1. 1 Maneuver Tactics Five Maneuver Tactics

2. 2 Maneuver Tactics There are five tactics we can use to implement maneuver Each of these has the ability to throw a competitor off-balance at an acceptable cost Each, when applied correctly, should give you a significant advantage

3. 3 Deconstructing a Competitor As we’ve demonstrated, the key vulnerabilities for any competitor typically lie in these four areas: How it defines and implements strategy The tangible requirements of the industry The intangibles that create differentiation The offerings (products and services)

4. 4 Ranking Vulnerabilities Once you’ve identified a competitor’s vulnerabilities you can rank them using VRIO or CARVER methodologies Try to find the vulnerabilities that are important, valuable, where the capability is difficult to duplicate and where you have an advantage when you attack

5. 5 Selecting Maneuver Tactics Once you’ve selected a competitor’s vulnerabilities that you believe are most exposed for a meaningful attack, you’ll need to choose the best maneuver tactic(s) to use to assist the attack Since you are attacking an incumbent competitor, you’ll be using either dislocation or disruption The next question to ask is: what’s the biggest weakness, and what’s the best way to attack that weakness from these selections: Positional, Functional, Temporal, Psychological or Informational

6. 6 Positional Tactics Use positional tactics when your competitor’s vulnerability has to do with a real or intangible “position”. This could mean that the competitor lacks access to markets, is using the wrong channels, has poor geographic coverage or other tangible positional weaknesses It can also mean that the competitor has weaknesses in virtual positions, in that the competitor doesn’t position itself well in the customer’s mind or acts as a follower when it should be a leader

7. 7 Temporal Tactics Use temporal tactics when your competitor’s vulnerability has to do with rhythm, pacing, planning or execution time. There are two components of time. The first is in recognizing opportunities and planning activities. The second component of time is the time it takes to execute plans. A competitor using temporal tactics can attack opponents based on long planning cycles or slow execution cycles. Using temporal tactics, you can “speed up” a market to the point where slower competitors simply cannot keep up

8. 8 Functional Tactics Use functional tactics when you have an advantage over a competitor or opponent in an area of functional superiority Functional superiority can come in many forms. It simply means that in an important capability or feature, your products, services or other capabilities are functionally superior The Japanese auto companies used functional superiority to compete with US auto manufacturers by demonstrating that their cars were functionally superior in terms of quality

9. 9 Psychological Tactics Psychological tactics aren’t as powerful or as obvious as some of the other tactics listed, but over time can be the most persuasive Psychological tactics cause an individual to shift thinking, change behaviors or trust a competitor more than another In the 1970s and 1980s when IBM was the dominant mainframe company it mastered psychological tactics, even creating an acronym “FUD” – by spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt about competitive products

10. 10 Informational Tactics The first four tactics (positional, functional, psychological and temporal) were suggested by military tacticians decades ago We’ve introduced a new tactic – informational – due to the value of information and the advantages it can bring Informational tactics are demonstrated when a company uses its ability to gather and interpret information to its advantage and its competitors cannot Increasingly, gathering and using information about your product, its usage and your customers creates distinct advantages