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Hardball
Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win?
(Zusammengestellt aus Pressematerial)
Over the next ten years, business competition
will become
so fierce that only the toughest,
smartest, and most
committed players will win.
On this playing field, ordinary
competitive advantage
will no longer be enough.
IT’S TIME TO PLAY HARDBALL. TO CREATE LOSERS.
According to Stalk and Lachenauer, there are two extrems in business competition
today. Companies can play softball, relying on
weak tactics that look like strategies, but do little
more than keep the company in the game for the
short term. Or, they can play hardball, employing
tough strategies designed to rout, not simply beat,
competitors. The authors argue that business is
about winning and losing, not about “playing nice.” For too long,
companies have focused on soft issues like customer relations and corporate
culture while
ignoring the killer strategic instinct that has been
the hallmark of winning since business competition
began. Stalk and Lachenauer show that hardball
winners exercise soft management, but in the context
of classic hardball play. These companies play
rough and they don’t apologize for it—but they never
break the rules and always keep their promises to
customers, shareholders, and employees.
Today's global marketplace is the toughest and most unforgiving playing field
business has ever seen. Hardball redefines and reinterprets the meaning of
competition in this new era—and outlines the classic strategies today's
companies must use if they're in the game to win. The six main hardball strategies:
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Strategy |
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Requirements for success |
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Example |
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UNLEASH MASSIVE AND
OVERWHELMING FORCE |
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Must have powerful resources, the will
to deploy them, and the self-restraint
to avoid bully behavior. Goal is to beat
the rival without driving them into
bankruptcy, from which the rival could
emerge stronger than before.
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Frito-Lay unleashed its extensive
resources and powerful distribution
capability to overwhelm upstart Eagle
Snacks in the 1990s. |
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EXPLOIT ANOMALIES |
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Business processes and systems often
need to be adjusted to sustain and
achieve competitive advantage in cost,
quality, time, and value. The reactions
of competitors must be anticipated,
countered, or neutralized.
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Wausau Papers explored why its Chicago
operation held unusually high market
share and discovered a superior service
model that it successfully replicated
system-wide. |
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THREATEN COMPETITORS’ PROFIT SANCTUARIES |
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Requires sophisticated insight and
business intelligence about where
competitors make their money and what
drives strategy. Management team must
be willing to take risks, have the courage
to continue to attack even when the
going gets rough, and retain good legal
counsel throughout the process.
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Toyota has relentlessly attacked the
Big Three automakers, beginning in
the ‘80s with compact cars, then with
full-size cars, and now with trucks,
Detroit’s key remaining profit center. |
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TAKE IT AND MAKE IT
YOUR OWN |
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Copy products or processes only when it
will enable your company to gain leadership.
Must be sure to copy completely,
improve on the product or service, graft
it into the organization, and get
employees to buy into it.
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The Batesville Casket Company achieved
breakaway growth in an industry not
known for innovation by adopting the
standards and procedures of Japanese
carmakers. |
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ENTICE COMPETITORS
INTO RETREAT |
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Must have a superior understanding of
your business and industry in order to
entice rivals toward businesses that
will drive up their costs. Works best
in complex industries where costs may
be misallocated (e.g. life insurance,
manufacturing, and technical service).
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Companies in industries as diverse as
ball bearings, motorcycles, automotive
components, and copiers have gained
decisive advantage by raising competitors’
costs. |
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BREAK INDUSTRY
COMPROMISES |
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Goal is to break compromises that
an industry forces on its customers.
Requires speed of execution to prevent
rivals from beating you to the punch. |
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Circuit City’s CarMax broke the compromise
in used car retailing by offering a
bigger selection of all types of cars,
simplifying the search with a computerized
inventory, and streamlining the
sales process. |
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