Suvorov & business. Everlasting lessons from the russian master strategist

SMART CALCULATION PAVES WAY TO VICTORY

Alexander Suvorov:

In offensive action, always rely on concerted efforts and swiftly attack the core forces of the adversary, with that, however, never fail to throw into disarray enemy troops that threaten your flank or rear guards.

Operating in a constantly changing competitive environment, it is vital to remember that business is akin to battle in some ways; it is a struggle for the market and clients. Once you are determined to act, there is no place for half-measures or doubt. Action must be swift and you must be fully engaged 24/7.

Swift offensive

Waterfall uproots rock

At the same time, you need to maintain a 360-outlook and proactively analyze changes in your competitors’ behavior, prices for their goods and services, and compare these changes against your target market.

Other than for reaping, why bring a sickle?

Other than for harvest, why ramble the fields with a scythe?

Flanking: isolate, cut, stack.Envelopment: seize, shear.

Suvorov’s strategy is pertinent to virtually any area of business or entrepreneur’s decision-making. Suvorov commanded rank-and-file soldiers, officers, and generals. His campaigns and battles reveal great managerial proficiency of a leader who made no exceptions applying his rules and principles with strictness and fatherlike justice.

There are accounts of one march rest when Suvorov dared a soldier to see who eats up a serving of porridge faster. Excited and humbled by such honor, although he was no raw recruit as military service was twenty-five years back then, the soldier started shoving in the hot porridge, encouraged by fellow troops. Suvorov took his time, scraping the porridge from around the bowl’s brim where it cools the fastest.

The soldier started choking on scorching mush with a third of the bowl to go, whereas Suvorov was already finishing the last spoonful with a shrewd smile on his face. He was not tall – the soldier towered two heads above and two times broader – but wisdom and strategy prevailed.

Suvorov’s incredible feat of crossing the Alps is known to many Russians from history textbooks and illustrations. For one, Suvorov was able to mount an offensive from behind the enemy lines, in that he also managed to come out victorious with limited resources, surrounded by enemy forces and greatly outnumbered. He lost 700 men wounded and killed. The French lost up to 6,000 and 1,200 of their troops surrendered. On that Swiss campaign, Suvorov ordered to stock up on rations in nearby villages for a number of troops greatly exceeding his army. Naturally, the French found that out. Over the three days that they were holding council, reinforcement had arrived at Suvorov’s location and the generalissimo had had time to arrange the disposition of forces, have each unit perfect their maneuvers, and drum up high morale, so that eventually the fierce attack of the Russian troops threw the enemy into panic. A clever ruse and smart calculation paved way for that victory. Nevertheless, Suvorov was never formulaic and always employed new tactics.

…A Moscow entrepreneur running a small retail shop decided to procure Italian shoes directly from the manufacturer. She went to Italy herself and found that designer shoes by high-street brands had a discount subsegment. These shoes sold cheaper due to minor production flaws or as older collections. The price tag was several times lower and topped out at 10—15 euro.

She bought a hefty batch of shoes, put it on display, and waited for a swarm of customers or lively trade at the very least. But… Sales dropped two or three times below average. A friend of mine, who told me this story, came by to visit the entrepreneur soon after. He found her in tears, on the brink of selling the shop and her business.

He gave her two tips. The first was to “throw in another zero on the price.” The shelves and inventory were swept clean within a month or two! The business lady went to Italy again and bought another similar batch. She tried to sell it at ten times the cost again, but on the second go, she did actually go broke. All because she did not hear or just did not want to heed the second tip. “Once you are sold out, never do this again!”

It is possible to trick the demand once or mislead the competition for a limited time, but you have to remember: in their ability to survive, evaluate and see through lies, the consumers and the market are extremely sensitive to change and will not be taken for a ride twice.

As a source of insight for business strategy, one can discover tremendous value in the story of Suvorov’s assault and seizure of Izmail that was thought to be an unassailable fortress. Suvorov, a general-in-chief at the time, began by assuming a disguise not to be recognized. He took a shabby attire, an aged horse, and, accompanied by a single orderly, studied the fortress all round.

Next, he ordered to mock up fortifications that closely resembled Izmail for drills. His troops, shoulder to shoulder, practiced to blanket the moat with bundles of twigs, prop up ladders to quickly scale the walls where they practiced stabbing and slashing dummies. The Turkish and Russian forces were more or less equally matched; the fortress fell two and a half hours into the battle. The Russian army lost 2,000 men; the Turkish army lost 26,000 dead and 9,000 captured.

Any business venture can be approached as an unassailable fortress. Before Suvorov, Izmail had been besieged and stormed by three generals, including Prince Potemkin. What failed them? Same troops, same weaponry, same fortress…

But did they go around the fortress looking for weaknesses? Or did they drill their troops on similar fortifications? At what time and in what manner did they launch their offensive?

Suvorov first undertook a thorough and forceful two-day cannonade; the attack started at 5:30 in the morning, when the Turks had their morning prayer. And he won.

When an entrepreneur makes preparations to launch a business project, similar strategic thinking and action are indispensable.

…As I realized that retrofitting latest-series cars to build armored vehicles requires bulletproof glass of a whole new level, I decided that we could not use existing technologies. Increasing the thickness of ballistic glass by a mere millimeter made the car heavier by 50—100 kilograms, which degraded its performance and put additional load on its strained drivetrain.

I had to go roam the world of bulletproof glass manufacturers. Under various “legends”, sometimes posing as a prospective buyer, or sometimes supplier, and so forth, I visited production facilities in different countries, from Italy to Brazil. I always carefully studied the production process, the equipment and other details of this complex operation.