09 - Ancient Asian Game of GO

The competitive marketer needs to be able to think more than one move ahead. The ability to hold and analyze two opposing thoughts drives strategic excellence. In other words if I make a move then what will my competition do in response to my move.

The ancient Asian game of Go offers a way for marketers to develop and exercise strategic thinking. Go is perhaps the oldest board game in the world. The rules are very simple, and you can learn them in a few minutes - but they lead to a countless number of intriguing patterns and clever maneuvers.

In ancient times Go was considered a martial art and was part of the training of warriors in Japan, China, and Korea. Along with calligraphy, music, and painting, Go was also one of the components of classical education for both men and women. Nowadays there are millions of Go enthusiasts in Asia and throughout the world.

Go offers the business strategist a fascinating metaphor for competitive strategy. The name vSente is inspired by Go. The objective of Go is to control more territory than your adversary. You continually trade profit for influence and engage in strategic and tactical struggles to control territory. The player with sente is the player with momentum. Having sente means you've seized the offensive.

One of the best sites on the internet today for ordering Go equipment and purchasing Go books is run by Janice Kim. Janice is somewhat of a legend in her own time having entered the professional dan ranks in Korea in 1987, the only Westerner ever to do so. Janice teaches Go and has regular columns in US and Korean publications. In 1997 she created Samarkand, a mail-order catalog of Go and game equipment and accessories. Janice has helped us out from time to time and I highly recommend purchasing her series of books on how to play Go. Click here to visit her site:

Another web site that provides a comprehensive look at Go is Jan van der Steen’s GOBASE. Designed for both the beginner and veteran player, Gobase is a comprehensive resource including articles, books, research, software and tutorials. Here is a good article on the history of Go.

If you want to play Go on the internet try IGS - the Internet Go Server. IGS is a facility that allows many people to log on and play Go, watch Go, and talk about Go. It generally has from 250 to 1000 players through out an average day, from 9 dan professionals to 30 kyu, and beginners. IGS is a great place to play Go on a competitive basis. I have played a few thousand games on IGS and am on almost every evening.I play under the name vsente. Ping me if you’d like a game. Click here to visit the IGS web site.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c1ad753ef00e551f3f0e48834

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 09 - Ancient Asian Game of GO:

Comments

Pages

Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter

    Recent Posts

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Campaign Engines

    • I developed the Campaign Engine to drive my marketing campaigns. Click here to read more.

      What is a Campaign Engine?

      A Campaign Engine is a campaigning methodology that orchestrates a fusion of human creativity and Web 2.0 technology resulting in effective and accountable advertising and marketing campaigns.

      Engschem250
      Why are Campaign Engines needed?

      To deliver effective and accountable advertising and marketing campaigns.

      How does a Campaign Engine increase effectiveness?

      A Campaign Engine increases advertising and marketing campaign effectiveness by amplifying competitiveness, infusing intelligence and enabling agile campaigning.

      Click here to read more.

    Recommended Reading

    • Most marketers used to the bright colors, short lists and pretty pictures of Seth Godin, Tom Peters and Guy Kawasaki will find this list daunting to say the least. Which is why the list forms a golden opportunity for those marketers with the hearty appetite necessary to devour the contents. While most of your competitors are trying to paint cows purple - you'll be out kicking ass.

      MARKETING: STRATEGY

      Sun Tzu- The Art of War Shambhala/Thomas Cleary version.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Because Sun Tuz is the ultimate marketing strategist. Learn how to win without fighting. And when you do have to fight - how to kick ass and win.

      MONEY QUOTE: Therefore use these assessments for comparison, to find out what the conditions are. That is to say which political leadership has the Way? Which general has the ability? Who has the better climate and terrain? Whose discipline is effective? Whose troops are stronger? whose officers and soldiers are the better trained? Whose system of rewards and punishments clearer? This is how can know who will win. (Pg. 46)

      MARKETING: TACTICS

      Machiavelli - The Prince Mentor Book's version with forward by Christian Gauss.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Because Machiavelli delivers a great primer on dealing with unethical tactics - like blog swarms, short sellers, social activists, corrupt competitors, media relations, etc.

