In the field of Administration, we could say that competition is vital for the market, a matter of life and death, the way for the company to survive or destroy itself. It is necessary to study it deeply to know it.
A company should never start thoughtlessly or awkwardly, it must be preceded by a very important factor, which is, being successful, therefore, the administration of a company must be studied deeply, the virtues of the administrator are decisive factors in a company, which if used correctly, they can lead to success for the company.
It is vitally important to know the product or service that is going to be offered well, and in the same way, to choose all the personnel of the company well, knowing that they are people capable of managing their work well.
It must be evaluated in terms of five fundamental factors, and make comparisons between different rival companies, in order to determine the outcome of the contest.
- Politics: means what makes the worker be in harmony with his boss, so that he follows him wherever he goes, without fear of the consequences, taking the risk. The climate: means working conditions; human relations; infrastructure, etc. The terrain: implies the distances, and refers to where it is easy or difficult to move, and if it is open or narrow, and this influences the chances of survival. The commander: Or, the boss, must have as qualities: wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and discipline. The doctrine: It must be understood as the organization of workers, the ranks or hierarchies among collaborators, the regulation of supply routes or tools to work.
These five fundamental factors must be known by each boss. He who dominates them overcomes; he who does not, is defeated.
Therefore, when drawing up the plans, the following seven factors must be compared, evaluating each one with the greatest care:
- Which boss is wiser and more capable? Which boss has the most talent? Which company gets advantages from nature and the land? In which company are regulations and instructions best observed? Which workers are stronger? Which company has better trained bosses and workers? Which company administers rewards and punishments more fairly?
By studying these seven factors, I will be able to guess which of the two sides will be victorious and which will be defeated.
The boss who follows this advice is sure to win. That boss has to be in charge. He who ignores this advice will certainly be defeated. That must be removed.
After paying attention to this advice and plans, the boss must create a situation that contributes to its fulfillment. By situation I mean that you must take into consideration the market situation, and act according to what is advantageous to you.
The art of being a good competitor is based on deception. Therefore, when he is able to attack, he must appear incapable; when marketing tactics move, appear inactive. If you are close to the competition (enemy), you have to make him believe that he is far; if it is far, pretend to be close. Attack the competition when it is not organized. Prepare against it when you are confident in all of your techniques. Avoid during a time when it is stronger. If the opponent has an angry temper, try to irritate him. If he is arrogant, try to encourage his egotism. If enemy companies are well prepared after a reorganization, try to mess them up. If they are united, sow dissension among them. Attack the enemy when you are not ready, and appear when you are not expecting it.These are the keys to victory.
Now, if the estimates made before the fight indicate victory, it is because the carefully made calculations show that your conditions are more favorable than the enemy's conditions; if they indicate defeat, it is because they show that the favorable conditions for the battle are less. With careful evaluation, one can win; without it you cannot.
Far fewer chances of victory will come to one who does not make calculations or planning at all. Through all this, one can guess the end result of the battle.
In companies, when a thousand transport trucks are required, and a thousand employees; when provisions for a thousand are to be transported; when there are expenses at home and at the front, the cost of materials such as trucks and supplies easily amounts to a thousand pieces of gold a day. A company can be launched only when this money is in hand.
A quick victory is the main objective of any company. If victory is long in coming, supplies and inventory lose value. When a company is involved in a long campaign, without obtaining results, the resources of the latter decrease rapidly.
When a company is not bearing fruit and its provisions and inventory has decreased in value, then the heads of neighboring companies will take advantage of the crisis to act. In that case, no man, no matter how wise, will be able to avoid the disastrous consequences that result. For all these reasons, while we have heard a lot about stupid waste in the field of competition, we have not yet seen a smart operation that was prolonged.
Those companies that are experts in their field do not need staff turnover, since the team of managers, assistant managers, and subordinates is in charge of keeping everyone happy and providing all their needs.
The Earth factor is very important, in the sense that it is very expensive to bring supplies from afar, if we can find them near the company, this is to reduce costs, because if it were not so, the prices of the products would inevitably have to rise.
For this reason, a good boss, who is intelligent, supplies at the cost of his competition, close, because this way they do not destroy their supply possibilities, but with the same that the competition has, and thus they will leave their supply options intact, when the current ones have disappeared.
Since the only valuable thing in the company competition war is victory, it is necessary not to prolong operations, to know how to use them at their appropriate time, to use factors, land, organization, work and capital, appropriately, directing subordinates correctly, to achieve efficiency and effectiveness.
One of the best policies in the company war is to take the competition intact. That is, to obtain victory, so that the opposite side surrenders, and knows that it is no longer capable of competing with us, and we take that opportunity, to buy your company, but not destroyed, but in good condition, to strengthen ourselves. more. As an example, today in Mexico, this has happened with the banks, before they declined in their entirety, only when they were on the verge of bankruptcy, other foreign banks came and bought them, made a union, and strengthened, but here the winner was the foreign bank.
Thus, what is of utmost importance is to attack the enemy's strategy. The second best thing is to break their alliances through diplomacy. Third comes to attack him.
Thus, the truly skillful subdue the enemy without battling, that is, producing products or services of such quality and price that they have no competition. This is the art of the offensive strategy.
Consequently, if my company is superior to the competition, I do not run any risk, on the contrary, they come to make me a more powerful company, since there is no way that it means a risk for me. Now if the competent company is greater than me, then if I must attack it.
The manager is the assistant to the owner, if this attendance is tight, the owner will undoubtedly be strong; if it is weak, the owner or the company will be weak as well.
