded form, DIMEFIL—were developed when America stood as the unchallenged unipolar power: militarily dominant, technologically unrivaled, and economically preeminent. Those frameworks asked: How can overwhelming power be projected?
But the world has changed. Facing a peer competitor and cross-domain threats, the question now is:
How is enduring strength generated, sustained, and aligned across systems?
GRIPS offers that answer. It shifts the strategic focus from projection to preparation, from dominance to durability, from power in reserve to power in use.
PIVOT: A Diagnostic Lens for Exposure and Advantage
If GRIPS sets the strategy, PIVOT diagnoses the posture.
It helps institutions—public or private—map where they are vulnerable and where they can lead. Think of it as a strategic MRI, revealing blind spots, pressure points, and leverage opportunities before adversaries exploit them.
PIVOT evaluates five dimensions:
Presence – Market, data, and talent footprint
→ Where does your footprint lie? Where are you overexposed or underrepresented?Institutional Navigation – Regulatory engagement and lawfare agility
→ Are you shaping rules or reacting to them?Value Structure – Financial resilience and capital strategy
→ Can you absorb shocks and invest in opportunity?Operational Technology – R&D, IP, and digital infrastructure
→ Are your systems scalable, sovereign, and secure?Trust – Shapeholder legitimacy and brand influence
→ Do key actors trust your purpose, competence, and alignment?
Where GRIPS helps nations build integrated strength, PIVOT equips organizations to see clearly where they stand—and how to strengthen their stance.
GRIPS + PIVOT: A Twin Lens for Real-World Strategy
What It Does
GRIPS: Addresses what must be prioritized to set the national strategic agenda and build systemic strength.
PIVOT: Pinpoints where an organization is exposed or advantaged to diagnose posture and reveal risks or leverage points.
Used together, GRIPS and PIVOT connect purpose to posture, ambition to adaptation, and strategy to execution.
In a world of rising risk, strategy demands both perspective and precision.
GRIPS sets the agenda. PIVOT tests the posture.
Together, they help leaders act with clarity and compete with coherence.
What’s Ahead
Coming soon on Frontiers of Freedom:
GRIPS: Five Priorities to Secure the Free World
PIVOT: How Institutions Compete in a Multipolar Age