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The
Art of Business
- Mark McNeily {Read 5/03}
Whew, I finally read this
book after it collected dust on my shelf for over 2 years!... perhaps
I should have read it earlier? In any case... here are the notes...
6 main principles:
- Win without fighting
- Define your markets
and commit to dominance!
- Leave the market intact
- don't destroy your market in trying to win it over
- Prioritize markets and
determine competitor focus (who are you going to attack)
- Avoid strength
- Strike where they least
expect it (your competitors)
- Attacking weaknesses
leverages your strengths (duhhh)
- Develop a list of competitor
weaknesses and develop several attack strategies against each
- Deception and foreknowledge
- Maximize the power of
market information
- Develop intel that identifies
competitors financials, employees, executives, strategies, costs,
everything!
- What are they capable
of?
- What is their current
attack strategy?
- Executive profiles -
where did they graduate from? What experience do they have?
- Launch small, direct
assaults on minor product categories to see how they respond
- Know yourself!
- Know your market
and market terrain
- Make sure your competitor
is UNABLE to know you!
- Speed and preparation
- The essence of war!
- Speed is a substitute
for resources, it shocks competitors
- Allows you to build
some momentum
- Reinforce success
- starve failure!
- Improve your info/decision/action
cycle - shorten executive decision making time and increase the
tempo of attacks
- Colin Powell - when
you have 60% of the info you need, take action!
- Invulerability lies
in defense, victory lies in the attack
- Utilize wargaming to
plan counter moves
- Shape your opponent
- Gain hold of strategic
positions in the maket by using technology, key buyers & distribution
- Bait them into competitive
mistakes
- Sever their alliances
and build your own
- Feign attack to where
it is expected buy fully attack in another area
- Use bait to shape them
- withdraw from a market b/c you want another market and let them
focus on winning the one you left
- Ally w/a competitor
for that small market to distract them!
- Hold strategic positions
in key markets - own key technology or patents, niche customers,
retailer shelf space, board seat on industry associations
- Always leave an easy
way out once you have won - let them exit gracefully
- Character based leadership
- Build character, not
just image - wisdom, courage, discipline, sincerity, confidence
- Lead with actions
- talk is cheap
- Share employees trials
- not just triumphs
- Good commanders are
both loved and feared!
- Do not tolerate confusion
- assign clearly defined missions
- Strategy should drive
the organization!
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