Although the author is writing about computers that play chess, I think the point can be extrapolated to the wider world:
With ever more powerful processors, silicon chess players developed the ability to calculate so far ahead that the distinction between short-term tactical calculations and long-term strategic planning became blurred.
I think about this quite a lot. It's easier than ever to prototype something and to get feedback on that prototype. What once took years of planning, now takes months or days and often it is cheaper to just make the thing than to figure out whether it's worth making. Obviously a lot of my thinking is specific to the technology/web/marketing industries, but I think it has ramifications outside as well.
Tags: chess, strategy
In case you ever wanted to read 5000+ words on optimal buffet strategies, I've got just the article for you. It's chock full of such insightful nuggets as:
- "The morning of I would suggest a very small meal containing some sugar in order to get your metabolism up and running."
- "A point to keep in mind is that many establishments will raise their level of air conditioning to make diners uncomfortable, making them want to leave earlier. With this in mind be sure to bring a sweatshirt and dress in layers."
- "There is never a need to eat steamed rice (shrimp fried rice in small amounts is acceptable), dinner rolls or the like, this is completely unacceptable."
Lots more good advice in here.
Tags: food, strategy
The Times has an interesting interview with Wendy Koop, founder of Teach for America. While the whole thing is worth a read, her point about planning (or the lack thereof) really made me nod along:
At one point, I also had this revelation that we were no longer going to go through all this development of strategic plans. We would go through this massive process of creating these endless strategic plans and reviewing them. And I don't know how many years we did that until I said: "Forget it. We don't even need to do this anymore. Let's figure out our priorities and how we are going to measure our success. And then we're going to let people run after those goals." And that just freed up all the energy.
I have to admit I've been thinking about this lack-of-strategy strategy a lot lately. Sure you need some general direction to go in, but I'm less convinced it makes sense to spend a bunch of time and money constructing some sort of strategy on how to attack the problem. Rather, have a bunch of people run in different directions and measure, measure, measure. (As a side note, I often worry that the last part is left out. Without the feedback the strategy of just letting people go is pretty useless.)
Tags: business, education, strategy
rc3.org quotes from a conversation between Malcolm Gladwel and Bill Simmons (which I haven't read). This portion of Gladwell's quote really intrigued me:
The [full court basketball] press doesn't guarantee victory. It simply represents the underdog's best chance of victory. It raises their odds from zero to maybe 50-50. I think, in fact, that you can argue that a pressing team is always going to have real difficulty against a truly elite team. But so what? Everyone, regardless of how they play, is going to have real difficulty against truly elite teams. It's not a strategy for being the best. It's a strategy for being better.
I have this conversation often with my friend Justin: Business strategy is not a zero-sum game. I think a lot of companies go out of business trying to find their silver bullet instead of just diversifying their revenue streams and ultimately building something stronger. As a culture we tend to value extreme change over incremental change, regardless of the costs associated.
Tags: business, strategy
Last week Umair Haque wrote this about Google after Chrome's release: "Chrome is a shared resource that ensures the sustainable growth of a larger ecosystem. There are two key words in that sentence. The first is shared. Google is investing in a shared resource because it has the potential to expand the pie dramatically for all, and so Google stands to benefit more than by hoarding it. The second is sustainable growth: through Chrome, Google ensures the ecosystem stays a level playing field, amplifying incentives for innovation, quality, and productivity." [Bolding mine]
Then this week, "Google is planning to launch a network of satellites to bring internet access to three billion people in Africa ... Google claims the new technology could cut the cost of broadband by 90 per cent for some of the world's poorest countries. " They're not alone in the deal, but they're leading the way.
Both are examples of the same kind of strategy: The kind that's forward thinking, incredibly rare (companies hate investing money in things their competitors can profit from) and can only come from a market leader (that's how they make money after all).
Tags: business, google, strategy
Wow, that's me.
I kind of feel like I sound like an idiot ... but it always feels that way when you read your own stuff (or that's what I keep telling myself).
Tags: marketing, me, strategy
That's about as good a summation of my internet strategy as I've ever read. It's the reason own 50+ domains (many of which have nothing on them) and buy new ones at least once a week. What's more, though, is that I'm pretty sure this is becoming increasingly true in the rest of our lives. Sure it costs more to produce physical goods, but as costs drop, the possible return of going on a whim makes it worth trying.
Tags: internet, strategy
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