Corporate Combat

The Business Battlefield

If you want to survive and thrive in an ultra-competitive business world, study the military campaigns of great leaders and understand their strategies. War, like business, is a contest for territory and superiority. However, you should apply this analogy with a couple of caveats in mind. First, the strategy’s intent isn’t to glorify war or to encourage companies to put their rivals out of business. Second, the hierarchical management style associated with the military isn’t the right solution to use in today’s business climate. Still, the comparison is valid. Although military campaigns focus on complete destruction of the enemy, while business victories lead to short-term, tactical advantages, the parallel holds because, in reality, most combat ends indecisively. Often when a battle results in a clear victory, either the vanquished forces escape to fight again, or the win doesn’t bring about a quicker end to the war. In fact, most winning armies defeat their foes not through a dramatic blow that destroys the enemy, but rather through the cumulative effects of tactical successes and gradual deterioration of the enemy’s manpower, equipment and resources...