On Being Unfathomable & Controlling Your Competition

"An expert General [CEO] approaches his objective indirectly. He moves in an obscure manner, like a ghost in the starlight. He conceals his true condition and ultimate intent." --Chinese military saying

This has its roots in General Sun Tzu’s notion of being “unfathomable” where the enemy (a.k.a. your competition) doesn’t really understand what the hell you’re doing so it’s inefficient or even impossible to effectively plan against you, (e.g. the classic “when close, appear far away”). It helps you move your competition around, wasting their resources and saving yours. This helps you keep things short. The Chinese knew that no war is best but, failing that, keep it short. A short war is cheaper in all the ways war costs. This helps keep the people (shareholders, employees) on your side. Plus it’s fun.

So, being obscure about your process and goals can be a very useful thing. The Chinese also liked the notion of being like fog. It’s hard to see what’s going on inside fog. Inside you can move with intensity and precision but from the outside you’re invisible. It’s all about controlling movement on the field. Just don't forget fog's most important characteristic: eventually it always clears.

The point is a true Corporate Warrior is always acutely aware of exactly what their competition sees. Just ask yourself, “What does my competition see when they look at me?” and then think through how you can modify their actions by modifying your appearance. It’s probably easier and cheaper than you think.

Think about it.

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2012 is already looking good. Let's keep it up--we've got a government to support!

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Revisiting: The Fundamentals

The original form of this blog was an occasional newsletter, started back in late 2002, called The Art of Corporate Warfare. During the recent recession, there have been a number of requests to spruce up the content and bring it out via modern social media tools. I finally said yes. It was useful to readers before and I imagine it will be useful to both the Old Guard and the New Crop as they try and out maneuver each other (kind of fun to watch as each group has intrinsic advantages before applying the CorpWar skill set). BTW, some of the tools of battle have changed (in war and business) but not much has really changed. The underlying tactics of business today are essentially the same ones used in the great battles throughout history.

However, something to keep in mind if you really want to embrace the CorpWar ethos. Battle, in any form, is not for the squeamish. It is essential to understand that war and business are both about the same thing. Somebody has something you want and they don’t want to give it to you at a 'price' you are willing to pay. So you have to take it. And you have to win because losing sucks for all kinds of reasons including it’s expensive in many ways. So battle, whether it’s a blood war in Afghanistan or a battle for shampoo market share is about the same thing. It’s about WINNING. Winning in the least amount of time, at the lowest possible cost and for the greatest reward possible.

If you can’t accept that then find another blog to read. If it sounds good then pass this one around but make sure it’s only among friends.

Now, first off. One of my Fundamentals:

Sun Tzu, arguably one of the greatest generals in history, said a great General (e.g. a great CEO which is the same thing) puts his army (employees) beyond the possibility of defeat. The great General then waits, studying the enemy (the CEO’s competition). When the General decides the enemy is "truly" weak, he/she strikes decisively. "Truly" weak because a great General knows a skillful foe, another great General, may have his force appear strong, when they are actually weak--to keep their enemy away. Or conversely, they may appear weak when they are actually strong in order to draw the enemy to them, generally into a trap onto a fatal ground of the foe's own choosing. See? Who is controlling whom?

Sun Tzu said, "A great General [CEO] controls his enemy [competition]." We’ll go into this more in coming weeks. Control is important. In the meantime, how can you control your competition?

Think about it...