About Key Terrain

In military doctrine, key terrain is any ground whose control gives a marked advantage to whoever holds it. Armies plan around securing and retaining key terrain. Battles are won and lost over key terrain. Significant casualties are within an acceptable loss in order to keep key terrain. Needless to say, it's important.

The same is true far from any battlefield. In markets, technology, and national security, some ground matters far more than the rest: a chokepoint in a supply chain, a technology protocol that becomes the standard, a resource everyone suddenly needs. Whoever holds it sets the terms, controls the narrative, and forces concessions.

My writing are about finding and understanding that key terrain.

What I write about

Business, financial markets, national security, and technology, and anything else I find worth thinking through. These topics usually get covered separately or loosely connected. I don't think they are separate. Energy moves markets, markets fund technology, technology reshapes national power, and money runs through all of it. The most interesting questions sit where they overlap.

Who I am

I’m Johnny DeMaddalena. I have worked across several industries and sat in a lot of different seats. Chief of staff driving growth and strategy, founder responsible for everything, project manager executing major initiatives, consultant fixing broken processes, and advisor working in the shadows.

I occasionally work on irregular warfare planning, execution, and analysis as a soldier.

Each of those roles comes down to the same skill: figuring out what actually matters, and what can we do to move the needle in our favor.

The views here are my own and do not represent the War Department, the U.S. government, or any employer. Nothing on this site is financial or investment advice.