I came upon some interesting research out of
Cranfield University in the UK, one of Europe’s leading Schools of
Management. As reported in BizJournals
and Portfolio.com, a better understanding of animal survival instincts could
improve a company’s chances of business survival this according to a new study
by Cranfield School of Management. The research explores what business leaders
preparing for hard times can learn from solutions that have evolved in the
animal kingdom over billions of years.
Dr Tazeeb Rajwani, Lecturer in Strategic Management
at Cranfield is one of the report’s co-authors. He commented: “It is too easy
to blame market turbulence or unexpected events for a company’s poor
performance but this is often the response of managers to circumstances beyond
their control. As a consequence, businesses fail to develop strategies for
coping with crisis. Animals thrive in environments that are much more deadly
than the marketplaces that businesses operate in, so are ideal subjects to
learn from. Our research identified four basic coping capabilities and survival
strategies that businesses can develop to survive and thrive in unpredictable
environments.” Other researchers include
Professor Patrick Reinmoeller from Cranfield School of Management and Professor
Thomas Lawton from EM Lyon. EM Lyon has
a campus presence in France, Geneva and Shanghai.
The four survival strategies explored in the study
were:
Bear strategy – embracing
hibernation capabilities: displaying a superior capacity to conserve energy
or costs is chosen by businesses in the tourist and farming industries whose
services will have varying demand throughout the year. During the high season,
all their resources are used, with the knowledge that seasonality will cause a
slump in demand for the rest of the year. Understanding how you accumulate your
resources, and slow energy usage before getting hit by a crisis, is crucial to
surviving. Think Peach farmer in Clanton
or Citrus Farmer in Florida.
Lion strategy - building a
fighting capability: putting up a fight is the strategy of choice for
aggressive companies, specifically in hostile environments that threaten to
erode their competitive advantage. They react quickly and can stage vicious
attacks if challenged for resources or territory. Organizations in hostile
environments that follow lion strategies take a proactive role in going after
the weaknesses in competitors and may adopt direct and forceful approaches in
doing so. However, these companies can also lose their battles depending on the
territory. Think hostile takeover bid
for Vulcan Materials.
Seagull strategy - structuring
flight capabilities: moving quickly away from hostile environments to
avoid specific threats to survival is another strategy adopted by companies
that train hard to become highly tolerant of changes in the business
environment. Similar to seagulls, such companies are agile enough to fly away
to escape danger and thrive in many different environments such as moving the
business unit to another country during a crisis. However, following this
strategy requires making hard choices. Think
Caterpillar as they moved out of the USA and now back into the USA.
Shark strategy – developing
search capabilities: continuously looking for opportunities and
threats and at the same time developing stamina is an approach followed by
companies that seek predator’s rewards. Like sharks, companies in hard times
can develop instincts about when and how to attack to reclaim territory and
search hard for new customers. They can also use their strength and force to
fight off competitors. Think Proview blocking
the sale by Apple of iPad in China.
Proview makes iFamily and says that rights bought by Apple to market in
Taiwan are in valid in mainland China.
Bear, lion, seagull, shark? Which instinct will you need in your bag
today? As we learn from an unofficial Marine
slogan, we should prepare to improvise, adapt,
overcome ……survive.