simplicity

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no win situations

While few of us live lives as exciting or dangerous as that of Captain Kirk, in our business and personal lives we all face no-win situations. These could include bosses who are impossible to work for, companies that are in a hopeless downward spiral, or jobs that are a terrible fit. The question that confronts us then becomes, “what course to take?”
There are three broad options: Retreat, wait, or advance.
Retreat
Many of us in the business world, trained as we are to always be driving hard, are reluctant to withdraw from a fight. However, as wise general Sun Tzu once said, “Therefore, the art of employing troops is that when the enemy occupies high ground, do not confront him; with his back resting on hills, do not oppose him.” I was in a job once in which my boss and I didn’t see eye-to-eye. The situation got increasingly negative and it became clear that it would not improve. And since I could read an org chart, I knew if there would be a winner, it wouldn’t be me. So I chose to “retreat” by moving to a different position with a better management team, one that could see and use the value of my skills as well as being on the same page as me in terms of work style and beliefs. To successfully retreat, one must accept that some situations are irredeemable and it’s a better use of your time and energy to move on to bigger and better things.
Wait
Another option, again difficult for those of us who are used to always working hard to make progress, is to wait for conditions to change for the better. Take the situation above; another option I could have opted for was to wait and see if the boss would move on to other things. It can also work in other situations, such as a business experiencing tough times, by waiting to see if things turn around. This can often be a viable approach, but one must be careful. By not taking a active approach (retreat or advance), you are at the mercy of events. You must perform due diligence to test the chances of things working out for the better. It’s also critical that you have a backup plan in case your delaying strategy fails.
Attempt to Advance
If, like Captain Kirk, you refuse to accept losing a no-win situation, you can put it all on the line to try and achieve victory. But, by definition, a no-win situation will take a tremendous amount of blood, sweat, and tears to conquer. You really need to think through, even if you do win, will it be worth the cost? And don’t forget, there’s a high probability you may lose, which could be devastating. Although Kirk was able to reprogram the Kobayashi Maru scenario so he would win, as a result he was put on academic suspension and forced to face a trial for his actions. It was only by chance that he saved his career; his trial was put off by an attack on a Federation planet, which started a war in which Kirk redeemed himself. Fortune may not favor you so well.
So these are your options. Consider the odds, time, effort and potential payoff, then choose what you think will work best for you. By doing so intelligently, the better are the chances are you will “live long and prosper.”

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creativity

Strategic Creativity
By Mark McNeilly

Creativity is not something that belongs only to a few people who are born with it. John Kao, a well-known author of books on creativity (such as “Jamming”) supports this view, stating, “Creativity must go beyond generation of new ideas; it must become an ongoing process.” 
 Sun Tzu’s Art of War states, “Therefore, when I have won a victory I do not repeat my tactics but respond to circumstances in an infinite variety of ways.” This quote aptly points out the need to be creative when developing strategies and tactics.
One example of creativity was that of Wheaties. During Superbowl XXXI in 1997 the Wheaties marketing team carried two boxes of Wheaties to the game; one representing the New England Patriots winning and the other the Green Bay Packers being victorious. As the game progressed, it became clear that the Green Bay Packers would beat the Patriots. With this in mind the Wheaties team went up to the broadcast booth, taking their box with Packer star quarterback Brett Favre’s picture on it. The announcers, thinking it would be a great prop, took the box and showed it to the huge worldwide audience. By doing so they gave Wheaties millions of dollars of free advertising.
The major pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has also displayed great creativity in marketing. Knowing that most people would not be drawn to their web site to learn about their medicines on a regular basis, J&J decided that perhaps events could help them create awareness for their products. With this thinking J&J runs banner ads for their headache reliever on e-broker sites whenever the markets drop significantly. Thus they reach consumers when those people are most interested in their products.
Consultants often point to the Gillette razor business model as an example of creativity. What most people don’t know is how long ago that business model was developed and what the catalyst was behind it. All the way back in 1895 King Camp Gillette (yes, that was his real name) took his inspiration from a former employee who had made millions selling disposable bottle-tops. Using the idea that disposable razor heads, like disposable bottle-tops, were something that would need constant replacement, Gillette received a patent for his invention in 1901 and had sold 12 million blades by 1903. That same business model still works a century later.
Creativity is not something that belongs only to a few people who are born with it. John Kao, a well-known author of books on creativity (such as “Jamming”) supports this view, stating, “Creativity must go beyond generation of new ideas; it must become an ongoing process.” Roger von Oech, author of “A Whack on the Side of the Head” and many other books on creativity provides many exercises one can do foster it. Examples include being illogical, breaking the rules, and dealing with ambiguity. With these and other exercises one can be more creative and thus be more competitive.
As Sun Tzu said, “The flavors are only five in number but their blends are so various one cannot taste them all.”

http://www.salesvantage.com/article/157/Strategic-Creativity

Mark McNeilly brings Sun Tzu’s strategic principles to life as the author of  Sun Tzu and the Art of Business; with TV and radio interviews and with seminar presentations. For more information visit www.suntzu1.com