The Art of War for Startup - Chapter I : Planning

Pour la version Fran?aise, voir : https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/lart-de-la-guerre-pour-startup-chapitre-i-le-plan-delsol-phd/

For the Introduction of the Art of War for Startup, please see the following article : https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/art-war-startup-introduction-benjamin-delsol-phd/

 

Life is War!

To succeed your company, it is not enough to have the best product or the most innovative concept, or even the most important financial contribution...

Indeed, the best sailor with the best ship will never reach its destination if it does not know it or has not planned the route to it.

For victory to be yours, you have to plan your success.

Planning for success must be the very basis of all your actions, without planning it is pointless to hope to succeed. The act must not precede thoughts, the act must only be an extension of them.

This plan is not just a series of actions to be carried out, this plan is a multi-level planning of your company, its identity, its structure and its Purpose.

The success of a Startup is based on 5 main elements:

• The Leader
• The Team
• The Purpose
• The Business Plan
• The Communication

If these five elements are properly planned, then victory is ensured.

The Leader :

Without a Leader, no structure can achieve a goal. Before even thinking about the command of an army, the Leader is a pragmatic dreamer, he has a dream, yes, but with such a desire to realize it, that this dream does not remain a mere dream, it becomes a goal towards which every action of the Leader will lead him.

The difference between a dream and a goal is planning. If the Leader is only dreaming, then he will not be successful. He has to give himself the means to achieve his goals. The Startup therefore takes the form of his motivation, of his determination to succeed.

The Leader is the personification of the Startup, he is not only the captain of the ship, it is also its breath, he is there to inspire, motivate and share a vision with his Team, he is the light that guides the Team through all the storms that will have to confront the Startup.

The Leader personifies the Startup.

The Leader must of course make decisions and sometimes difficult, but armed with his vision and his plan, nothing will stop the Leader in his search for accomplishment.

However, not everyone is born Leader, but the one whose goal is victory will have to do what is necessary to become one. In the image of an army general, discipline will have to become second nature to fulfill his vision.

The personal development of the Leader is an essential step for the success of a Startup.

Finally, when the war rages, it is sometimes tempting to choose the easy way or the easy solution by not respecting its own values, by sacrificing its code of honor. But as the captain of the ship, it is the Leader's responsibility to keep his course, to remain true to his dream, to remain faithful to his heart.

A Leader must believe so strongly in the success of his goal, that he already feels the victory. Sure of himself, he transmits a foolproof trust to his Team. Whether by natural charisma or by the development of skills in neurolinguistic programming for example, the Leader must be able to convey his vision to his Team, must motivate his Team and must radiate like a sun.

A Leader is to the Startup What Winston CHURCHILL was to England.

The Team :

To go to war alone is to leave for a more or less imminent death. A Team is vital for a startup, a Team represents the founding pillars of the startup, a Team is the tripod that supports the light that guides the startup.

As in war, each member of the Team must present specificities complementary to others and share the same convictions.

The ideal Team of a startup is based on at least three pillars that are the Leader, the specialist and the spokesperson, commonly called the visionary, the engineer and the businessman (see for more details my Article on the three pillars of the startup: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/three-pillars-startup-benjamin-delsol-phd/). These three pillars are the main supports to which reinforcements can be added in order to increase their skills.

We have already explained the role of the Leader, which is so essential, he must contaminate a specialist and a spokesperson with his vision. The specialist's mission is the technical implementation of the vision and the spokesperson is responsible for exposing the vision to the outside world.

It is through a common passion for this vision that a base is formed and then carries the three pillars of the Startup rising towards their goal.

As an army, a hierarchy should be established, each member of the Team should have a combat post and be assigned to it by a chain of command. So it is through this precise definition of tasks and functions that a Team can succeed. This set up can mainly be made through contracts so as to clearly define the battle posts of each in this war, as well as the chain of command, precisely.

Military hierarchical rigor must be set up contractually so that relations between the Team members can be as simple and natural as possible. In the absence of a contracted base, the members of the Teams are lost and without cohesion no army can defeat, the stability of the startup is threatened, and many startups collapse sometimes even as the victory seems acquired.

To establish precisely the functions of each member of his Team and based on their skills is a guarantee of victory.

A Team is made by several people but only by one war cry!

The Purpose :

This is not about simply making money, if creating a startup has for the sole reason the financial gain, this startup will miss the most important thing, a heart.