There are three ways in which the owner or entrepreneur can defeat your company:
- Yes, unaware that the company should not move forward or take a step forward, order an advance; or if, unaware that he should not withdraw, he orders a withdrawal. This is known as unbalancing a company, if, ignorant of administrative matters, interferes with its administration. This causes perplexity among subordinates. If, ignorant of command problems, it interferes with the direction of production. This engenders doubts in the minds of subordinates.
If employees are confused and suspicious, neighboring companies will take advantage of it, and cause problems. This is what the phrase means: "A confused army leads to the victory of the opponent." In other words, "A disorganized and confused company gives victory and success to its competition."
Furthermore, there are five cases in which success can be predicted:
- The one who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will succeed. The one who understands how to produce, according to the production of the adversary, will succeed. The one whose employees are united in a purpose will succeed. The one who is well prepared and does not fear A competition that is not well prepared will be successful. One whose leaders are capable and do not suffer interference from their superior will be successful.
It is at these five points that the path to victory is known.
Something that is very important is to know yourself as a company, to know well that, how and for whom it is what I am offering, and in that way I will always be successful, because if I do not have the remotest idea of what I am doing and much less of what my competition is doing, it is certain bankruptcy or defeat.
Invisibility depends on oneself, but the vulnerability of the opposite depends on him. From this it follows that whoever is a business expert can make himself invincible. One may know how to win, but this does not necessarily mean that he will win.
It is necessary to defend yourself when you cannot defeat the enemy, and attack when you can defeat him. You defend yourself when your strength is inadequate; attacks when abundant.
Predicting success is not the spirit of excellence. It doesn't matter if you succeed and are universally hailed as an "expert." Having the knowledge and training does not necessarily make a person or company expert. Therefore, the skillful administrator takes a position in which he cannot be defeated, and he does not lose the opportunity to defeat his enemy.
The elements of success are: first, the measure of space; second, the estimation of the quantities; third, the calculations; fourth, the comparisons; and fifth, the chances of victory. The measurement of space derives from the terrain. Comparisons are made from quantities and calculations, and victory is determined based on these comparisons.
Generally, commanding in a large company is the same as commanding in a small company. It is a matter of organization. And running a company of a million employees is the same as running one of SEOs, it is a matter of training and signals.
So, the one who is able to scare the competition, making it run away, or disappear, tempts the enemy with something he wants to achieve. Keeping him moving, holding that something out of his reach, and then, attacking him with his product or service, greater than his.
An expert administrator gains victory from the situation, and does not demand it of his subordinates. Select the right men and exploit the situation. He who is able to use the situation uses his men to get what he wants.
Generally, the one who becomes a pioneer of some product or service in the market, can comfortably sit and wait for the competition to arrive, and the trends are, that the competition comes quickly and rushes with his product or services, so the pioneer he has the winnings, because he is rested, has a clearer mind, and his opponent starts out tired, without new and innovative ideas.
Therefore, the one who is able to make his opponent come to his field, offering him some kind of advantage, and who is able to delay the arrival of his opponent making him feel a certain fear, he has the chance to win, because beforehand, his opponent knows that the pioneer is stronger.
It is necessary to take the markets that seem unable to rescue themselves, and move smoothly where we are not expected, this so that the opponent does not realize it, and be able to gain ground in new markets. Well, when you are able to move without the opponent finding out, to places near and far, where there are no enemies, then your product or service will be successful without risks of competition, then the company will strengthen, and a vicious circle of pioneering. The competition is scared, because it does not wait for your expansion, and it will have to start again, with new tactics of commercial attack.
Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace. So divinely mysterious that it is inaudible. So is the owner of the opponent's destiny. It cannot be surpassed when removed, if it moves quickly. If one is able to determine the opponent's dispositions while, at the same time, hiding one's own, then one's own forces can be concentrated, and the opponents must be divided. And if he concentrates while the opponent splits, then all forces can be used to attack a fraction of his. Therefore, it will be numerically superior.
It is important to underline that the opponent must not know where the new market techniques will be tried. Well, if he does not know where he intends to open the market, he must make preparations in many different places. And when he prepares himself in many places, those with whom he will have to fight will be less.
It is imperative to analyze the opponent's plans so that their weaknesses and strengths can be ascertained. You have to set up traps to see what are your weaknesses and strengths, this in order to know the opponent, to know exactly what are the tactics that must be used to beat him.
Although anyone can see the external aspects, no one understands how success has really been achieved. So when you win, tactics shouldn't be repeated. One must always respond to circumstances in an infinite variety of ways.
Of the five elements (water, fire, metal, wood and earth), none always predominates; of the four seasons, none lasts forever; of the days, some are long and others short, and the moon waxes and wanes. This is also the rule that governs the recruitment of employees.
Normally, in a company, the manager receives orders from a superior. During the process of organizing and adjusting employees, to turn your company into a harmonious entity and put it in its place, nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuvering yourself to advantageous positions. The complexity of the subject is to turn the most intricate route into the most direct route. To achieve this, it must be launched after the contrary, and reach the market before it. Whoever is able to do this shows his knowledge of the artifice of distraction. Advantage and danger are both inherent matters in maneuvering to an advantageous position.
Competition is based on deception. It is necessary to move when it is advantageous and create changes in the situation by dispersing and concentrating your forces. When you enter the campaign, you must be fast.
When conquering land, or a market, it is necessary to defend the strategic points.
Through the following webinar from the Technological University of Mexico you will be able to know the importance of understanding and applying Sun Tzu's Art of War in Administration and business.
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