101: Military strategy in business
The military is regimented and systematic, with tried-and-true operational practices. Can these themes of discipline, accountability and responsibility translate into the world of business? Here are three ways to tap into your best business self with lessons learned from the rank and file:
Invest resources wisely. Brian Tracy at BNI.com advises against armies — or companies — spreading themselves too thin. Energy, like money or manpower, is a precious commodity. “Economy of force means that you expend only the resources necessary to achieve the objective — not more,” he writes. “Be very selfish when deciding how you are going to use yourself. Keep asking, 'How important is this?' and, more important, 'How important is this to me?'”
Surprise your foes/competitors. This can be done, for instance, with a new product release via stealth, ambiguity or deception, writes Eric K. Clemons and Jason A. Santamaria at Harvard Business Review. “Denying critical information to the enemy minimizes or even eliminates the threat of retaliation,” they write. According to the article, Microsoft relies on ambiguity when it announces upgrades. Competitors have no choice but to respond to every potential change. “Because it never implements all of the announced changes,” the article states, “Microsoft incurs costs only for those features that it actually upgrades.”
Consider guerilla warfare. In uncertain markets, companies should identify opportunities to attack. Unless they mobilize and strike quickly, companies could lose their window of chance, writes Charles Rathmann in an article at LinkedIn.com. “The goal is not so much to gain territory as much as it is to make the status quo uncomfortable for an opponent … Why is guerilla strategy becoming more important? … changes in technology. An investment in a technology now may be worth less in the future as another, disruptive, technology takes its place,” writes Rathmann.n
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