Chain Strength

A former coach used to say that a chain was only as strong as its weakest link.  At the time I believed that meant the most logical option was to find a chain that had a stronger weak link.  Practical thinking has never been my forte.  It didn’t occur to me that the point was to identify the weak points in the organization and fortify them.  That would make the team stronger and better prepared.  I suppose that’s what ended up happening in spite of my flawed thinking.

He would also say that if you could see someone, they could probably see you.  Every opponent has weakpoints in the chain, and it was part of our job to isolate and exploit those weaknesses.  Our coach was an expert at reconnaisance and tactical planning.  Our playing style was tailored to take full advantage of our opponent’s weaknesses while defending our own.  We lost very few games as a result of our execution of his tactical plans.  It was fun.

I think I’m a lot smarter now, so if we solve the time travel paradox, I’ll go back and fix my mindset.  My belief is that full understanding of his lessons will help me become a better player and give me a better understanding of the world.  Maybe we’ll win a few more games as well.  The importance of having a strong chain goes far beyond a game.  Life is a series of events that are linked together by our relationship chains.  Having a network of weak links only serves to bring down the experience.

My previous flawed solution was to jettison the weak links, but now I know better.  Strengthening those links makes the entire union stronger and the experience that much more enjoyable.  The process doesn’t yield a solitary benefit since it will also strengthen those around it.  I’m helping others who are also helping me.

AcMo suffers from a unique problem because it has been suggested that I am the weak link in the organization.  This is problematic for a number of complex reasons.  All of the blackmail material I’ve collected on the board is not sufficient threat to keep them quiet and subservient.  This is quite alarming.  I am vulnerable without the board under my control.  AcMo was created because no other organization could contain my revenue streams, and a lot of them lacked the vision to see the foresight layered into my various schemes.  There were also too many questions surrounding the ethics and legality behind our theoretical animal testing.

A wandering mind such as my own needs some place to be able to call home.  AcMo is my North Star that I can always use to navigate my return path.  Without it, I may be lost adrift in space spinning revenue streams to passing meteors.  In fact, that may not be a bad idea.  We’ll have to research that once we figure out how to survive leaving the Earth’s orbit without the benefit of a space ship.

Therefore, I must remain in charge of AcMo at all costs.  There are too many revenue streams for us to explore and not enough time to get to all of them.  No other person possesses the unique skillset required to keep AcMo solvent and quasi-thriving.  This means I have no choice but to strengthen my weaknesses before a competitor crashes the party.