If the operation prevails, the course will always be the same. Given the great dynamism of the current environment, the course must be defined strategically, beyond simply adapting to the circumstances that arise.
There are analogies that help us to generate this great vision, such as those that we can extract from The Art of War, masterpiece of the military strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu. In an integrated, complex and dynamic environment, companies and decision makers must fight many and very diverse battles internally and externally. Winning or losing them, they must prepare for the proximity and the possibility of a subsequent contest.
From this perspective, knowing the state of human, financial and technological resources, among others, becomes as critical as defining the direction and objectives: where are we going? What do we want? What volume or margin of growth and /or sustainability? We cannot forget that within decision making there are actions, reactions and consequences to take into account in the evaluation of the strategy.
For this reason, it is very important to know if the way of competing will be frontal or lateral (avoiding a direct confrontation), if the position will be defense or attack and how the advance and analysis will be carried out at each stage. First we must know the rival, his situation, his environment and the entire context of the competition, but without losing sight of knowing himself in terms of advantages, opportunities and state of resources, among other things. What could lead us (or the rival) to victory or defeat? Will this condition be permanent or temporary?
Carrying out a tactical, strategic and operational analysis is, without a doubt, an obligatory step. Fortunately, we have different tools and methodologies, from traditional but current analyzes – SWOT, CANVAS, PESTEL – to the possibility of using more sophisticated physical or abstract modeling techniques and tools, using, for example, computational modeling with analytics and intelligence artificial.
With large volumes of data and the ability not only to analyze them in their structure, but also to correlate them, see patterns, trends, etc., we can propose and test strategies, evaluating at all times what the objective will be, for example, returning to investment (ROI).
The search for focus and agility are fundamental in the face of a complex and even chaotic reality that sometimes appears endogenously and others exogenously.
It is essential to understand the time horizon, since there is a process of attrition and limitation of resources. Thus, we will be able to project and measure the effect of planning certain processes, entering certain markets or launching products, with their respective causes and effects in a framework of innovation and evolution.