3 Tips to Beat Competition

Mon, 10/05/2015 - 15:38 -- pottol

Acting in a market implies to face out competition, a sort of fight against sellers. There are some parallel and interdependent contests about profit increase, market share and sales volume, handling some marketing elements (e.g. price, product, distribution, promotion, etc).

Judo Business Strategy is (not-self-evident) model for managing what element to modify and in which directions, taking advantage of speed and agility on competitors and changes in the market. Judo Strategy consists of three components:

  • Movement: assessing contest space and building a map of it

  • Balance: countering the competitor’s move

  • Leverage: using some competitor’s strenght against him (requiring to put in place some stratagems)

 

Judo Strategy could be easily explained using concept from:

  1. Sun Tzu Ping-Fa (The Art of War): 13 chapters about “Winning Empire without War”

  2. San Shi Liu Ji (The 36 Stratagems): 6 chapters about stratagems



 

Movement

 

This is the first phase, intended for building up a strategy. The following Ping-Fa chapters will apply:

 




Chapter

Name

Meaning

Chinese

I

Laying Plans

Detailed Assessment and Planning

始計,始计

II

Waging War

The importance of Organisation and Structure for the Challenge

作戰,作战

IV

Tactical Disposition

Positioning in term of features and efforts

軍形,军形

V

Directing

Controlling the use of Energy and Power. Divide et Impera

兵勢,兵势

IX

Moving the Force

Movement and Development of Troops

行軍,行军

X

6 Terrains

Classification of Terrain for Situational Positioning

地形

XI

9 Situations

The 9 types of Battleground

九地

 

Balance

 

This is the second, you are fighting, currently. The following Ping-Fa chapters will apply:

 




Chapter

Name

Meaning

Chinese

III

Strategic Attack

The plan of the offense

謀攻,谋攻

VI

Illusion & Reality

Mixing-Up Weaknesses and Strenghts, in order to confuse instead of persuade

虛實,虚实

VII

Engaging the Force

Actual Military Maneuvers

軍爭,军争

VIII

9 Variations

Adaptability through 9 changes of tactics

九變,九变

XII

Attack by Fire

Starting up an Incendiary Attack

火攻

XIII

Employing Spies

Intelligence and Espionage

用間,用间

 

Leverage

 

In order to take advantage of enemy strenght, you must use a smart trick, classified as the following on the base of context (from the simplest ones to the more complex ones):

 

  • Shengzhanji: Stratagems for Battles Won

  • Dizhanji: Stratagems for Indecisive Battles

  • Gongzhanji: Stratagems for Offensive Battles

  • Hunzhanji: Stratagems for Multiple party Battles

  • Bingzhanji: Stratagems for Unification and Annection Battles

  • Baizhanji: Stratagems for Battles Lost