When you started in business everything was new and exciting. Problems were challenges to be overcome.  Everything worked just fine on paper. Everything worked just fine on paper. 80 hour weeks were necessary but fun. You called the shots and managed every crisis that came along.  Then the business grew and customers multiplied. So did the challenges.

 

You soon found that planning was not the only key to success. Business is not always fair so regardless of the fact you worked the hardest and had your money invested, it was you who went without a paycheck when there was no money. You found that as owner, sweeping the floor and emptying wastebaskets was not beneath your status or dignity.  Now that you have some experience, the challenges have turned to battles to be won. Big ones and little ones, easy ones and tough ones, everyone wants something.

 

In order to get some insight into how to win these battles, there is no better group to model in battle than the U.S. Marine Corps. They are arguably the premier fighting force in the world. They train constantly for the day when they are thrust into battle. What have they learned about winning the battles from which you can benefit in your daily business battles?  Here are a few of the most valuable lessons.

 

The foremost lesson is to identify your target and develop a plan and strategy. That allows you to get all of your assets in place before you start firing randomly. A plan lets you assess the skills needed through training, reorganization or hiring staff or a consultant or expert. The marines know the objective in clear terms before they hit the ground. Marines know they are there to take a hill, capture a city or squelch an uprising. You should know your target too!

 

Another lesson is to decentralize. The marines realized that targets must be set and plans established but the field officers need the flexibility to make decisions that achieve those targets.  Officers measure effectiveness and results.  They don’t try to manage from the top.  By the time a tank commander can gather situation data, send it to headquarters for analysis and a decision, receive the orders back and then take action, the opportunity to win the battle is lost. There is too much that happens spontaneously to manage from the top. The same situation exists in most businesses. There is so much happening with customers, inventory, equipment etc that employees need to know the target but be free to make the best decisions on the spot in order to with the battle.  Even a small business needs to decentralize!

 

Thirdly, you don’t win the battle without acting. Don’t let paralysis by analysis keep you from developing action plans and taking action to implement them.  Often timing is more critical than planning.  Staying focused on what you want to accomplish lets you decide which battles, opportunities and options can move you in the right direction.

 

Next, use experts and intelligence to gather the best direction and information available. The marines consult with locals and military experts. They use consultants to help them draw from a broad perspective of ideas. You must make the final decision about your business but don’t ignore the wealth of options and intelligence that can help you make the right decision. Two lessons here,

 

1.      Don’t be too proud to seek outside advice

2.      Get the information and advice to the whole organization

 

Know the exit strategy before you go into battle. The marines identify exit routes and extraction procedures before they enter a situation.  Search and rescue is as much a part of battle as attack plans. When you evaluate an option, evaluate what happens if the unexpected happens. Know the way out. Know the downside as well as the upside.

 

Finally, focus on critical not urgent items. An outside consultant, board of directors or knowledgeable mentor can keep your efforts directed toward winning the war, not just firing your weapons! We us a process called Winning@Business™  to help owners win the business battles.   Winning the war and winning in business have many parallels.  In the end, however, you can bounce back from a failed business.  Too often a failed battle does not give one that option.