A friend of mine once said to me: “Ziad … if we lived in ancient Rome, I would imagine you as being the perfect and a gladiator… Amazing how much of a warrior you are. The gladiator of finance today.”
I never thought about it this way but it cannot be further from the truth. I am indeed a warrior. In fact, I realize more than ever today that we are most successful when we fight for our survival, much as a start-up has to fight for its place in the market. We stub our toes when we become too comfortable or confident.
Analogies between warfare and business are always imperfect, of course, but I do believe that the principles of guerrilla warfare in particular are useful to managers who find themselves in a constantly changing environment. Just think about the effectiveness of guerrilla tactics. Guerrilla fighters, though outnumbered and poorly equipped, can inflict serious casualties on enemy troops. In situations in which political loyalties are uncertain or changing quickly, highly motivated guerrillas can force political compromises or even win battles.
In my view, executives who view the marketplace as a quick-changing battlefield can use similar tactics, what I call guerrilla management, to achieve remarkable success.
For More: Using Guerilla Warfare To Win