Don't Do It
Sun Tzu said, “There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must be not attacked, towns which must be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.”
Pride and Cockiness
I love this saying by Sun Tzu. So many business owners take pride in the fact that they can do anything. Where there is a will there is a way. Sun Tzu points out that there are lots of things to avoid.
Some Businesses Should be Avoided
In business, it means that there are certain types of businesses that you should never pursue. There are businesses that you will never be able to compete in. Should you try and compete in the wrong business, you will certainly fail. There are a lot of commodity businesses with really low profit margins. These are good businesses to avoid. There is no ability to gain competitive advantage.
Besieging Towns
In business, this means that there are certain battles that will be costly and yet they must be fought. There are battles that will take many days or years of preparation. The losses on you side will be huge and yet you need to go in and take over the city. It is difficult to know when to besiege a city. Sun Tzu says to avoid it unless it is absolutely necessary. It is a last resort.
Great Positioning
Some companies have great positioning. They may be entrenched in the marketplace in a way that is very hard to break in. They may have lots of intellectual capital that protects them legally. If a company has great positioning, you should not attack them. You will lose. You might try to get them to change position, to draw them out. One way to draw a company out is to attack them on a smaller aspect that they aren't so greatly positioned in. Then, when they have moved position, you can then attack, if other conditions are favorable. Sometimes, you can just wait until you see an opening or weakness in the enemy. The weakness can give you some real advantage and help you to become victorious.
Ignoring Orders
Sometimes consultants and friends give you bad advice. The great leader will know when to ignore other people. One way to know what to ignore is to check your source. If you seek business knowledge from someone without any experience, you may be likely to get poor advice. If the advice is from a reputable and knowledgeable source, then it is much more likely that it is sound. In any case, there will always be higher up leaders that give out bad advice. They may not be in touch with what is going on at the ground level. The great leader will know when to ignore advice given by others. If you are a true entrepreneur, you will have to ignore a lot of people; many of whom may be your family members.
| |
