Know Thy Enemy

It has been fashionable especially in the past decade to use military metaphors to describe business situations. Students of Sun Tzu or Clausewitz (famous Chinese and Prussian military theorists) have taken their philosophies and derived business principles from them, teaching us how to crush our competitor, to “render him incapable of further resistance.” (Clausewitz)

I think Sun Tzu and Clausewitz got it right. But I think those well-intentioned folks who write the business books got it wrong— they haven’t figured out who is the real enemy.

Winchester

Professional soldiers have their own vocabulary, and it is frequently inscrutable to outsiders. “Winchester” means out of ammunition, or almost out of ammunition. The term comes from the single-shot lever action of a Winchester firearm. When down to the last rounds of ammo, soldiers may fire single shots to conserve what little they have.

Have you had a struggle when you thought you were winchester? With your endurance flagging and with nothing left to contribute to the fight, have you felt like you were out of options?

Humble Pie

I recall a conversation with my uncle, an entrepreneur who dabbled in all sorts of ventures, including buying and selling rare and high-value cars for individuals. I was a recently-graduated (I would say, “freshly-minted” but that is so 1997) MBA, eager to show off some of my new learning. My uncle had never gone to college, and I had just earned my third degree. I said, “Hey, I know quite a bit about stock portfolio management. If you ever want to talk about that, let me know, and I’ll be happy to share what I know with you.”

Suboptimal Ralph

I heard it first from Ralph Herda. During a change initiative that involved some intense stakeholder resistance, seven re-engineering team members were developing brilliant solutions that no one else liked.

Ralph, who provided oversight for the project, listened to the concerns of the team, thought about it for a bit, stroked his chin, leaned forward in his chair, and declared,

“Owned solutions are better than optimal solutions.”

Bypassing the Water Cooler: Communicating in Times of Change

When major changes are announced in an organization, an interesting dynamic develops:
Employees have a greater than usual need for information.
Leaders tend to more strictly control the flow of information.

In times of uncertainty, employees increase their sensitivity to any signals present, frequently misinterpreting whatever facts are available and filling the information gap with bizarre scenarios they have generated. Rumors, half-truths, and well-intentioned guesses end up dominating the talk around the water cooler.