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Pre-Debate: Strategy
Dear Friends,
As usual, ignorance is the most outstandinig characteristic that marks my
world-view. If you remember, a while ago, Ram had sent in this little note
(I am making a copy of it again) and in my ignorant view, I had suggested
that we do not discuss such things here. Then Ram said later that this was
actually a useful thing for IndiaPolicy since you do need a strategy, too,
to implement anything.
Later, Ravi (a new member of this list, and a pretty experienced
bureaucrat who has recently resigned after 15 years in the IAS), gave me a
book, called: "Contemporary Strategy Analysis" by Robert Grant, which I
was attempting to read (I have studied Strategic Human Resource management
in Australia, but not strategy per e). I soon realized the vital
importance of understanding and developing a strategy if the "manifesto"
we are developing is to actually do what it is being designed for, i.e.,
to actually change India.
I humbly recant my questioning of Ram's intervention. I think now that the
Plan of Action must be looked into some more detail and a "Strategy"
defined.
I was reading the case of the Beatles, who were a completely unrecognized
music group in England in 1962, at a time when the music industry was
dominated almost completely by Americans. A homosexual, school dropout
called Brian Epstein, who had been a failure right through his life,
decided to leverage this group into success. He became the manager of this
unknown, and not-so-talented group, and in two years when the Beatles came
to the USA, he had rocketed this group into what became known as
"Beatlemania" - even now, the 1960s are more popularly known as the decade
of the Beatles.
I think this group is doing pretty well: we were 5-6 people who started to
debate policy amongst ourselves. We are now nearly 70, in precisely 3
months. The people coming in are really good, concerned, and capable
Indians from all over.
Ram has 30 years of business experience. I think he is the best person to
guide us on 'strategy.' I would request him to tell us what IndiaPolicy
should be doing, and how. Maybe we could do with a "Strategy" Task Force?
SS
PS: I liked one thing about what Sun Tzu claimed was the highest form of
victory: that the enemy give up even trying to fight. (I'll try to collect
some gems from this guy and put up in the Thought for the Day section)
Our goal should be to lay out a strategy so that the corrupt leaders,
gangsters, mafia, and others simply stop trying to contest elections. They
should so badly beaten by the good people who know how to restrain the
corrupt that the evil should not even try to govern India. Today the good
have given up trying to 'fight.' The good guys simply read their morning
newspaper, look helplessly at what is going on, and never even **think**
of trying to provide an alternative. Today, the victory is completely of
the corrupt and mafias. Let us turn the tables on these evil monsters.
Go India_Policy!! Beat the hell out of the corrupt scoundrels who run
India today!!
========================================================================
I am taking the liberty of forwarding the latest edition of the Sun Tzu
Strategy Newsletter which I thought the members of the India Policy Group
will find interesting
Ram Narayanan
----------
> From: suntzu@cazmedia.com
> To: janaky@indiaintl.com
> Subject: Sun Tzu Strategy Newsletter
> Date: Sunday, June 21, 1998 11:28 PM
>
> Sun Tzu Strategy Newsletter
> Second Quarter-1998
>
>
> Welcome to the Second Quarter issue of the Sun Tzu Strategy Newsletter.
The newsletter was recently recognized
> y the Multimedia Marketing Group as one of the top newsletters on the
Internet and its readership continues to
> expand! If you find this newsletter useful, please feel free to forward
it to others who might enjoy it.
>
>
> STRATEGY MATTERS: IMPROVING YOUR DECISION-MAKING
>
> As I speak in seminars and conferences around the world I talk about
Speed and Preparation, one of the principles
> I developed from reading The Art of War. These two concepts are tightly
related, for to achieve speed requires
> preparation.
>
> A critical part of moving quickly in the marketplace is reducing your
decision-making cycle time. Many of you
> have read about the need to reduce your manufacturing cycle times or your
development cycle times. However, from
> a strategic standpoint, it is just as important to shorten the time it
takes to make good decisions.
>
> There are numerous ways to do this. One is to understand which issues
must be decided immediately and then limit
> information inflow and discussion only to those issues. Also essential is
being disciplined enough to write down
> all key decisions and hold regular follow-up meetings to track your
results. These are the basics.
