Schwerpunkt
Posted By Rob Millard - 3 Comments -
Knowledge is not power. Power alone is power. What knowledge does is provide the means to determine where to focus that power, for maximum effect.
Knowledge can even be dangerous. Poring over it to excess paralyzes action. Different elements may be in conflict with each other, suggesting sometimes even diametrically opposed courses of action. There are almost always gaping gaps. It is here that decisive leadership and a robust decision making process is paramount. Every time, the less impressive strategy, ferociously executed, beats the perfect strategy that is executed timidly, if at all.
In many quarters, it is not politically correct to equate business to war and I would be the first to agree that parallels need to be drawn very carefully indeed. On the other hand, the issues in military and corporate strategy are often strikingly similar. The first two paragraphs of this posting may have come as easily from a business strategy book, as a military science manual.
One of the concepts that I believe is particularly applicable in business is that of schwerpunkt. It was developed by one of the greatest military theorists, the Prussian Karl von Clausewitz (1780 - 1831,) author of the book On War.
The direct translation of schwerpunkt is centre of gravity (the point where the mass is concentrated most densely) and this is the most common meaning attributed to the term. In fact, the meaning Clausewitz intended may have been more subtle. Recent interpretations suggest that schwerpunkt means not the point of densest mass, but the point at which the maximum result can be achieved, with a given effort. Perhaps a better translation would be the centre of balance or the focal point.
For example, in May 1941 the Axis forces invaded British-held Crete. The British knew they were coming and in fact had detailed information about their order of battle. Yet they lost. The reason was that they did not grasp the concept of schwerpunkt. The German general staff certainly did and knew that the schwerpunkt in the campaign would be the airfield at Maleme. They attacked it with unbridled ferocity and forced the British back. Unable to resupply, defeat became only a matter of time.
If two forces oppose each other, one side having a clear, correctly focused plan of action and the other only a general idea of what is going on, the result is almost always a foregone conclusion.
This resonates very well with professional service firms, where resources (mostly but not only time, knowledge and money) are limited. There are almost always several alternative courses of action vying for resources, each with its own lobbyists. Focusing knowledge on what course of action will achieve the greatest return on investment seems intuitive, but the reality is that internal politics can paralyze action with endless debate, so that when the firm finally does move strategically it is not decisively but rather in bumbling fits and starts. (Many military analogies for this can be drawn through history; a depressing number of them ended in disaster.)
Should the available resources be spread evenly across the firm (we are all partners, after all, aren't we?) Should it be focused on growing the most promising practice areas and should less promising areas be deliberately allowed to starve? (See the posts on the Growth / Market Share Portfolio Matrix and Love Your Dogs for more information on how one can deal with this contentious issue.) Should funds be spent on new IT, marketing, higher staff salaries or be drawn off as profit? What about training? Which clients should the firm be focusing on and what should the firm be doing to bulletproof their key client relationships? Which clients are really a drain on resources and should be allowed to drain the resources of other firms instead?
Understanding the concept of schwerpunkt intensifies the focus of the entire strategy process onto achieving the maximum possible strategic impact with the resources on hand. By definition, this means a particular focus on execution.
"After we have thought out everything carefully in advance and have sought and found without prejudice the most plausible plan, we must not be ready to abandon it at the slightest provocation. Should this certainty be lacking, we must tell ourselves that nothing is accomplished in warfare without daring; that the nature of war certainly does not let us see at all times where we are going; that what is probable will always be probable though at the moment it may not seem so; and finally, that we cannot be readily ruined by a single error, if we have made reasonable preparations."
Karl von Clausewitz
As always, comments are most welcome and may be posted below.
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How do you pronounce Schwerpunkt? I can't find it anywhere on line - plenty of references but no clue on how to articulate it!!! Please advise - thanks!!!
Shwear as in "swear" but with an "sh" instead of "s" followed by "punckt" pronounced as in "pull" not "pun"
This page is utterly fascinating. I've found this site through this page, as one finds a treasure in a cave: surprised and happy.
I don't know what your traffic is, Mr. Millard, but I do know you have someoone who is carefully picking through all your writings with careful readings. I would think that would be better than more but casual instapundit traffic.
Well done article, and site. What a pleasure this is- and keep in mind please, I do not give out praise lightly (I give criticism out daily but praise only once every other year, if memory serves...I don't give it out enough to count).
