Red teaming is a structured way to challenge plans, assumptions, or strategies before they fail in practice. It creates a disciplined environment to test ideas from different angles—exposing blind spots, uncovering risks, and strengthening decision-making.
Origin of the Term
The idea traces back to 19th-century Prussia. In military war games, Prussian officers wore blue uniforms and represented their own forces on tabletop simulations on a terrain map. Their opponents in the exercises (the “red team”) were tasked with thinking like the enemy, finding weaknesses, and testing plans under pressure. The practice proved so effective that it spread into modern militaries, intelligence agencies, cybersecurity, and now business strategy.
But not all red teams work the same way. In practice, there are at least eight different approaches, each with its own goals, methods, and risks. The challenge for leaders is choosing the right one for the problem at hand.
The Eight Red-Team Approaches
1. Devil’s Advocate - Assign someone to argue against the prevailing view. This exposes weaknesses in reasoning and helps break groupthink.
2. Alternative Futures - Test the strategy against multiple plausible scenarios, such as economic downturns, policy shifts, or technological disruptions.
3. Vulnerability Probe - Deliberately search for weak points that competitors, regulators, or new entrants could exploit.
4. Pre-Mortem - Assume the strategy has already failed, then work backwards to uncover the causes. This surfaces hidden risks early.
5. Competitive Simulation - Have a team role-play as rivals or disruptors to predict how they might outmaneuver you.
6. Independent Review - Bring in outsiders to provide an unbiased second opinion. This helps surface blind spots without the burden of internal politics.
7. Shadow Board - Engage younger leaders or external advisors to give unfiltered input. This adds perspectives senior leadership may miss.
8. Continuous Red-Teaming - Embed red-team thinking into culture and governance so challenges to strategy happen regularly, not just once.
Final Thought
Red-teaming is not one-size-fits-all. Each approach has strengths and tradeoffs. The best leaders start by asking: What decision am I trying to strengthen? What risks do I most need to uncover? What level of time and openness do I have?
The wrong approach wastes time. The right one strengthens confidence that your strategy will stand up under pressure.