Lessons about "Strategy" from “The Dark Knight”

I am in the consulting business. I enjoy it and strive to get better at it by cross pollinating ideas across fields to increase my understanding of the complex multi-faceted business environment. I often listen to people talking about “Strategy” but mostly I find them dancing around about “What their competitors are doing”.

Cinema fascinates me as it is a place where many human emotions and actions converge to express myriad shade of human life. I am sure you must have got inspiration from many movies. But when I think about strategy and competition, ‘The Dark Knight’ by Christopher Nolan attracts my attention a lot. If we keep aside the good vs. evil quotient, then the ideological battle between the Batman and the Joker presents a fitting analogy to today’s business world.

Thinking deeply about The Joker character (played by the late Heath Ledger), I learned few things about “Strategy”. Joker has a vision, he creates plans and executes them in a very structured manner to achieve his ultimate aim.

Strategy leads to Ultimate Aim

So what was The Joker’s ultimate aim? Near the end of the movie, Joker says that he didn’t want to risk the fight for Gotham's soul in the fist fight with Batman. He had a clear idea of what he wanted – To create Anarchy in Gotham and thereby create an environment where Batman would become insignificant. He was not confined to the idea of defeating the Batman but wanted to spread the chaos and defeat the idea that people are inherently good. He wanted to become the ultimate villain.

Confusing Strategy with Counteractions

On the other hand, his competitor the Batman is solely focused on catching the Joker. His plans and actions are totally concentrated on the Jokers movement. As such he is outsmarted time and again because he is not paying attention to the details. He is not able to perceive the threat to his vision. Because of this, he manages a figurative victory at the end but that too after having to pay a heavy price by taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s death and painting himself as the villain.

Strategy is Continuous Innovation

Coming back to business, a company, whose ultimate aim is to create or develop a new ecosystem, targeting growth rather than competition is likely to defeat the competition. The strategy must be focused on becoming a leader. If one’s plan of action revolves just around competition then the probability of failure increases, like it happened with Batman. One should always remember that each organization has its own DNA, comprising of a unique internal and external resources. This is why probability of getting defeat in a catching up game with competitors is always high. Having a vision allows one to innovate, to create a new ecosystem, which provides an opportunity of zero or near to zero competition. Upon succeeding, competition is bound to spring up but the head start gained triumphs the competition.