Do we not say to valiant heart nothing impossible? No thirst for gold will be more motivating than the passion that burns in the heart of a pioneer when he conceives and realizes the vision that haunts him for so long.

The Purpose is the personality of the company, what footprint will it leave in the world or at least in its area of expertise?

The Purpose is also the values that the Startup wants to transmit through its product or service.

The Purpose is the heart of the Startup, without a heart no Startup can survive.

The current ecosystem seems like a jungle and without the will to survive, without reason to believe it yet, without hope, then death is the only reward that awaits the Startup.

On the other hand, a startup who knows why it exists, a startup who knows what it represents, a startup who knows what it brings, this startup will have the strength and the will to withstand all the events.

Also, a more than formidable weapon for defining and transmitting this Purpose is based on the definition of a Trademark.

The definition and protection of a Trademark is an essential step in any Startup. Indeed, while war rages, there is nothing more symbolic than the flag bearer advancing against the enemy. The Trademark of a Startup it's that flag. And this very symbolic act is perceived by all parties whether it is his army, whether it is the enemy or whether it is the consumers.

A Trademark is an emblem, a symbol in the hearts of all.

A Trademark is also a way of bringing together a Team around common values, like the name of a combat unit or a sports Team, a Trademark represents a membership in a structure that promotes certain values.

Once the Purpose is set, once the values that the Startup wants to pass on are set, the Trademark must be created and protected.

On your Trademark, Get set ? Protect it !

 The Business Plan :

Armed with a Purpose, the Startup must now conceive a Business Plan, that is to say a guideline to follow to foresee the actions to be carried out, the timing linked to each of these actions, the necessary point of supply but also the possible losses in the war that has already or will soon begin.

The Business Plan has many reasons to be, the Business Plan represents the map of the land on which the war will rage. It is appropriate to arrange its Team, to assign to each a specific combat post, it is necessary to establish a clear internal Communication, it is necessary to foresee and to defend the points of supply, it is necessary to evaluate the land, to position themselves and act at the opportune moments in order to be victorious.

The Business Plan is the ultimate stage before the fight, it determines the victory or the failure of the Startup.

The Business Plan must comprise much more than a classical financial planning, it must take into account the economic field, the market players both competitive and consumers and the temporal dimension of the war.

It should be assessed whether the product or service that the Startup wishes to provide will be found attractive by customers, and will be in a dominant position relative to present and/or future competitors.

Once the field mastered, that is to say once the market is identified and the product adapted to it, then the victory is only based on the execution of a plan well prepared and well timed.

The Business Plan represents the different move of a chess game in which one has to predict the reaction of the market.

And as in any part of chess game, as in any melee combat and as in any major conflict, timing is an essential notion. The Business Plan must include, in addition to a tactical positioning and a plurality of actions, a chronology of attacks.

There is no point in bombarding enemy lines if at this precise moment they are deserted by the competitor. There is no point in planning an air strike if the enemy is already among us. There is no point in fighting in the hand-to-hand when the enemy has cannons. Also, when designing the Business Plan, it is essential to give it a temporal dimension.

You don't invade a market at any time, just as you don't attack an enemy at any time. A Business Plan is the how and the when. One cannot go without the other.

Most of the startups fail because they don't think enough about the temporal dimension of their market offensive.

If the market is not ready for a technology, then the consumer will not buy the product. The Startup cannot create a need directly, it is first necessary to install an outpost in the hearts of consumers, an outpost that is installed by means of a solution that meets an existing need.

There's no point in trying to complicate. Needless to find what no one has found. Needless to imagine a new need. It is simply a matter of proposing an improved version of an existing solution that responds to existing problems. The Startup must only fill an existing consumers needs by adding its own values to the solution.

In war it is necessary to be pragmatic. Think simple and effective. Impress the Purpose of your Startup in a solution to an existing problem. Don't think about the what or the how without thinking about the why.

Once the outpost is in place within the consumer, then it will be possible to try a bigger offensive by establishing a new need, but only in a second time.

The Business Plan of a Startup must also foresee the point of supply of its troops. One all knows what the nerve of war is. It is therefore necessary to plan precisely the incomes and the outcomes. It is necessary to ration and concentrate its forces where it is needed. No need to spend money on marketing if the Trademark is not already protected for example.

In survival mode, one does nothing for nothing, know how to allocate your resources between the different sections of your army according to their respective mission. Be fair but realistic, do not waste anything, and know how to take advantage of the strength of the enemy. A marketing campaign can easily be counter-attacked without real financial investment if you know how to think outside the box. Tap into your creative abilities before you draw on your finances.

