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Deception is always targeted at the competitornever the customer. |
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In baseball, deception is part of the surprise throw to catch the runner off base; in football, it's the hidden ball play; in basketball, it's the faked pass. Why should we consider deception unsportsmanlike in business competition? |
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Contemporary managers may wonder about Sun Tzu's emphasis on the importance of deception. Any deceptive action might seem to be immoral. In business, the subtle difference is that deception is practiced to confuse the competitor, never the customer. |
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A South American company and a competitor agreed to maintain high prices on a new product both were introducing. After a few months the competitor cut prices in violation of the agreement. When questioned about the violation, the competitor simply replied that it reduced prices to increase sales. The victimized company was not aware of the admonition from an ancient strategist who said, "Do not do what your enemy wants, if for no other reason than he wants it." |
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Much of the success of the invasion of Europe in World War II was the result of deception. This misinformation succeeded so well that when the actual invasion took place, the German officers thought the invaded beaches were a deception. |
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You have often seen deception used as a tactic in negotiations. One side attempts to gain a psychological advantage by appearing to be naive and uninformed when, in fact, it is smart and knowledgeable. |
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Another deceptive approach in negotiation is to appear to be dejected and crestfallen about your opportunity for prevailing. Because your opponent thinks he is winning, he is likely to be overconfident and vulnerable. |
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Secrecy can also be a means of achieving deception. This forces your opponent to second-guess your next move. The bigger you are, the more psychologically threatening the unknown becomes to your opponent. |
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The only thing better than having your opponent not know what you are doing is to have him think you are planning to do something entirely different from what you really intend to do. This is deception. Go for it. |
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