Deception as a Strategy Tool
‘DECEPTION’ AS A STRATEGY TOOL
Being predictable is not a very good strategic option. At least when it comes to outsmarting your competitors, you have to bring in an element of surprise.
In business, as in sports and war, deception is a key ingredient. It is all about leaving them guessing. Get them to play ‘catch up’ till the time they are out of their breath, and finally out of business.
I will not delve deeper into ‘how to’ deceive. The only thing to remember is that- Defensive is Predictable. So you will need to be dynamic in your approach for a sustainable long term advantage. Let me give you one example:
You can hint at heavy capital expenditure [buying a new and expensive Linear Accelerator] and get your competition to buy that equipment before you [so that they can be ‘equipped’ before you are]. In the end you do not buy that equipment. Moreover, you sell your existing underutilized machines! To top it all, you use the money generated in an aggressive campaign to capture a new market segment. Competition, which will already be cash strapped, will not have enough financial muscle to fight for the new segment. One smooth act of deception can put you on top. You can now be in a position to drive home the advantage and beat them fair and square in other areas of business.
Words of Caution – Aggressive does not mean reckless. I am not against experimenting and trying to be unpredictable. Proper homework and study is a must for any strategy. In the example cited above you will need a lot of homework to be done before you can even announce your ‘false’ plan of investing in a new Linear Accelerator. You will need to predict the probability of the competitor to buy the new machine. You will need information on their financial position. The personality traits of the decision makers in the opposite camp are an important information to have if you want to predict how they will react.
In short the mantra for this month is – Be unpredictable [but do your planning first] and accurately predict how they will react.
I invite you to ‘Strategy Retreat.’ A chance to lock yourself for a few working days in the board room with me!
The end result will be a Master Plan for a Sustainable Strategic Advantage. This renders the competition irrelevant. It leaves them gasping for breath while you change the rules as soon as they start playing by the existing rules.
Regards,
Vivek Shukla
Healthcare Strategy and Business Development
www.vivekshukla.com
Vivek Shukla
Healthcare Strategy and Business Development
www.vivekshukla.com
