Applicabilty of Sun tzu principles in Business

S UB M IT T ED TO: S UBM ITT E D B Y:

DILP REE T S INGH VARUN S HARM A

( AS S OCIAT E P ROF ES S OR) HARP RE ET ROS Y

HIM ANS HU P URI

PANKAJ S HARM A

PARAM J E ET S INGH

S AM EE N UP PAL

Sun Tzu’s Principles

Meaning:

Avoid strength and attack weakness

“An army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the height and hastens to the lowlands, so an

army avoids strengths and strikes weakness.”

Wal-Mart

Cont.

Started out in small towns.Did not take on directly strong big retailers in fact it

focused on weaker section i.e. local retailers.Was able to eliminate weaker local competitors while

simultaneously growing stronger.

Exception:Kemart

Meaning

Use Speed to Overcome to Competi t ion

"Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and

strike him where has taken no precautions." 

Coca- Cola

Cont.

Coca-Cola are continually bringing new products to market or finding new ways to deliver choice and convenience to customers via innovations like the multi-product Freestyle soda dispenser.

Exception:Nokia

MeaningThere is nothing that any

organisation can not achieve. If there is no other option than they have to fi ght, they have to move

forward in order to survive .

“Put the army in the face of death where there is no escape and they will not flee

or be afraid.”

Blackberry

Declared huge loss of $ 4billion –all with in six months.Massive decline in sales volume and lose its position in

market.

But fight back with the appointment of John chen as CEO.

Under the new stewardship of CEO John Chen, BlackBerry stock increased by more than 60% from its $5.44 lowest point

The old handsets were sold at very cheap rates and Introduced New handsets like leap, Z10, passport, z30.

Five year deal with Foxconn.Major focus was on BBM, QNX and

enterprise solutions.Still a most trusted brand in mobile security

because US defence purchased 80000 new blackberry phones and DoD allows only blackberry.

Meaning Capturing your market with out

destroying it

Win All Without Winning it

Microsoft

Microsoft CEO william H. Gates III, has been able to influence the industry.

Difficult to make any move by any firm with out considering how microsoft will react.

Acquisition of Nokia show clear market dominance.

Possess monopoly in windows. For desktop box 95% of the market used windows.

“All warfare are deceptions”

McDonald’s

Cont.

McDonalds in every advertisement show their burger as well garnished, juicy, slowly assembled, expertly lit and professionally photographed over a lengthy period of time with preparation time only 3-5 minutes.

These kind of flashy advertisements lure customers to at least try or eat the burger even though they are not getting the same looking product as shown in advertisement.

This is a part of effective strategy which increase their sale and customer base and hence profitibility.

“The way a wise general can achieve greatness beyond ordinary men is through foreknowledge.”

Airtel

Cont.

DOCOMO started a scheme called pay per second In this the user have to pay only for the amount of

seconds he/she is utilising.But this was a big fail for Tata Docomo because of

network issues.Then Airtel started the same scheme and it got really

overwhelming result. It was a big success for Airtel because of their good network and better customer support service.

Meaning

Keep plans secret and on a need-to-know basis . when you speed to the

attack, go fast to bui ld unstoppable momentum

“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”

Xiaomi

Cont.

In what comes as no surprise, nearly 60,000 units of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S were sold out on Flipkart in 5.2 seconds.

Over 350,000 had registered for the sale and users were online for hours to grab the device, but only a lucky few got it in their cart.

The previous Xiaomi Redmi 1S flash sales were no different with Hugo Barra confirming that all the units were gone in exactly 4.2 seconds, 4.5 seconds and 3.4 seconds respectively.

With this, Xiaomi has successfully sold 180,000 units of the Redmi 1S in India. Even the more expensive Mi 3 had managed to create the same frenzy with these flash sales on Flipkart.

“ It is more important to outthink your enemy than to outfight him”

Apple I phone

Cont.

Before Apple, everyone in the industry believed that a touchscreen only device was impossible to make. When the iPhone came out, it was revolutionary

An effective GTM strategy is based on the art of delighting your customers and surprising your competitors. Consider how hard Apple used to work to keep the plans of their new iPhone secret until “the right moment” to go to market with their new product.

In the late 2000s, Apple became responsible for the innovation of touchscreen. This was due to the introduction of iPhone, which immediately became a hit worldwide. Usage on ATM machines, GPS systems, cash registers, medical monitors already showed the possibilities for touchscreen.

ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS THE DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF A LONG WAR CAN REALIZE

THE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF RAPIDITY IN BRINGING IT TO A CLOSE.

“No Nation Has Ever Benefited From a Prolonged War”

Console Wars

Console wars

The Xbox(Microsoft) vs. PS(Sony).More than a Decade long war.Cost cutting to beat each other leading to

poor products.Definition of console gaming being lost.X1 & PS4 the Next-Gen ?, 30FPS @ 1080p

the new norm.Mobile/Tablet gaming creeping up on market

share.PC gaming coming back.

Meaning

Maximise the Power of Business Inte l l igence

“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in a peril.”

McDonald’s

McDonald’s

Burger king decided to attack renowned French fries by making its own better and touting them to buyers.

McDonald’s CEO sent an urgent letter to all restaurants telling them that "Burger King will launch a full frontal assault on one of their greatest assets—their fries.“

He then laid out detailed instructions on how to ensure only high-quality fries would get served.

Through smart intelligence about its competitor's plans McDonald's won that round of the fight.

“There are Some Armies That Should not Be Fought, Some Grounds That Should

Not Be Contested”.

Maggie Noddles.

CHANGING THE RULES OF CONTEST AND MAKING THE COMPETITION CONFORM TO

YOUR DESIRES AND YOUR ACTIONS. IT MEANS TAKING CONTROL OF THE

SITUATION AWAY FROM YOUR COMPETITOR AND PUTTING IT IN YOUR OWN HANDS. ONE WAY OF DOING SO IS

THROUGH THE SKILLFUL USE OF ALLIANCES. BY BUILDING A STRONG WEB

OF ALLIANCES, THE MOVES OF YOUR COMPETITORS CAN BE LIMITED. ALSO, BY CONTROLLING KEY STRATEGIC POINTS IN

YOUR INDUSTRY, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CALL THE TUNE TO WHICH YOUR

COMPETITORS DANCE.

“Those Skilled in War Bring the Enemy to The Field of Battle. They are not brought

by Him”.

Google+ vs. Facebook

Google+ vs. Facebook

Orkut failed. Facebook was leeching precious surfing time away from

Google properties. It was collecting a lust-worthy set of data about interests,

private lives, and relationships. Social data and social recommendations looked like they’d

become a critical part of search. 2011 Birth of Google+ Hyped, marketed, advertised…..but Similarity in Design, Google+ was just an alternative version

of Facebook. Nomenclature and Design, “Circles” and “Sparks”, The

design of Google+ was equally complicated. All-in-One, from streams, to photos, to hangouts.

Listening to its employees, not its customers. Became the new Internet Explorer of the internet. Defeat excepted ? , Google is splitting its social network

apart, breaking it into “Photos” and “Streams”. Facebook quickly emulated them, thereby eliminating any

incentive for people to leave Facebook and join a new network.

“If it Ain’t broke, Don’t Fix It.”, since most of the users current friends and connections were on Facebook there was no incentive to join Google+ and build again.

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTION AND ADVANTAGEOUS

ACTION. A NEED TO ACT WITHOUT SEEING THE ADVANTAGE OF DOING SO GREATLY RISKS DISADVANTAGE.

THIS APPLIES TO SUCH AS MOVEMENT, USING TROOPS AND

FIGHTING. ACTION WITHOUT ADVANTAGE IS WASTE.

“Move Only When You See an Advantage and There is Something to Gain. Fight

Only if Position is Critical”.

Oculus Rift

Oculus Rift

Nintendo files a patent for the concept of using VR technology to produce a more realistic 3D effect on a 2D television.

Its a virtual reality head-mounted display. 1st of its kind, has 1st mover advantage. Prototype shown E3 gaming convention in 2012. Next thing is gaming and virtual reality experience. The next fight ?? Sony, Microsoft's & Valve’s own VR devices Losing universal applicability , even on PC.

Launched in India in the 1983. The name Maggie is synonymous with noodles in India. A juggernaut in its segment. Maggi is the leading brand in the instant noodles segment in

India, with a market share of 79.3%.   Changed its formula , tanked then revised it again. Has beaten a lot of other brands, Top Ramen ,other instant

noodles, ITC yippee. Has spawned more products under its name

(Sauces,Soups,Masala’s,Noddles etc.)

“When Troops Flee, Are Insubordinate, collapse or Routed in Battle, It’s The

Fault of The General”.

Air India

Air India

Commenced operations on July 15 1932. Is a PSU Has been in losses for the past 5 years. Pilot Strikes. Flight Delays. Poor Management(failed merger of Indian Airlines and Air

India). The Airline is overstaffed. Unions at loggerheads over salaries, scales and carrier

progression.