Its Purpose

Its Purpose Overview
Where Planning Works
Where Planning Doesn't Work
What Does Work and Why
Competition and Production
The Information Problem

What Does Work and Why

Since every situation on the chaotic, competitive front lines of competition is unique and changes from moment to moment, making good decisions is always a challenge. Even the smallest decisions in the chaotic world of competition can have huge implications—in terms of payoffs or costs—in the future. While everyone's front-line decisions address the immediate issues at hand, most people make those decisions without seeing the big picture. The results are that, instead of making consistent progress on the front lines, we wander and meander around, losing as many battles as we win.

A better choice than flying by the seat of your pants and making it up as you go along is using the well-defined techniques of classical strategy, which have been proven over 2,500 years. The study of front-line strategy arose from military confrontations, where every battle clearly demonstrated the limits of control. Sun Tzu saw that losers clung to their plans like an excuse, but winners were always those who responded appropriately to the dynamic nature of the situation.

Classical front-line strategy analyzes complex, dynamic environments to identify the opportunities hidden within them. Instead of focusing on a series of planned steps, the toolkits of strategy concern themselves with relative competitive positions, the expansion or advancement of positions, and responses to specific challenges. In the science of strategy we call decision-making in these three areas positional strategy, expansion strategy, and situational strategy.

Positional strategy teaches that competitive situations are defined by relationships among competing positions. While every situation is unique, the key strategic factors—mission, climate, ground, command, and methods—define every position within a competitive arena. Each of these factors consists of known elements. Those elements are like chemicals. They can be combined in endless ways, but they have known properties and react in predictable ways in certain combinations.

Expansion strategy focuses on the need to improve positions over time.  Instead of a series of predefined steps, expansion strategy uses a recursive process, working toward the general goal of advancing a position. That process—the listen, aim, move, claim cycle—is a form of the scientific method. Instead of expecting a specific result, the strategic method explores competitive environments to uncover the hidden opportunities.

Situational strategy chooses the appropriate response based on the immediate nature of the challenge. Though each situation is unique, they all consist of certain predictable components. Situational strategy looks at the form of the ground, distances, dangers, obstacles, and the nine common competitive arrangements to quickly determine the best response.

Nothing in classical front-line strategy is deterministic. You still cannot predict your results in any given situation. Rather, it is a stochastic process that succeeds over time by consistently producing more successes than failures and by ensuring that all decisions take you in the desired direction.

Before you can successfully use front-line strategy, you must understand clearly where and when you use its methods. Read on...