Assess, Position and Influence (7): Last Move Advantage

Source: wikimedia.org

There is no such thing as a last move advantage or a late starter advantage. Those protagonists with the right amount of political-legal influences can override most social-political-based business situations.

Compass Rule: When the political-legal rule is greater than the immediate economic benefit, the outcome becomes obvious.

Exception: Disrupt the power behind the political-legal rule and the social economic influence prevails.

First move advantage works when one has synchronized the proper set of political, economic, social and technological influences into their package of strategic power. We will touch more on this topic later.

Summary

The key to staying ahead of the curve is to know the Compass rules and the settings behind the Big Tangible Picture (BTP) before deciding strategically.

Compass Rule:

While the amateurs are usually focused on understanding the rules, the professionals already know the configuration and the scope of the terrain. They are just focused on the exceptions to the rules.

Assess, Position and Decide (1)

(michelleshutter.com)

By climbing the global mountain of political-economic-social value chains, the successful (Compass) strategists realized the rule of "money in politics and politics in money" is always in play. They also recognized that the quantity of quality money is proportional to the quantity of intense competition.

The height and the intensity of the climb occasionally determines the state of one's awareness. Those who have no awareness, usually ruin their execution with poor presumptions and ill-timed adjustments. In summary, the element of time, economics and effort are wasted. Trust and stability are broken.

By looking ahead of the climb, the successful strategists identified the politics and determined the self interest. (Remember that self interest is the origin of most relationships.) Then they examined the economics by following the money trail.

Compass Rule:

There is money in politics and then there is politics in money. If one has the political-economic influence in their terrain, then they are ahead of their competitive game for the time being.

(The picture originated from Posiwid)

Compass Rule:

Self interest is the origin of most relationships.

Ruminations from the Compass Desk

To compete effectively in the information economy, he or she needs to understand the Big Tangible Picture (BTP). Having a tool that identifies the connectivity of influences, is quite helpful. It should encompasses a hierarchical set of rules from the various strategic classics.

Can one formulates a similar tool?

Do the following: surf the web; visit the various forums; read tons of books, find the rules; filter the reality from the illusion; distinguish the few professional views from the masses of amateur opinions; take the gamble of implementing it effectively in terms of logistics and economics, lose one's own reputation, etc. . . .

In summary, one can learn it the hard way or you can contact us.

In future posts, we will define what is a successful (Compass) strategist.

What is Strategic Power (Strategic Positioning)?

Source: Wikipedia.org

Compass Rule: One's position on the political-economic-social value chain is proportional to their response to the intensity of the competition.

Regardless of the competition, the key to prevailing in any venture is to establish effective strategic power (strategic positioning).

It begins by having a Big Tangible Picture that enables one to decide whether the act of cooperating or the act of competing or a simultaneous act of both acts is the best initial move for the moment.

Following is our conceptualization of what strategic power is about:

• Using one's competitive disposition within the terrain as an advantage;
• Anticipating the forthcoming opportunity and then timing one's potential to the best situation; and
• Displaying the illusion and the reality simultaneously during any strategic situations.

Our book project covers more on this topic. We will post more information about it later.

Competing in the Global Economy: How Driven Are You?

Are you the leader or the chaser?

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed...every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle...when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

During the course of our research, we discovered that most of the so-called entrepreneurs were not that competitive. Some were just following what the herd is doing. Others were just happy that they are barely making an impact in their niche and got their slice of the pie for that year.

We randomly estimated that less than 5% of the entrepreneurs are extremely competitive.

It is important to assess yourself and your terrain every so often. Ask yourself if you are willing to take the next big step in order to compete.

Assessing the Big Tangible Picture: Connect the Dots

Simple reasoning is not always as real as what the owner has stated. There is always something more to the given truth.

Recently the Five Guys invaded the home state of the In and Out Burger, We do not know if they will thrive on the long run. ... It has been rumored that their burgers are tasty and expensive . Depending on where one stands in the social economic value chain, the only real complaint is the price. In life, quality cost.

At this moment, they are indirectly borrowing the marketing cloud of In and Out Burgers. Sooner or later the Five Guys's current model of high-priced quality burgers will not work. ... Based on their numbers, they are ahead of the curve for this macro moment.

Without a good view of the Big Tangible Picture, one's luck can only last for so long.

Compass Rule: The order and the cyclical state of the terrain determines everything. No business model lasts a long time without the right amount of political influences, economic influences and other specific influences that must be in play. ... There are always a few exceptions to that situation. ... Knowing them and using it against the general rule is the key to emerging success.

The Importance of Intelligence Assessment

Here is an interesting AP news item on how the U.S. intelligence agency found Osama bin Laden.

There is a rule of thumb about "acting on a specific intelligence item." If it is about 80%+ completed in terms of relevancy, most people would usually run with it. ... No intelligence stays static for a long period of time. ... Depending on the setting, the rate of change becomes a pertinent factor. ... Generally, most people do not spend any time estimating the risk/reward for using a certain type of intelligence. ... They go with their gut instinct.

Compass Process:

Identify the order of intelligence. Determine its sequence. Examine its timing points. Analyze the quality of data with various "what-if" situations. In most cases, the chief decision maker will have a better idea whether he/she is one step closer to hitting their target.

Compass Rule:

With the right intelligence and the proper assessment process , one can promptly find the order within the abyss of disorder.

Defining the Macro Compass Rules

From the game of Go, one learns that there is a set of universal rules that cross the various competitive arenas. If one spends some time, playing this game and becomes mindfully aware of the many events around him or her. One becomes more alert to the Big Tangible Picture (BTP) that is around him or her.

1. The Dao is Everything.

There is a way (or an order) in every activity or setting. Knowing the macro sequence (and the micro connections) between each realm, usually offered one's the insight of what is the way.

2. The Sequence is Everything

For every way there are many sequences. Understanding the macro order (and the micro orders) within each sequence. One learns how it works

3. The Timing is Everything

Once the Dao and the sequence have been comprehended, one's must be able to time their actions to the situation.  Getting the feeling of timing is about cultivating one's sense of awareness.

How do these three rules fit into the topic of strategic assessment process? Knowing how things work and how it connects to other things, usually enable anyone to properly assess the Big Tangible Picture. The challenge is to take the time and the effort to do it properly.

Your Game

How do you plan your strategy? Have you ever assessed your target and its surroundings?

In any relevant competitive analysis checklist, the professionals usually focus on the following points: the extensiveness of their competition; their size; their strength; their location; their capabilities and the intentions of the target.

Do you do that?

Most people preferred not to operate with this amount of details. It usually confuses them. They preferred to teach and preach the art of inspiring leadership and hoped that things will work itself out regardless of their situation.

The Simplicity of Our Process

Know the Dao. Understand the sequence. Pinpoint the timing points. Only then one can successfully assesses anything. That is all one has to do.

Does your project team performed the above steps?