Marketing learning from multiple sources!
VICTORY AT ALL COSTS
War strategies for marketing!
VICTORY AT ALL COSTS
(Third in the series called “The Martial Marketer”. War strategies for work!)
Can you lend me your army?
That was the question from one King to another.
Silence, there was silence for a long time.
That uncomfortable, awkward moment was prolonged by further silence.
Let’s roll back a few years:
Raja Rajan was an elated king. He had two sons. He had significant thoughts and aspirations of growing his Kingdom. Rajan ensured that both his sons were very well trained. He hoped they would join him in the quest to further increase and strengthen their empire. He put both his sons into practical training, strategic, tactical, weaponry, logistics, shipping. He ensured the princes were trained on everything necessary to be good leaders and excellent Kings.
He did realize after a few years that there was a cat and mouse game between the brothers. His was a kingdom, where parts of it were in disarray, and the other areas showed promise. But it was a kingdom, and it could have only one King. And both these brothers, just one year apart, knew that there can be only one King.
The brothers kept fighting with each other. Kulasekaran used his brawn and brute strength to get things done. Kulothungan used his brains. Kulasekaran and Kulothungan were poles apart. Kulasekaran was strong, tall, and he knew he could bulldoze his way through everything.
Kulothungan was well, not as much as Kulasekaran, but he knew what needed to be done. Kulasekaran was always fast and quick at his feet and going ahead and taking decisions, while Kulothungan took his time. Taking measured decisions well.
If Kulasekaran could fight 12 people simultaneously, Kulothungan could defeat 12 in a parallel game of chess.
Their teachers did not know whom to pick to be the next King. To prevent a civil war, as he was getting old, the old King split the Kingdom into two, giving half to each brother. It was a very neutral and equal split. Well, both brothers continued to try to outdo the other. Both of them were significantly aspirational. But they have entirely different styles. In most families, some siblings are poles apart in working, operating, and living their lives. Both Kulasekaran and Kulothungan wanted to take their Kingdom to newer heights. They wanted to show the world that they should have been the single King for the Kingdom.
Kulothungan, well, he took charge of maintenance focused a lot more inward, ensure that his people were happy. He, of course, wanted to grow. So he made sure that when required, he got into action. He always ensured that the action was in quick short bursts. He knew when to quit and went to parley. And most of the time, you look at the ratio of his win and loss, and the loss includes quitting and coming back to approximately 50–50. Somebody who’s only looking at statistics would say he’s not a successful King. Look at his low number of victories! That’s your analysis in mind. But the reality was quite different. Kulothungan resorted to negotiations and other modes of meeting his goal — to strengthen his position. Where necessary, he did so without bloodshed.
In the new neighboring Kingdom, though, victory at all costs was Kulasekaran’s motto. Might was the only thing in his mind that he wanted to bulldoze his way through. Well, he was a battle thirsty King. He took over the throne and started pushing on the warpath immediately. Small villages, hamlets, anything in his path was captured. He kept going from the smaller to more massive wars, and even those he knew he could lose in certain cases. His vanity did get in the way. If a fort in his way was not giving up, he made sure that he surrounded the fort and laid siege for a significant period. There were some victories but significant losses as well. Mostly specific to his Treasury. Well, if there is going to be a prolonged seizure of the fort, it will drain money. A large army needs to be paid, needs to be fed, needs to be clothed, armaments need to be provided. Extra costs, including logistics and supplies, will add up.
His vanity was in play here, blocking him from taking a step back. From birth, there was only one thing he knew: to fight, box, kick, kill his way through any problem. This continued when he was King. Might is right, or is it?
And then it started. The long fort-seizures started affecting his men, both mentally and physically. Soldiers were tired, the men’s courage was dulled, and they longed to go home. The soldiers did not know what to do, sitting idle, waiting. There was an increase in the number of deserters. Kulasekaran started losing battle after battle, both external and internal. He did not want to stop.
Upon the advice of his ministers, Kulasekaran made a trip over to Kulothungan’s Kingdom, sat next to him, and asked:
“Brother, can you lend me your army? I need to keep the conquest ongoing. Can you lend me your army, or some of it?”
An awkward pause continued as Kulothungan keeps silent for a rather long, uncomfortable time. He looked up at Kulasekaran and said,
“No. No more needless fighting. Only strategic.
No, I cannot lend you my army. If the war is going to be prolonged with a long siege, it will drain the Treasury. The men and their swords need to be sharp. With long wars, their blades and wisdom, enthusiasm, and courage will be dulled. The population will feel immense pressure. Something will crack internally, for sure.
So, NO.”
*
War or entrepreneurship:
The leader who knows the painful effects of waging a protracted battle will know the associated costs, pain, and loss. Hence, the need for strategic attacks with speed to win.
The leader needs to know when to quit, more importantly, which battles to pick, which ones to fight and which ones to avoid. Victory needs an ROI.
Victory at all costs is such a foolhardy exercise.
A lesson from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”
This is the third 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.
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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