Wei Chi lessons in business strategy

Wei Chi is a board game suitable for the business strategist who plays the long game.  It is part of the Chinese culture to wait patiently, holding the position amidst various odds for considerable time to finally force the opponent either to surrender or quit. In business strategy Wei Chi teaches valuable lessons that border on staying put at the same time going ahead:

Market presence is the utmost lesson from Wei Chi. In a typical market, we have customers, products and competitors. An overseeing authority in the form of regulator is ever present even though its presence is not seen but felt. This may be a Government arm or self-regulatory mechanism. Be that as it may, once the market recognizes a company and the customers accept its product the first salvo is already fired.

Immediately after gaining market presence & acceptance, it behoves the firm to blow the whistle for networking. In high-tech market, networking connects users, peers, specialists, critics, promoters, industry association spokespersons, regulators thence to vital segments of customers whose representatives are corralled in to broadcast the benefits of the product, its novelty, durability and the price for value that product gives to discerning customers. This is not just PR campaign but a well thought of business manoeuvre that has the germination in unseating the market’s powerful opponents later on.

Interestingly, Wei Chi also teaches a point or two regarding the concentration level of the firm in a market where competition is intense and it is a do or die battle to gain significant market share.  Concentrate but diversify is the maxim of Wei Chi. Huawei one the world’s largest providers of telecommunication equipment, networking gears and smartphones uses this Wei Chi strategy very well. 

After gaining foothold In Sweden initially where Ericsson holds major slice of master Huawei was booted out by Swedish authorities. Whatever the reasons behind the move it is clear that Swedish Government need to save Ericsson. Therefore, Huawei decided to diversify quickly into Germany and France.

Wei Chi has another cautionary teaching. A Wei Chi player constantly looks at the board and how it appears now and how it would appear afterwards when moves are made by either or both parties. Keeping the strategy change at minimum level the game instils in the mind of business strategist to give broader allowance for right type of business manoeuvre when faced with an opponent who is being helped by third party externally or improving breakthrough technology domestically.

 

Surely, to be ready with such an eventuality Wei Chi urges firms to invest in R&D, new processes, and come out with superior product that can compete with its own terms. At the time of writing there is so far no worthy alternative to Huawei in mobile technology and Telco infra-structure neither in USA nor in Western Europe. 

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist