Change your perspective

Filipinos are ingenious when it comes to improvisation. When masks are scarce in this time of the coronavirus, hankies and even shirts are used to cover the nose and mouth.

When foreign shows become popular, local comic spoofs are done, swiftly becoming internet memes.

Adapted from World War II’s army vehicle, the jeepney has been reengineered to fit local needs. It has become iconic, because it has stood the test of time—as hip now as it was almost a century ago.

But changing points of view in business, particularly in family enterprises that resist change, is not often done, even if warranted. This is unfortunate, because looking at matters from a different perspective often spells the difference between success and failure.

During the tumultuous era known as the Warring States, or around the 5th century BC, the Han, Zhao, Wei, Qi and other regions battled each other for supremacy in China. Alliances were forged and broken, but remarkable military strategies were respected by all.

Among these was the diversionary tactic of “besieging Wei to save Zhao.” The Wei state attacked the Zhao capital of Han Dan. Zhao asked Qi for aid, and the latter sent an army of 8,000 to help.

Qi’s general was about to attack Wei, but his adviser Sun Bin counseled the former to change his viewpoint. Wei’s strongest men were attacking Zhao, so its own capital must have been left with weak defenses.

Instead of confronting Wei head-on at the Zhao battlefield, Sun Bin told the general to besiege Wei’s capital instead.

When Wei’s army heard their own city was being attacked, they hastily turned back toward home, whereupon they were defeated by Qi soldiers who lay in ambush.

The capital fell and Wei was defeated. Zhao was grateful to Qi and recognized its might. Qi emerged the most victorious of all.

The famous military stra­tegist Sun Tzu puts it this way: “If the enemy prepares for a frontal attack, his rear will be weak; if he defends the rear, his front will be fra­gile. If he strengthens his left, he will weaken his right; if he strengthens his right, he will weaken his left. If he tries to prepare in every area, he will be weak everywhere!”

Changing one’s perspective is crucial in business. National University of Singapore professors Wee Chow Hou and Lan Luh Luh cite Citibank’s entry into Asia decades ago as an example of this strategy.

A foreign bank, Citibank was restricted on the number of branches it could have. Unable to get a lot of deposits, it had to use foreign funds, which meant higher loan rates, thus making it less competitive.

Instead of going head-on against local banks on loan rates and prices, Citibank instead focused on service. It touted convenience and ease of credit and spearheaded telephone applications for loans.

“In economies like Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia where business opportunities come and go very quickly, speed and convenience are important benefits to consu­mers,” the authors say in their book “The 36 Strategies of the Chinese.”

“Not only were these factors ignored by many local banks, they were also Citibank’s greatest strengths. Thus, Citibank created their own victory by dictating where and how it wanted to compete, and was not hemmed in by competitors. The lesson [here] is that it is possible to win even in a homogeneous service like retail banking. This can be done by developing one’s own advantages. One can always attempt to ‘change the rules’ that would ‘derail’ competitors.”

The authors also cite the wisdom of US fast-food chains that did not go head to head against local outlets when they first opened in Asia.

Instead of suburban or rural areas, these chains focused on urban cities with more cosmopolitan customers. Instead of focusing on price or taste, they concentrated on other factors, such as consistency of food and comfortable dining experiences.

Now these chains are ubi­quitous in Asia and all over the world.

Queena N. Lee-Chua is with the board of directors of Ateneo’s Family Business Center. Get her book “All in the Family Business” at www.lazada.com.ph or call National’s Jennie Garcia at 0915-421-2276. Contact the author at [email protected].