Also know how to surround yourself with powerful warlords who will be willing to finance you as long as they gain a profit. Be prepared to make alliances after great reflection. You are your Startup, so go to warlords who respect your personality and who are betting in part on it. Also be cautious and establish a contract environment, primarily through a non-disclosure agreement.

An innovation can be a virgin technological territory that should be invaded by the filing of a patent application for example. A powerful warlord will be disposed to finance your campaign to conquer a market when he knows that you already have a technological territory on which he can count to get a return on his investment.

Another point of supplies can come from your future consumers. Indeed, it is advisable to consider with caution, but without fear, a Crowdfunding. How many governments have asked their countrymen to participate in the funding of the war in which they were involved? Let's not forget that when a Startup fights, it is for its consumers, to give them an innovative solution to a problem that they meet regularly. The Startup fights for its consumers, and many consumers are willing to participate in this fight by means of donations or financial participation.

Nevertheless, the Crowdfunding campaigns are to be used wisely. Indeed, this kind of funding often requires a disclosure of the innovative solution, subsequently disabling any patent application filed later (for more detail on this point, see my article https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/crowdfunding-friend-foe-patents-benjamin-delsol-phd/).

So today, the Startup has tools to find many points of supply. It is appropriate during the establishment of the Business Plan to list these points of supply and to organize precisely their operation. Knowing when to get an investor into the startup is as important as knowing when the startup should attack an enemy position.

Remember that without money, victory cannot be achieved. Money is not a necessity at first, a war can be declared without it, but it cannot last if money is not made up.

Money is not a need to start, but a must to continue.

The Business Plan is thus a map representing the evolution of the conflict, the disposition of each armies, the planned attacks and the supply points. The control of the territory and of the temporal dimension of war is the key to success.

Planning your war is planning your victory!

 The Communication :

Communication is essential in war. Indeed, how to obtain information from the front without Communication? How to give orders without Communication? How to impress the enemy without Communication?

Communication is the most powerful weapon for a Startup. Communication is present at any time. Communication has a main role in various essential aspects.

Regarding the Team, if the Communication is good, then the Team will be able to perform miracles. One cannot coordinate soldiers without Communication. Any elite unit must be able to communicate internally but also with the other units if necessary and with its command.

Without Communication, the army cannot operate.

A coordinated army is a victorious army, know how to establish a reliable and flawless Communication system within your Team. Each member must be able to express themselves in an organized way. Each unit is a possible source of solutions in the face of a problem, a general who does not listen to his men is a general of no army. The general who listens to his men is a victorious and respected general.

Regarding to the market, Communication is also a powerful propaganda weapon, used both to motivate consumers and to make quake its enemies. The pen is always mightier than the sword. Know how to use Communication with wisdom. Do not communicate without thinking, be aware that each Communication must always have a specific and determined Purpose.

Regarding to the enemy, Communication is nothing more than adapting the Startup to its environment. Indeed, as the troops progress on the battle field, the enemies are acting and it is appropriate to respond to these hostile troop movements.

Communication makes it possible to scare the enemy, the impact of Communication can help to ferret out the enemy, to make him move in a trap, to make him doubt. Communication is a powerful psychological weapon. Take the example of a patent application, a filed patent application is disclosed only after 18 months, 18 months during which if a competitor is informed that a patent application has been filed, he can only tremble at his unknown content.

Thus, the function of Communication is to allow the internal operation of the startup, to present to the public a new product or a new service, and to flaunt a part of the arsenal of the startup, for example by means of its Intellectual Property. The function of Communication is to maintain a relationship with the market, to react to it, to adapt to it and to make the propaganda of the Startup.

Communication, wisely used, can destroy an enemy army without any gunshots being fired.

To communicate is to exist!

 We have just seen the 5 main elements for a Startup to succeed. By accurately following these recommendations, victory is assured even before the war begins. Know how to plan your victory, know how to anticipate the unexpected and know how to exploit every opportunity.

A Startup is a living entity that is born and grows. Discipline is all the more important as this growth is very fast. At high speed, the slightest slippage can become critical. Not planning is the same as planning your failure. Then Act with planning!

And remember: The Spirit of the startup is its Leader, the heart of the startup is its Purpose, the body of the startup is its Team, the actions of the startup is its Business Plan, the voice of the startup is its Communication.

For a Startup, mastering these five elements is mastering its destiny!

 See you next month for Chapter II.