1 Maneuver Tactics Maneuver Enablers

2 Maneuver Enablers Unlike attrition strategies, which identify competitive products and seek to match features and capabilities, maneuver requires more upfront investment and relies on key enablers We could say that maneuver requires an investment early to save resources and win more later while Attrition requires little upfront investment but at a higher cost during implementation

3 Emerging Now What’s interesting about the upfront investments to improve maneuverability is that several of them, including speed, agility and innovation, are already in high demand in many corporations The challenge is that each of these is treated as a discrete capability with no overarching framework or strategy With maneuver strategy as your approach, each of these capabilities become enablers and even accelerators

4 Maneuver Enablers There are a number of factors that make maneuver strategy and tactics more effective We’ll provide a list of some of the most important and describe why they contribute to maneuver success

5 Speed There’s no denying that the pace of change is accelerating. Hewlett-Packard’s new motto is “The future belongs to the fast” Attrition does not require speed. It requires strength and staying power. It moves slowly, destructively and expensively. Speed is vital for maneuver. It allows you to enter new markets, execute more quickly, win new customers before competitors can respond. Speed is defined in two dimensions: Planning speed – the ability to organize resources and make decisions Execution speed – the ability to rapidly implement plans

6 Insight Insight is what allows you to move at high speed, and helps you create and execute winning plans Attrition doesn’t require insight. Attrition plans to meet competitors where they are and match their offerings and movements Maneuver demands insight, because insight identifies valuable, unoccupied positions and helps locate critical weaknesses Insight is formed in two steps: First, reconnaissance, gathering details about your markets and competition Second, intelligence, developing actionable information from your reconnaissance

7 Agility / Movement Agility is the ability to shift directions based on new information while working at high speeds Attrition doesn’t require agility. Attrition is a straight-on frontal attack that doesn’t expect to move in any direction except forward Maneuver demands agility and movement, because it seeks to attack a competitor at the most opportune place and time Agility requires the ability to make new decisions and change directions while operating at speed. Course corrections that require a company to stop, gather itself and redirect assets take too long and don’t keep a competitor guessing

8 Stealth Stealth is the ability to gather information and develop and execute plans without alerting competitors Attrition doesn’t require stealth. Most attrition strategy and tactics are completely predictable, while maneuver seeks to be unpredictable and surprising Stealth allows a company engaged in maneuver strategy to collect valuable insights and information without alerting its competitors Stealth enables a company to build solutions and implement new products or services that shock or surprise their competitors

9 Innovation Innovation is the creation of new, valuable solutions that address unmet customer needs While every company talks about the need for innovation, attrition strategy doesn’t really require innovation, as much of attrition is based on matching existing products and features Maneuver requires innovation, because the maneuver strategist seeks to serve previously unserved populations or to attack incumbent competitors in new and unexpected ways Maneuver strategists cannot win with a “me too” solution. Innovation is critical for their success.

10 Other Important Enablers There are a number of other important enablers for maneuver, including: Excellent communication: moving at a high speed, using agility and creating and implementing new innovation requires excellent communication Delegation: maneuver strategists create an overarching plan and rely on people close to the opportunity or problem to carry out the plans based on what happens. Delegation supports speed and agility Decisiveness: Opportunities for preemption or dislocation may only exist for a short period. Action must be taken quickly

11 Enabling Maneuver We recognize that not all of these enablers are at high capability in most organizations. To conduct maneuver effectively, your firm must build the capability to: Gather insights and interpret them to create meaningful action plans is important Plan and execute plans (speed) is vital Act nimbly, change course quickly, redirect people and resources at speed is important (agility) Build new solutions or new business models to reach underserved markets or to attack incumbent competitor vulnerabilities (innovation)