Best Possible Outcome

PROLOGUE

Two decades of war in the Middle East have left an indelible scar on western nations, but if we are to draw any good from this protracted conflict, it can come from learning about ourselves, and our enemy. Taking the hard-won and -lost lessons of warfare and overlaying them onto the corporate landscape — risk, resilience, agility and decision-making in times of crisis — for me, this is where the learning started.

The sunlight cut through the morning haze. The melancholy melody of the day's first call to prayer had reverberated through the city streets hours earlier. As the morning emerged, so too did the streams of traffic snaking noisily through the city streets.

Under a veil of normality, the city was pulled by murderous tension.

The two men, hunters, sat waiting. Watching for their prey to cross into their trap.

 … 

The night before, just on dusk, the men had parked the car on the city street. The vehicle creaked and groaned as it settled on its sagging suspension while they ran their final checks. In the half-light of the floodlit city, they lifted the blankets that covered their payload. Following the wires, they looked for anything that might have been dislodged during the short drive from the north-eastern outskirts of the city. The checks complete, they looked at each other one last time before a quick nod and a slow click of the switch. They both exhaled.

Down a laneway, the shadows overlaid with spirals of concertina barbed wire. They walked quickly. A right ...