AT about 400 BC the celebrated Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu wrote that ‘In war, the way to avoid what is strong is to strike what is weak.’
Business continues to borrow a lot of strategies from military science.
World history is full of examples which show that the main purpose of military intelligence is to find an Achilles’ heel, point of weakness or vulnerability in the strength of the enemy and attack at that point in order to secure an early victory.
For example, in the Bible David defeated Goliath using a catapult and a stone by finding an Achilles’ heel in Goliath’s big forehead, below where the helmet joined the head, and aimed his catapult there and Goliath fell to the ground.
While others were saying that Goliath was too big to fight; David believed and was convinced that Goliath was too big to miss!
In 490 BC 15,000 Persians landed at the Bay of Marathon, north-east of Athens in Greece where they faced 11,000 Athenians.
Although the Athenians were numerically weaker than the Persians, they exploited the Achilles’ heel of the Persians.
The Athenians had one big advantage the Phalanx or a big shield.
Each Athenian soldier held his shield so that it overlapped with that of his neighbor, thus protecting half of himself and half of the man on his left.
This was not a match for the Persians who were used to one-on-one combat.
Today, we remember the Battle of the Bay of Marathon because of the heroics of Fidipides the Athenian soldier who ran 22 miles to Athens with the news, ‘Rejoice, We conquer’!
And then he fell dead. This is the root of the Marathon Games.
Military and political genius, Genghis Khan, who lived between 1162 and 1227 was an Emperor of the Mongol Empire which stretched from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan.
It is said that the Mongols gained victories on a scale no people or Empire ever reached before or since.
They exploited their enemies Achilles’ heel by possessing a superior weapon the Compound Bow with arrows that could penetrate any armor and with great velocity.
The Compound Bow was more powerful than the British Long Bow which was in use later. In addition, the Mongols also used extreme mobility, speed and surprise; an almost fool-proof tactical system; and strategic genius and moves that left enemy defenders unable to respond.
In 1415 at Agincourt, 5,500 British troops defeated 20,000 French troops by using the Long Bow that exploited the Achilles’ heel of the French troops which relied on mounted knights.
The Long Bow was the machine gun of the 14th Century and it was not a match for the French mounted knights.
In 1815 at Waterloo, Wellington with 67,000 British men defeated Napoleon with 74,000 French men by using the offensive position of Napoleon as the Achilles’ heel in his enemy.
Wellington could afford to wait for the enemy to come. Military strategist General Clausewitz later wrote that ‘Like a beggar, Napoleon abandoned both the battlefield and his Crown’.
In 1759 at Quebec, Canada the English troops took the ‘line of least expectation’ and exploited the ‘line of least resistance’ by going down the river behind Quebec and climbing the cliffs that were believed to be impossible to climb.
In the early to mid-1800s, Shaka the Zulu in South Africa was able to defeat his enemies by exploiting their Achilles’ heel.
He armed his ‘Impis’ or soldiers with the Assegai or short-spear which they could repeatedly use to stab and kill their enemies while their enemies had long spears which left them weak and vulnerable after they had thrown them.
In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ousted the Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) and their leader Chiang Kai-Shek from mainland China to Taiwan exploiting their Achilles’ heel.
The Communist Red Chinese Army under Mao Tse-tung relied heavily on Mao Tse-tung’s military genius and mastery of guerrilla warfare which included ambush; surprise and speed of movement; spies’ detection of enemy strength and movement; and unexpected descent upon small units of the enemy.
In 1974 in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) in Africa, Muhammad Ali defeated world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman by exploiting the title holder’s Achilles’ heel in his brute force and weight.
Foreman like Sonny Liston 10 years earlier in 1964 was considered unbeatable by many people.
He was huge and had a formidable professional boxing record of 40 wins, no losses and 37 knock-outs!
To beat Foreman, Ali used a combination of speed; distance; staying out of range; experience and boxing ability; determination; and being in the best of condition.
In business like in war or competitive sports it is possible to go head-to-head against a superior competitor but you need to know your competitor’s Achilles’ heel, point of weakness or vulnerability.
In other words, like in the military or competitive sports find a weakness in the leader’s strength and attack at that point.
Identifying a weakness in the business leader’s strength is one important way of finding a successful entrepreneurial idea for business.
For instance, Pepsi-Cola exploited the Achilles’ heel of Coca-Cola which is today a vast empire of wealth and influence and the world’s largest beverage company, distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrate and syrups which are sold in more than 200 countries.
Coca-Cola was invented as an exotic patent medicine by John Styth Pemberton in 1886 and three years later sold to an entrepreneur Asa Candler who saw a market niche for Coca-Cola as a soft drink.
In 1902 Coca-Cola became the best known product in America with an advertisement budget of $120,000.
In 1915, it came up with a new six and half-ounce bottle that captured its uniqueness and sold for 25 cents.
In the 1920s, Coca-Cola had no real competition.
Its only challenge was to increase consumption through its advertisements like ‘Thirst knows no season’ of 1922 and ‘The pause that refreshes’ of 1929.
However, in 1934 Pepsi-Cola looked for an Achilles’ heel, weakness or vulnerability in Coca-Cola and attacked at that point.
This was Coca-Cola’s six and half ounce bottle that sold for 25 cents.
Pepsi-Cola came up with an innovative idea of a 12-ounce bottle that sold for the same 25 cents as Coca-Cola’s six and half-ounce bottle.
Coca-Cola was seriously challenged.
It could not increase the quantity unless it was willing to scrap a billion or so six and half-ounce bottles and also it could not cut the price because of the hundreds of thousands of 25 cents soft drink machines already installed on the market.
As a result, during the Second World War (1939-1945) Pepsi-Cola rose from obscurity to become number two to Coca-Cola and it has kept its number two position ever since.
There is weakness in strength just as there is strength in weakness if you can find it.
One way of identifying a successful idea for business is finding a weakness in the business leader’s strength and investing at that point.
Author is a Motivational Mentor and Consultant in Positive Mind-Set Change.
Email: positivemindpower1511@yahoo.com