      MONEY QUOTE: A new prince has never been known to disarm his subjects, on the contrary, when he has found them disarmed he has always armed them, for by arming them, these arms become your own, those that you suspected become faithful, and those that were faithful remain so, and from being merely subjects become your partisans. (Pg. 105)

      MARKETING: CAMPAIGNING

      The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War Robert Coram's biography of John Boyd.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Because Boyd articulates the secret to successful campaigning. Boyd's O-O-D-A Loop and thoughts on organic command and control should be mastered by all marketers.

      MONEY QUOTE: For a time, Boyd and Spinney were reluctant to fully explain the O-O-D-A Loop; it was far too dangerous. If someone truly understands how to create menace and uncertainty and mistrust, then how to exploit and magnify the presence of these disconcerting elements, the Loop can be vicious, a terribly destructive force, virtually unstoppable in causing panic and confusion and - Boyd's phrase is best - "unraveling the competition." This is true whether the Loop is applied in combat, in competitive business practices, in sports, or in personal relationships. (Pg. 334)

      MARKETING: CRISIS

      The Second World War, Volume 2: Their Finest Hour Winston Churchill's WWII chronicles.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Because everything you read today about crisis management is wrong. Churchill's personal experiences leading up to and during WWII provide a practical foundation for dealing with crisis.

      MONEY QUOTE: There never was an occasion when powers were abrogated or challenged, and anyone in this circle could always speak his mind; but the actual war direction soon settled into a very few hands, and what seemed so difficult before became much more simple - apart of course, from Hitler. In spite of the turbulence of events and the many disasters we had to endure, the machinery worked almost automatically, and one lived in a stream of coherent thought capable of being translated with great rapidity into executive action. (Pg. 17)

      MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS

      Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors Michael Porter's classic.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Porter provides a fundamental primer on competition including practical tools and techniques that are even more important today than they were 25 years ago.

      MONEY QUOTES: One broad approach is to use superior resources and capabilities to force an outcome skewed toward the interest of the firm, overcoming and outlasting retaliation - we might call this brute force approach. This sort of approach is possible only if the firm possesses clear superiorities, and it is stable only as long as the firm maintains these superiorities, and as long as competitors do not misread them and incorrectly attempt to change their positions. (Pg. 91)

    FEEDS and SPEEDS



    • Subscribe with Bloglines
    Blog powered by TypePad
    Member since 04/2004

    About Citizen Strategist

    • Citizen Strategist is written by Mike Smock, EVP Sales and Marketing for Charles J. Read, Inc. He is also Managing Director of vSente, a San Francisco based marketing consultancy. vSente helps challenger enterprises battle larger competitors. Prior, he was Chief Marketing Officer of CRM vendor Moss Software (sold to E.piphany) and Chief Revenue Officer of outdoor clothing producer Gramicci.

      In his early career Smock held senior sales and marketing positions with AFG Industries later sold to Asahi Glass and Allied Tube and Conduit now part of Tyco. He was the Cofounder of Dynaquest Corporation an artificial intelligence pioneer, and led the successful leveraged buyout of AP&E from Johnson Controls.

      Smock has executed 100's of marketing campaigns in almost 50 different industries over a 30 year career.

      Click here to read his biography.

      You can reach him by phone at 415.234.6757 or at mike@vsente.com.

    Citizen Strategist Resources

    • Citizen Strategist is the online resource for competitive marketers. It aggregates print and web assets dedicated to effective and accountable marketing practices including worksheets, interactive planners, manuals, links, articles and 100's of other resources.

      1. Planning a campaign. Use the Campaign Manual and Campaign Wizards to plan a campaign... marketing, advertising, new product launch, customer acquisition, key account defense, etc.

      2. Developing strategy and tactics. Utilize the Campaign Wizards to assist with a current effort... determining strategy, sizing up a competitor, developing tactics, interpreting market signals, etc.

      3. Research new marketing techniques. Explore resources most marketers never consider. Learn how to win without fighting. And learn how to fight when fighting is necessary.

