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Lesson 178: Evaluating MovementAnswer: A. They are preparing to move forward. How do we interpret changes in an opponent's formation? Strategically, every competitor has a position. Just like the Chinese term di means both the ground and the situation, the Chinese term xing means both position and formation. Sun Tzu's concept of xing simultaneously means how we are situated on the ground—our position—and how we align our resources to make the most of the ground we hold—our formations. Changes in formation, like all of our opponent's actions, communicate information. The question is, what do they mean?Speed is a tool for invasion. When opponents restructure their organization to move quickly, they are planning to advance their position. Speed and coordination are important only in an attack. Withdrawals from a position are done or should be done slowly, ideally secretly. Defense is built up patiently. Only attacks require speed and coordination at the flanks. In business, a leader restructures his or her organization only because he or she is serious about winning a new market or expanding into a new business area. We saw this when Bill Gates restructured Microsoft to refocus his company from desktop computing to networking. He wasn't concerned with simply defending his dominance on the desktop. He was signalling that he was serious about going after new lines of business. This is the type of action that speaks much louder than words. While organizations can restructure, especially to downsize or to defend their territories, those changes emphasize stability and continuity, not speed. |
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Copyright 2005-2008 Science of Strategy Institute, Clearbridge Publishing, and Gary Gagliardi |
