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Know Your Battlefield
Obey the Laws of Leadership
Fight Only the Battles You Can Win
Know Yourself; Know Your Opponent |
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Terrain is perhaps one of the most overused words in the translations of Sun Tzu. We will define "terrain" to mean "your area of operations"either internal or external. |
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Management by wandering is essential to success. Managers wander around not to manage, but rather so they can manage. By wandering around, managers get a feel for what's happening now. Since many decisions are made at gut level, this "feel" helps process information so managers can determine a successful course of action based on real knowledge of the scene of action. Too often, we find decisions being made by smart people who know nothing about the situation. |
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Our bias for what we know can lead to misconceptions about the world around us. As Ralph E. Gomory, president of the Sloan Foundation, said, "We are all taught what is known, but we rarely learn about what is not known; and we almost never learn the unknowable." The point is there is a lot of information outside of our "terrain." Expanding our knowledge base expands our horizon of possibilities. |
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Formal input systems for information are essential. However, so are informal systems. The most informal system is when anyone visits with his or her "customer"the customer being defined as the person who receives your process. |
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Internally, the person who receives your process is also a customer. We are often organized into functional departments, and these departments become competitors. Since we don't talk to competitors, there is no communication. The solution must be to achieve linkage between all processes and align them to deliver value to the ultimate customer. Until we focus all processes on the needs of the customer, the enemy will continue to be "us." |
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