The team maketh the marketer!
FIGHT THE FIGHT WITHIN, FIRST
War strategies for marketing!
FIGHT THE FIGHT WITHIN, FIRST
(Fifth in the series called “The Martial Marketer”. War strategies for work!)
King Kumaran was a frustrated man. Nothing seemed to work. Every initiative of his, a failure. Most of his men, not working to their full potential. His ministers seemed to be in a world of their own.
Was he staring at defeat, once again?
**
Kumaran was a young prince thrust into the limelight. The untimely demise of his father, King Aadhivarman, put him on the throne. Young, at 21, but old enough to know what needs to be done! Already married with a kid on the way, Kumaran now had added pressure to get things right.
In the latter years of his life, his father was much troubled. There was war brewing everywhere. Aadhivarman had suffered a significant loss of territory and face. He died on the battlefield, trying to defend against an attack from the north.
Kumaran was young and restless and wanted to bring back the peace and glory days of his forefathers. He felt quite lonely, though. He spent the mandatory mourning period thinking. He documented everything that his father had tried in the last few years. Kumaran made a list of allies, current and potential. The list of defectors and villains as well. Kumaran had been trained in the field of war and just rule, in equal measure. He arrived at a roadmap for the future.
He called his council of ministers and told them the plans of what needed to be done. It was received with appreciation. Each minister picked up one initiative they would lead. It was such a day of joy for him, for his plans to be accepted.
Every week, he asked for a status update. Apart from some progress, here and there — quite scattered, most of the initiatives were in a stall. Some were in free fall, with actions implemented being counter to the purpose. He continued to lose territory. He pleaded, implored, threatened to no avail.
He brought in newer ministers and leaders, hoping that they would bring about positive change. Most of them “converted” to non-performers, and some left my Kingdom on some pretext.
- New ideas and initiatives — either stalled or dropped altogether.
- Armament procurement and production — delayed.
- New men for the army — not done.
- Existing alliances — frayed.
- Newer partnerships with neighboring Kingdoms — rebuffed.
- Defectors — more brazen and increased.
- Tax collection — low.
- The morale of my population — lower!
Things came to a stage where some people started openly questioning his capability as a King, as their savior and leader. He began to doubt himself.
“Were my plans bad? Was my allocation and selection process imperfect? Should I go back to micro-managing?”
King Kumaran was a frustrated man. Nothing seemed to work. Every initiative of his, a failure. Most of his men, not working to their full potential. His ministers seemed to be in a world of their own.
Was he staring at defeat, once again?
He went to a couple of elderly ministers who had retired from his father’s war cabinet. They were living in the forest, as was the tradition at that point. After their duty to King and country, a few people retired into the forest to live a life of penance. Vageesh and Baskar were the two he consulted. They were happy to see Kumaran and invited him to spend some time at their Hermitage. Days of peace and clarity for him. They understood the issues and were discussing every individual in his cabinet.
“How were the decisions taken? Who sided with whom? What coteries possibly existed? What could the personal motivations be? What political ploy could be enacted? How did Kumaran make decisions? How many and how were people involved in this ideation and decision-making? Who next, after me? What is my competition like?”
THIS IS WHAT HE MISSED in his cabinet: Kumaran’s leaders questioning the plans and assisting in coming up with their solutions.
Kumaran left the Hermitage with clear possibilities, of what could be if he did what needed to be done.
HE LEFT WITH ONE KEY LESSON ABOUT WAR AND LEADERSHIP.
He recruited a small crack team, one that reported only to him, in total secrecy. If it sounds Machiavellian, it is. Call them his informants about his Kingdom. Kumaran disguised himself and walked through his Kingdom. First-hand knowledge about the plight of his people and their wishes and aspirations. He also found out capable people who could be groomed as leaders, ministers, commanders: men and women. He set up this shadow council of ministers, and we worked on solving problems, one by one.
Alliance approaches were made in secret, directly from him to the other Kings. He received letters of thanks, and also how words and messages had been misrepresented earlier. Partnership pacts were sealed. Kumaran spoke to a few defectors to find out the real reason. It was due to the rot setting in his Kingdom. They had left in frustration. He welcomed some back to take charge of an area, to clean up.
His crack team continued to pick smart individuals who were trained and then deployed.
Little by little, he reclaimed my Kingdom, from himself, I dare say. A few ministers who showed promise were sent to Vageesh and Baskar for training. The change was implemented, one person and one small region at a time. Kumaran focussed on rebuilding his tribe in a planned manner. Every area that saw a positive change spoke about it. Positive news takes time to spread but is much more rooted.
Did everything work? Of course not; there were some setbacks. Some lazy ministers who just wanted the authority tried to scuttle these smaller initiatives once they got wind of it. Kumaran’s team of informants kept him appraised of such people, who were slowly eased out.
A total revamp of his cabinet and commanders! Kumaran was on his way for a resurrection.
The one big lesson Kumaran learned in the Hermitage:
QUELL THE FIGHT WITHIN FIRST.
A healthy body is required for a healthy mind, and vice versa. For a Kingdom, a strong nation, population, and belief are vital. Internal viruses need to be removed, the body exercised, and defectors/trouble-makers eliminated. Only then can a King defend and then attack.
Fight the fight within, first.
A key lesson from Sun Tzu.
*
Now relate the situation of Kumaran with your business or career. All your good intentions and plans seem to be floundering. None of the plans seem to be executed. The people around you seem to lack the drive that you have. Things seem to be happening counter to your goals! Frustration and teeth-gnashing don’t help.
What can one do to get things back on track?
A crack team focused on clear objectives, with micro-steps to align and complete.
One small step at a time, in the right direction.
Micro-wins for succeeding in the larger challenge.
This is the fifth in the series called “The Martial Marketer”. War strategies for work!
1. Marketing Camouflage! Success is sweet.
2. A Trojan variation to defend and attack.
3. Victory at all costs.
4. Size does matter.
Pravin Shekar is an outlier marketer, parallel entrepreneur and a raconteur.
mic @ PravinShekar.com .
For creative collusions, join: http://bit.ly/JoinMyOutlierTribe
Pravin is the author of seven books: Devil Does Care, Marketing lessons from Mythology, Getting paid to speak, a Virtual Summit Playbook, Climb your way out of hell & a collection of travel pics/romantic poems, and stories from the heart!
http://tiny.cc/PravinShekarBooks
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