>
> A more advanced means is to utilize General Colin Powell's rule. If you
think of 0% representing having no data
> and 100% having all the data you would ever need to make a decision, you
should decide when you have 60% of the
> data. This ensures that you have enough information to make a good
decision but haven't waited so long that
> you've missed the window of opportunity.
>
> Finally, it is important for the executive team to discuss strategic
issues together frequently. By doing so you
> will become like any good team...you learn to "read each other's minds."
This becomes essential when it's
> necessary for the company to react quickly to marketplace changes or
execute a strategy with vigor. This fact is
> intuitively obvious but is also backed up by data. For example, in a
study of airline flight crews, the
> researchers found that crews that worked closely together but were
fatigued performed significantly better than
> those that were well-rested but newly-assembled.
>
> By using these ideas, you can shorten your decision-making cycle times.
As Sun Tzu stated, "He who excels at
> resolving difficulties does so before they arise. He who excels in
conquering his enemies triumphs before threats
> materialize."
>
>
> GOOD IDEAS DEPARTMENT: SOURCES OF INFORMATION & WISDOM
>
> Sun Tzu states that "the reason the enlightened prince and the wise
general conquer the enemy whenever they move
> and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge."
What Sun Tzu means by "foreknowledge"
> is information about the marketplace, your competitors and your own
company.
>
> A good idea is to periodically review the sources from which you get your
"foreknowledge", then eliminating
> those sources of information that are redundant or no longer useful and
replacing them with new sources of
> intelligence and wisdom. You can do this by simply making a list of your
personal information sources (TV news,
> magazines, websites, newspapers, business reports, people) and then
asking yourself the following questions:
>
> * Are these the right sources of information to keep me up-to-date with
what's happening?
>
> * Am I getting exposed to new and fresh ideas?
>
> * What other sources of information from outside my industry or field
would be provide
> me with new insights?
>
> * What people should I be getting to know who can either provide me with
news and
> information, or with wisdom.
>
> For example, a person I know used to get just Business Week and the Wall
Street Journal, but this felt this
> limited him to a corporate-centric view. So he started getting Inc.
Magazine and Fast Company, two very different
> types of business periodicals. Personally, I also look for information
from areas outside the business realm,
> such as science, history and politics. These broaden one's view and
provide new sets of analogies and models to
> use in the business world.
>
> In summary, getting both the latest news to act upon AND access to wisdom
to provide a context for action are
> critical to success. Take some time to review your sources of both---it
will make you more productive and also,
> more interesting!
>
>
> THOUGHT FOR THE QUARTER
>
> "If a general is not courageous he will be unable to conquer doubts or
create great plans."
>
>
> SUN TZU NETWORK NEWS
>
> The Sun Tzu Strategy Website has been significantly enhanced. Several new
links have been added to the Strategy
> Launchpad, new articles have been added to Strategy Matters and search
capabilities have been added to the
> Bookstore. Soon you will also be able to download the first chapter of
Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six
> Strategic Principles for Managers! Check it out at
http://www.cazmedia.com/suntzu
>
> Mark has been asked to perform a one-day seminar at the Society of
Competitive Intelligence Professionals European
> Conference in Berlin in November. He will also be providing a one-day
seminar in Washington DC in September, with
> the Institute of International Research.
>
> For those of you in Portugal and Brazil, the Portuguese edition of Sun
Tzu and the Art of Business has just been
> released!
>
> Congratulations go to Ed Choi of Abacus Computers, Steven Hardy of Afmar
Ltd, Tim Stoughton of Gateway 2000, and
> Thomas MacKay of William & Mary. They were all winners of the
complimentary copy of Sun Tzu and the Art of
> Business in the months of January through April of this year.
>
>
> NOTES:
>
> If you wish to provide feedback or have a question, please send a note to
mcneilly@bigfoot.com
>
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>
> The Sun Tzu Strategy Newsletter is written by Mark McNeilly, author of
"Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six
> Strategic Principles for Managers" (Oxford University Press). The
newsletter is free and you can subscribe or
> get prior issues by going to the Sun Tzu Strategy Website at
> http://www.cazmedia.com/suntzu
>
> Spring Issue, 1998, copyright Mark McNeilly, 1998. The Sun Tzu Strategy
Newsletter is solely sponsored by
> Mark McNeilly, in its entirety, and in no way represents the IBM
Corporation.
>
>
>
>
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