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The Art of Technology in Business War:
Thirteen Internet Improvement Strategies for your Business
Introduction
This is the first of a three-part series that I have adapted from Sun Tzu's
The Art of War as a result of my passion for new and creative uses of technology
to become more productive in my business and personal life. I'm also something
of a renegade who believes that life is too short to waste on being afraid to
take chances, or relying on analysis to the point of paralysis (planning
everything and doing nothing). I enjoy applying old wisdom to new opportunities
and when it comes to old wisdom on how to handle your business on the many
battlefields of life, no one is better than Sun Tzu.
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Sun Tzu's thirteen principles of war are paraphrased here as applicable to
startup businesses that will benefit from the internet resources I've referenced
for each principle. Feel free to email me with your thoughts and any suggestions
you have for other links that will be included in subsequent article revisions.
One--Laying Plans: Research & Execute
When planning your business, research the five key factors that determine
success over the long term: Understanding your goals and objectives, knowing the
business climate and whether timing is on your side in terms of market-readiness
for your products and services in addition to being familiar with obstacles and
challenges; acknowledging your own strengths and weaknesses and knowing how to
exploit or bolster each; and having the wherewithal to execute your plan by not
being afraid to make decisions, take action and follow-up when things get rough.
Likewise, know your competition and use that knowledge to your advantage for
growth, profit and opportunity.
Helpful resources:
http://www.Hoovers.com ,
http://www.bnet.com/ ,
http://www.knowthis.com/
Two--Waging War: Mind your Money and Copy what Works
When you've decided to launch your business, be prepared to shoulder the
costs of doing business. Know where to spend money and where to save money so
that you optimize your financial resources over the longer term. Through careful
study of other businesses and working to understand where not to make mistakes,
you minimize waste. It's easy to spend money in the absence of proper planning
with the hope that an impulse purchase will become a shortcut to profitability.
Sometimes competitor's resources can be used to promote your own cause. This is
particularly important for web-based businesses looking for ways to improve
their search engine optimization rankings on Google and other search pages. By
evaluating competitor page layouts, web features and functions and underlying
page source code, you can determine what you need to do to make your site better
and improve your own rankings and resultant traffic. Helpful resources: Google
AdWords Keyword Tool, inventory.overture.com/,
http://www.entrepreneur.com/money/index.html
Three--Attack by Stratagem: Your Ego is your Own Worst Enemy
When evaluating the competition, don't waste time trying to beat them where they
are best, keep your ego in check and through understanding and seek out under
served markets or a lack of service in the midst of hungry demand. Don't waste
time upfront trying to destroy the competition--find your niche and work on
growing that; do a good job and you'll expand and easily become a larger force
to be reckoned with. Spend time on becoming better at what you're good at and
serving markets that have a need. Helpful resources:
http://www.financial-freedom-online.net/finding-underserved-niche-market.html
Four--Tactical Dispositions: Barriers to Entry and Brand Management
Whether you fail or succeed is up to you. If you're taking care of business
by making the right moves and executing on your plan, then you are creating the
best defense through offensive moves. Industries and markets that are hard to
get into are made that way by competitive barriers. Competitive barriers are the
result of previous investments of time and resources by those who came before
and who know what it meant to take care of business by executing their plan.
This is how you create invincibility and an environment where failure is less of
a possibility because your actions don't allow for it to take root. Establish
and protect your brand. Helpful resources:
http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/branding-brand-development/9262-1.html
Five--Energy: Focus and Multiply your Efforts
Don't be concerned with the size of your enterprise--a small business has to be
run just as well as a large business and technology allows even a sole
proprietor to have the same level of sophistication as a company employing
hundreds of thousands. Your ability to focus your efforts will prevent you from
falling victim to competitor attacks from all directions while allowing you to
act with laser precision when you need to go on the offensive and mount your own
attacks. Use the basic rules of promotion and marketing in new and different
combinations to yield the best results. Hire good people and make the best use
of networking to multiply your energy and maximize your efforts. Helpful
resources:
http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/checklist.htm,
http://humanresources.about.com/cs/selectionstaffing/a/hiringchecklist.htm
Part Two will focus on: Weak Points and Strong, Maneuvering, Variations
in Tactics, and The Army on the March. Part Three will focus on: Terrain, The
Nine Situations, The Attack by Fire, and The Use of Spies. Other books,
resources, articles, and commentary on Sun Tzu's Art of War Applied to Modern
Strategy and Leadership can be found at
http://www.sonshi.com/index.html.