Forget Armor - January 31, 2008
"The men in mail were somewhat of an obstacle, as the iron plates did not yield to javelins or swords; but our men, snatching up hatchets and pickaxes, hacked at their bodies and their armor as if they were as if they were battering a wall. Some beat down the unwieldy mass with pikes and forked poles, and they were left lying on the ground, without an effort to rise, like dead men." Tacticus, The Annals
This is why efforts to be closed, protected, secure and insulated fail in a fluid marketplace. At Platea, a Persia general lay on his back weighed down by armor, impenetrable until a Spartan put a spear through the eye hole of his helmet.
You get the point. It doesn't work.
There are too many people, they have too many resources and the speed of transactions, iterations and judgments are increasingly fast. So let go, be good and see what happens.
Posted by ryanholiday at 3:59 PM
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If I understand what you're saying, it seems the entrenchment strategy plays similarly to your strategy. Entrenchment is a good armor, but it also limits one's maneuverability.
In which case, I would think there are some cases in which it can be a good strategy. (After all, ignoring your armor altogether leaves you open to attack.)
Posted by: Ilan Bouchard at January 31, 2008 11:15 PM
You write too much crap disguised as profundity.
Posted by: The Right Stuff at February 1, 2008 12:49 AM
We handle this similarly at the software company I work at. We're small and agile. Rather than fighting the big companies at their game (sales and marketing, which costs big money), we just beat them to market with new features. Since we're so much faster than them, it's easy to always stay ahead. In fact, we moved so fast that we were already out in front before they even realized they had serious competition. The potential customer base saw what we had and we've started killing the big guys every time we see them.
Posted by: Tim at February 1, 2008 08:58 AM
Interesting. Just last night I'm reading through Robert Greene's 48th Law of Power: Assume Formlessness. What struck me most was the story about how the Chinese Communists resisted defeat by following a strategy Mao learned partly from the game go, or wei-chi.
Posted by: Maxbro at February 1, 2008 01:02 PM
Shutting it down, digging the trenches, protecting the lead and playing the Prevent defense can work within timed games.
The big question is "What's a timed game and what's not?" How many business interactions can be won out by sheer attrition and are they worth winning in that manner?
Posted by: amphibian at February 1, 2008 02:25 PM
Whether or not The Right Stuff's comment is accurate, in this instance or in general, it is the main cricism that will be levied at you, due to the nature of what you do. You're smart enough to know that, and it should be a main thing you guard against.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 1, 2008 04:38 PM
