From the November 29, 1999, issue of Wireless Week
Guest Opinion: Art Of War In The Wireless World
By Alan Brune
The ancient wisdom of Sun Tzu's classic writings on the art of war can easily be adapted to the new competitive environment in
wireless. Important tenets of Sun Tzu's writings include his beliefs that complete information is critical to understanding and
planning a battle, that each battlefield is different and that leaders must wisely choose the appropriate strategy based on the best
information they have to assess the situation at hand. Though these writings are from as early as the third century, they contain
as much wisdom today in the wireless market as they did in ancient battle.
Until now, carriers have focused on building out their own networks and adding subscribers. But due to the entry of additional
carriers in each market, an increase in the number of national competitors and an infusion of new management with experience
in competitive industries, wireless is no longer the duopoly it once wasit is a battlefield with many armies.
In this complicated market, any move a carrier makes could have many outcomes. Carriers must gather the best information
possible to understand the battle and execute their plans flawlessly. As Sun Tzu wrote, "If you know the enemy and yourself,
you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also
suffer defeat."
Wireless carriers decide which battles they fight based on their understanding of the competition, the customers and their
opinion on where they can best position themselves in the market for profitability.
In every market, the battlefield has its own challenges, opportunities and competitive characteristics. In today's fast-paced
environment, the battlefield also changes daily with new promotions, price plans, services and features. Carriers need to move
quickly to capture new profitable customers and respond quickly in order to save their own.
Carriers must overcome several obstacles in their intelligence gathering, including selection of relevant information and the
timeliness of data. Receiving relevant data in time to make necessary changes in the strategy is essential. Currently, wireless
carriers often receive data on market share, promotions or customer satisfaction up to six months after the fact. This information
may be interesting, but it is not actionable and can be used only to analyze the effectiveness of past decisions.
In addition, the strongest wireless leaders understand that it is critical when developing their strategies that they benchmark not
to their own historical performance or plans, but to their competitors' activities and current performance in the markets. Carriers
may find that they are beating their plans but still losing in the market.
According to Sun Tzu, true leaders are visionaries who succeed where ordinary people fail because they understand the
situation and can act on accurate information immediately. For each battle and on each battlefield, they must be able to use data
to see the unexpected and to alter strategy accordingly. To go into battle without up-to-date, accurate and relevant information
is tantamount to going into battle unarmed.
Alan Brune is vice president of marketing for Telephia, a research marketing firm based in San Francisco.
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