      Below are several threads containing commentary about marketing strategy and enterprise competiveness. Click the tile to read the commentary.

    Campaign Wizards

    • The campaign wizards are specialized tools designed to help develop individual campaign elements like strategy and tactics or to quickly assess the potential of your campaign. All wizards are Excel worksheets or workbooks. Click to download any of the wizards.

      QUICKLY DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL SUCCESS OF A CAMPAIGN

      Use the Campaign BOT wizard for a quick (couple of minutes), down and dirty assessment of the potential success of your campaign. The Campaign Bot is a simple rubric that measures your strengths relative to your primary competitor and weighted according to the Campaign Bot indicates a potential success then proceed with planning your campaign. Click to download.

      IN-DEPTH BATTLE SCREENER IDENTIFIES POTENTIAL AVENUES FOR A CAMPAIGN

      The Campaign SCREEN is a comprehensive version of the BattleBot offering more questions and greater sensitivity generating a more accurate indication of the potential for a successful campaign. Use the Campaign Screen if the results from the Campaign Bot are inconclusive. Click to download.

      HOW TO ANALYZE AND EXPLOIT COMPETITOR VULNERABILITIES

      The Campaign COG wizard generates an in-depth competitive analysis resulting in the identification of your competitors primary vulnerability (center of gravity). Use the Campaign COG to better understand and exploit your competitive strengths relative to your competitor weaknesses. The Campaign COG includes an interactive set of step-by-step instructions. Click to download.

      20 CAMPAIGN SIGNALS - ARE YOU SIGNALING OR IS YOUR COMPETITION?

      The Campaign SIGNALS wizard describes 20 signals a competitor may demonstrate indicating potential vulnerabilities. An example of a potential campaign signal is a competitor launching an expensive high profile strategic branding campaign which then makes them vulnerable to low profile direct marketing campaigns. Why? Traditional branding theory advocates the need for a consistent message broadcast over time. So while your competitor is waiting for the branding to "work" you're already at work taking market share. Click to download.

      SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCKS OF KILLER COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

      The Campaign STRATEGY wizard describes seven fundamental building blocks of strategy with specific examples. These seven building blocks are price, quality, service, features, infrastructure, relationships and execution. Strategy is the enabler between ends and means. The ends represent the objective. The means includes enterprise resources, competencies, etc. In order for strategy to perform this enabling function it needs to be effective, comprehensible and executable. An example of strategy would be for the challenger to attack a leaders premium price, with their own premium pricing (NOT discount pricing!) in tandem with superior quality, features or reputation. Click to download.

      54 TACTICS TO SELECT FROM IN BUILDING YOUR OWN PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.

      The Campaign TACTICS wizard is designed to provide a catalyst to drive strategy and tactics. This wizard is based upon Robert Cantrells innovative Strategy Card Deck and describes 54 different strategies and tactics. Each strategy has a one line description, an explanation of the strategy, the basis for the strategy and a potential tactical application. Click to download.


      DETERMINING ASYMMETRICAL ADVANTAGES - WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE COMPETITION CHEATS.

      Campaign SYMMETRIES indicate the "fairness" of your campaign. Some competitors are willing to go further than others in order to win a battle. A battle between two competitors with essentially comparable offering, infrastructure, relationships and execution, and, committed to playing by an established set of rules, can be considered a symmetrical conflict. When a competitor resorts to breaking or bending the rules, and you are unwilling to match their tactics, then you have the makings of an asymmetrical conflict, a battle you will likely lose. The Campaign SYMMETRIES wizard provide a gauge by which to measure the symmetry of your battle for market share. Click to download.

    Planning, Producing and Executing Campaigns

    John Boyd's O-O-D-A Loop


    • John Boyd articulates the secret to successful campaigning. Boyd's O-O-D-A Loop and thoughts on organic command and control should be mastered by all marketers. Boyd's phrase is best - "unraveling the competition." This is true whether the Loop is applied in combat, in competitive business practices, in sports, or in personal relationships. Click here to read more on the use of O-O-D-A Loop..

    Copyright

    Networked Blogs