Created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in 1975, Oblique Strategies is a small black box of cards, each bearing a gnomic prompt like “Use an old idea,” “Work at a different speed,” or “Honor thy error as a hidden intention.” Draw a card when you’re stuck; the constraint nudges you into lateral thinking and breaks creative deadlocks. Invert this premise, and “obliquity” as discussed by the economist John Kay in his 2010 book Obliquity, guides us toward the understanding that if you want to reach point A, you should aim at point 1. As paradoxical as it sounds, the right goals are often attainable only when pursued indirectly. Quoting Viktor Frankl: “Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself.” While Oblique Strategies (the deck) is a great spark for creativity in the moment, Strategic Obliquities is the discipline: a stochastic method for attaining complex goals by designing and iterating on the right indirect moves. Use the cards for jolts. Use Strategic Obliquities for outcomes.