Offense and Defense
Have you ever played Chess. When you take a defensive strategy, it is often after your best pieces are gone and you are at a disadvantage. Thus, if an army fights primarily defensively, they are probably weak. If you play Chess, from the beginning, in defensive style only you will lose. The act of defense will minimize losses, but will not make you win. Eventually, a defense only strategy will lose. Sun Tzu says that a skilled person at defense will know how to hide in the secret recesses of the earth. In business, those that know how to hide their technological advantage are the ones that will have a great advantage. You don't want to fight defensively. You want to be invisible.
“Offensive attacking shows an abundance of strength”, according to Sun Tzu. Offense should come from the tops of the mountains. Sun Tzu often points out the importance of attacking from a position of advantage. The high ground is always best. In business, attack when you are ready and know you have a real advantage. Many small business owners are always playing defense because they feel weak compared to their opponent. This is a losing strategy. A small business needs to formulate good offensive strategy that has tactical advantages.
When playing chess, a common way to win is effective use of the queen. The queen is the most powerful and can control the most spaces. Some people hide the queen because they do not want to lose their power. A better strategy is to control most of the board and the only way to do that is to get the queen out. Obviously, you need defense to keep the queen safe, but leaving the queen out because of fear of loss is a good way to lose a chess match.
| |
