Business War - A Strategic Art

History shows that traditional wars fought without dynamic sound strategic plans and decisive actions, are rarely won. With similar weapons technology, victors out-thought and outmanoeuvred their opposition. Nowadays, weapons-might and wealth overpower the weak; strategy is less important. Stay safe; utilise smarter, more expensive, and stronger weapons, deployed remotely. The poor are relatively defenceless, left to their strategic resources.

It's tougher to win the business war, with more competitors, less weapons, stricter activity controls and restrictions on killing your opposition. The powerful are no less vindictive though; consider globalisation.

We protest wars, possibly the most extraordinary examples of strategic business planning and market manipulation ever seen on Earth. However it's the unnecessary deaths we dislike. We also protest global business and global market dominance (financial dictatorship?).

Consider historically, that the number of stress-related illnesses causing death resulting from business failures and bankruptcies far outnumbers the total global war-related fatalities. So why is sound business strategy seemingly so much less important than war strategy? The issues are the same, super-powers and poor strategic planning (poor defence). Strategic business planning is essential; complacency is fatal.

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Regularly, business directors/managers explain poor performance to their stakeholders. Often, they blame "external factors beyond their control". Rarely will problems with their strategic plan (if it existed), its implementation, follow-through, results reporting, and corrective action be discussed. Why provide information to promote personal demise? The reason behind poor performance is often a lack of strategic marketing/business planning.

External business-environmental factors affect every organisation in different ways to varying degrees. Often we hear, "Business is down", "The economy is bad", and "People just aren't buying". And then there's SARS and September 11 th, more possible excuses? The war on terror ... next? Ponder why many businesses thrived during the two World Wars and the Great Depression, what were they doing differently?

We regularly dispute published statistics due to individual business-sector distortion, but annual overall macroeconomic-growth of a nation generally lies between -5% to +5%. One might expect business performance to follow. Sorry to disappoint; it doesn't matter what the economy is doing, some businesses thrive and others go bankrupt.

Entrepreneurs and strategic-marketing experts monitor external factors, predict resulting issues, and take advantage of their changing business environment. They minimise surprises and hedge against potential major problems. As most of us don't fully understand macroeconomics, we are limited to our own 'micro' operational sphere, the organisation/business/marketplace we are in. Negative economic trends will always bite, however damage control is in your hands.

All businesses endure cyclical performance. During high-demand periods, don't relax. Increasing sales figures and bank balances are great, but it's now you need to strategise for the eventual downtimes. During low-demand periods buyers are fewer, and they are more selective. Your company 'package' (not just the product for sale) requires uniqueness and differentiation from your competitors. This is your first line of defence.

Accountants are necessary. Although they seem so, they are rarely interested in exactlyhow you intend to achieve your financial goals, as they have no vested interest. You are a paying client receiving the specialised accounting services they provide. Some offer strategic marketing services, be careful, as these are often little more than reiterations of textbook formulas touted as genuine entrepreneurial consultation. Why not read the same textbook?

Your bank manager may offer advice, an overdraft facility, or perhaps a business loan. He/she will request your business plan, but not as security against borrowings. It simply gives your proposal added professionalism. Bank-promoted strategic business advice is financial advice, often pushing a bank product, to make them money ... but it's free advice? Bankers are not marketing experts.

Your Business Plan, that 'bible' which is reinforced by your every move, dictates your company's strategic planning efforts. Done properly and in detail, it takes many weeks of painstaking work. Most SME's don't have one, or if they did, it's not regularly updated (at least once a year), or lost ...

Strategic marketing and operations planning expands on your detailed business plan . Many strategic marketing issues generally dealt with are outside the scope of even a detailed business plan, and not all strategic issues apply to every organisation. But then, what is marketing? According to Professor Malcolm McDonald (UK):

"Marketing is a communication with specific groups of customers

whose needs you understand in depth and for whom

you develop an offer with a differential advantage

over the offer of your competitors."

Although many may disagree, marketing isn't selling, advertising, product development or customer service. Pure marketing is strategic by definition.

Strategic-Marketing and Operations Specialists exist. Prepare your wallet for a jargon-filled report telling you much of what you already know, but won't admit. They just work with your information. You might get some new ideas, but the follow through, the action, is totally up to your people. Much of the report received will contain essential elements of every up-to-date business plan. Does paying $000's to a professional ease the pain? And does anything really change afterwards?

... Now that you, the accountant and bank manager all approve of your up-to-date detailed business plan ... time for a reality check. Only you have real vested interest; you must ensure the plan gets actioned, and followed through. It needs to be sold internally, and your organisation needs to believe the plan will succeed.

Business-Plan statements require strategically planned details as to how, why, who, timeframes, resources, processes, budgets, progress reporting, and overall responsibilities. Strategic planning consists of many intricate jigsaw puzzles where all the pieces, without exception, form the critical paths to success.

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What strategic areas should be considered? Strategic Planning Topics

It's clearly evident that a difference exists between 'talking' results in the positive hope of success, and actually knowing how organisational goals will be achieved, and why. The difference is you, your strategic analysis and the resulting action plan. All company stakeholders must totally believe in your strategy.

As a businessperson, your strength is your extended organisation's knowledge and how it's used. Learn to strategise, plan, action your plans, follow through, learn from the outcomes and re-strategise. The techniques are simple; the diligence required not as easy. Your strategy is your first line of defence, and unless you have the big business weapon ($$) it's probably your only protection. Rather important, don't you think?

The parallels between war and business are ironic. Business is war, but it doesn't necessarily follow that war is business, it only "means business".

Remember, it's business that makes the world rotate.

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