Ancient Chinese War Strategies - The New Corporate Game Plan?
Hiranya Fernando, WG'04
Issue date: 2/23/04 Section: Perspectives
Krippendorff said that there are two traditional methods to solve any business problem, both of which are at best adequate but neither of which are particularly exciting. The traditional methods are a) an options-based framework such as the 4Cs or Porter's 5 Forces, or b) a rule-based approach such as the 7 Habits of Incredibly Efficient MBAs or Mike Useem's 12 Laws of Leadership.
However, these methods are limiting. According to Krippendorff, the stratagems break these inherited ways of thinking and "provide patterns for navigating complex situations and competitive interactions." That the modern firm can use eastern philosophy and military tactics to create unusual corporate strategies is not new. What is new is this idea of patterns. Consider this: "To catch something, first let it go." What that means is that you let your competitor get ahead and break costly new ground for you, but only just ahead so that you can easily catch up. Think Coke and Pepsi. Coke innovates, Pepsi copies. Pepsi innovates, Coke copies.
Or take the example of a new soft drink company that has to compete against Coke and gain 20% market share in two years. Two strategies come to mind. The company could "kill with a borrowed knife," meaning induce a third party to attack its enemy. For example, rile up the anti-globalization movement against Coke or use government regulation to restrict anticompetitive practices of large corporations. Or it could "borrow a corpse for the soul's return," meaning gain advantage by readopting discarded models, ideas, or technology. Then, using two to three stratagems, the new soda company could come up with a set of options and then choose the one it wants to implement. In this example, it eventually could decide to introduce the soft drink at a low price point.
Of course this begs the question how this result is any different than if we had used a traditional method. It is quite probable that we would have reached a similar conclusion with a simple 4Cs analysis. Oh well, it's just another 36 to add to the 4Cs and the 4Ps and the 5 Forces. But at least they have exotic names that conjure up images a la crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon and fantastic cloak and dagger tactics to put any modern day realty TV show to shame.
However, these methods are limiting. According to Krippendorff, the stratagems break these inherited ways of thinking and "provide patterns for navigating complex situations and competitive interactions." That the modern firm can use eastern philosophy and military tactics to create unusual corporate strategies is not new. What is new is this idea of patterns. Consider this: "To catch something, first let it go." What that means is that you let your competitor get ahead and break costly new ground for you, but only just ahead so that you can easily catch up. Think Coke and Pepsi. Coke innovates, Pepsi copies. Pepsi innovates, Coke copies.
Or take the example of a new soft drink company that has to compete against Coke and gain 20% market share in two years. Two strategies come to mind. The company could "kill with a borrowed knife," meaning induce a third party to attack its enemy. For example, rile up the anti-globalization movement against Coke or use government regulation to restrict anticompetitive practices of large corporations. Or it could "borrow a corpse for the soul's return," meaning gain advantage by readopting discarded models, ideas, or technology. Then, using two to three stratagems, the new soda company could come up with a set of options and then choose the one it wants to implement. In this example, it eventually could decide to introduce the soft drink at a low price point.
Of course this begs the question how this result is any different than if we had used a traditional method. It is quite probable that we would have reached a similar conclusion with a simple 4Cs analysis. Oh well, it's just another 36 to add to the 4Cs and the 4Ps and the 5 Forces. But at least they have exotic names that conjure up images a la crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon and fantastic cloak and dagger tactics to put any modern day realty TV show to shame.