Strategy Moves: 14 Complete Attack and Defense Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Citation

Rich, M.K. (2006), "Strategy Moves: 14 Complete Attack and Defense Strategies for Competitive Advantage", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 21 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jbim.2006.08021dae.001

Strategy Moves: 14 Complete Attack and Defense Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Strategy Moves: 14 Complete Attack and Defense Strategies for Competitive AdvantageJorge A. Vasconcellos e Sá,Prentice-Hall Financial TimesNew York, NYISBN 0-273-70167-3

Overview

This book successfully expands on earlier works by such authors and Reece and Trout with their “Marketing warfare”, and efforts by Philip Kotler and Ravi Singh with their “Marketing warfare in the 1980s”, featured in the Journal of Business Strategy. Compared to this present offering, these earlier renditions were more basic, simply promoting the idea that there was some form of linkage between modern military tactics and marketing approaches. Although at the time, these predecessors seemed comprehensive, Jorge Sá has successfully offered a level of detail that can be directly translated from military actions furnished in rich detail to business strategies that have failed for the same reasons as those defeated on the battlefield.

Winning, in business growth and survival, depends on knowing and applying the timeless rules of strategy – the rules that tell you when to attack and when to defend, when to enter the field or withdraw, when to act alone, when to form alliances, and how to isolate, outflank or encircle your opponents. This book will assist an organization that is facing uncertain conditions, numerous opponents or relentless competition and will assist in prevailing by learning how to apply some of the most powerful strategic rules learned over many centuries of man’s quests through warfare.

This work will provide direction to the 14 timeless and essential rules of business warfare. These include such military terms as guerrilla attack, isolation attack, flanking attack, frontal attack, undifferentiated circle, differentiated circle, signaling defense, creating barriers to entry (fixed and mobile), global service, pre-emptive strike, counter-attack, blocking entry, holding the ground and withdrawing.

The author’s structuring initially raises questions as to whether the book has any business relevance, as the entire first chapter goes into extensive detail concerning the British and Zulu wars of the late 1800s. The organization of the book becomes immediately apparent as the reader begins to digest the second chapter that relates the results of two separate battles, one in which the British had military advantage but lost and another in where they were hopelessly outmanned but won. The author’s ability to relate the reasons to sound business practices makes the process very clear to both the business novice and veteran alike.

The author is also a private consultant, non-executive director, and a teacher in executive programs. He has worked for multinational companies such as Shell, Microsoft, Unisys, IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Glaxo, BP, Metro, Scottish and Newcastle, and Sara Lee. He has taught at the University of Oxford, London Business School, IESE, Glasgow Business School and Essec.

Content

There are a total of eight chapters covering 191 pages. This is an easy read, yet provocative in its content. The first two chapters basically position the role of military rules of engagement linked to how those same rules adapt to business. The power of simultaneous attacks permitted the underpowered Zulu warriors to defeat the British on one account, whereas the intense focus of a few British permitted victory to be the their spoils in a subsequent encounter with the Zulus. This warfare result was likened to IBM with its lack of direction and focus that saw their dominant position evaporate in lost marketing battles throughout the 1980s, resulting in their loss of over $16.5 billion during the first three years of the 1990s. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20; however, good strategy can often be gained from other sources that can help us “see” situations prior to their occurrence. The author correctly illustrates that warfare tactics learned over many hundreds of years become an excellent guide for the next steps to be taken when analyzing a given strategic crossroad in today’s intense competitive global competitive environment. The remaining chapters fit into the pattern as illustrated in Table I, which is taken from the book.

Table I What, when and how

The corporate examples used throughout the book are not merely examples, but case studies that are exhaustively examined to illustrate how the various concepts are both effectively and ineffectively used. Each example is a corporation well known throughout the world, and most importantly, the results are also well known but explored from a new frame of reference for greater understanding of the principles developed throughout the text. The chapter on attack tactics uses the pizza industry, focusing on the strategies of Pizza Hut. Further understanding of attack principles occurs with exploring the compact and subcompact auto markets, and Inc. magazine in comparison to Forbes, Business Week and Fortune. Flanking actions are illustrated with the banking industry. Toyota is extensively examined to demonstrate how to perform a frontal attack against competition.

Defensive strategies are also explored with a review of the classic approach to low prices pursued by Texas Instruments through signaling its competitors of its intentions. The defensive strategies take several approaches that will offer approaches to both large and small competitors as they attempt to establish a position that will be difficult for competitors to dislodge.

The remaining chapters will help the reader to more fully understand the responsibilities of marketing in assuring the success of their venture in a manner that will maximize the organization’s impact with minimal resources. This work is an easy read resulting in an enlightenment that belies the brevity of the offering.

Michael K. RichSouthwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, Minnesota, USA