Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c133IR // #c133Synthesis

The tenth rule: The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.

— In our words · Source: Rules for Radicals (Saul D. Alinsky)

[Use when]

When you're designing a campaign as a sequence, not a single event.

[Why it matters]

The action is in the reaction — you don't win exchanges, you keep the enemy reacting, because reactions are what you steer.

More from Rules for Radicals

#c124Always remember the first rule of power tactics: Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.When you're outnumbered and need to look bigger than you are. #c125The second rule is: Never go outside the experience of your people. When an action or tactic is outside the experience of the people, the…Before trying a tactic your people have never seen before. #c126The third rule is: Wherever possible go outside of the experience of the enemy. Here you want to cause confusion, fear, and retreat.When you're planning how the enemy will react to something new.