For previous articles in the “preparing for war” series, click here.
In a trading war, timing is everything. It can amplify the impact of your actions many times over, both for better and for worse. Sometimes when an outrageous demand is imposed upon you, you may be unable to exert much influence over the timing, but where you can, you should.
Striking when your counterpart is most vulnerable can be equally seen as intelligent and effective, or as exploitative and unethical. Your reputation and relationships can be expensive casualties, and we’ll cover how to manage this in step 5, but for now, simply consider how you can maximise the impact of your actions by identifying when you are in the very best position, to:
Execute: When can you make the most changes to damage your counterpart, and when can they do least to damage you? Consider before and after range reviews, A&P investments and key launches.
Sustain: What timing would help you hold out longer than your counterpart? Consider year-end and investor reporting; seasonal peaks and troughs in cash flow; and any corporate activity that may require a stable turnover, eg. M&A, fund-raising or share listing.
Offset: When can you most easily leverage their competitors to offset the damage, and when are they least able to do the same to you? When they are at war with your competitors and your relationships are on the upswing; when you have major activity planned with their competitors from which they can be excluded; when their competitors are approaching you with high value or strategic opportunities.
Even when you don’t control the timing, you can do a lot to stack things in your favour by building plans in each of the three areas above.
GO TO WAR: When the capacity to execute, sustain and offset the impact of hostile actions, all play in your favour
PLAY FOR TIME: When the factors temporarily favour your opponent