Maintaining Business Focus While Being Flexible
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
The Art of War by Sun Tzu Translated by Lionel Giles
Military theory is often used to exemplify the ideal business strategy because a business in many ways emulates the structure of an army. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of ones own business is the objective of the Managing Director as well as knowing what his competitor’s strengths and weaknesses are. However, the role of adversary is not filled by competitors alone; it can mean the changing economic climate, market forces, governmental law and any other external factor that acts as an influence on the running of the business.
In developing successful strategies and campaigns, the MD has a difficult job. In developing a clear goal, the MD must align the focus of the entire business in achieving that goal without being distracted from linear or secondary objectives that can sabotage the effects of the main business targets. In this respect, being focused and dedicated is an ideal trait for business management to have, but wait, how does this relate to being flexible at the same time? Aren’t focus and flexibility contradictory?
This is the difficulty that many MD’s face in that knowing when to change strategy and when to remain focused are not altogether easy decisions to make. The clear answer to this is in developing the best intelligence of the tactical arena and having up to date information on adversarial elements (i.e. Your opponents, market changes etc) and inward elements (i.e. Our staff, products etc.). The SymVolli system was designed with this specific idea in mind, so that Managing Directors and CEO’s could understand this tactical arena more thoroughly.
The problem with many businesses today, is that there is a prescribed method of business that worked and is followed no matter what. Change happens, we all have to get used to it, but the definition of business madness is in doing something over and over and expecting different results. When the business battlefield changes, as it will do, those that survive will be those who adapt and change.