The Battles Of The Yore

It is technology that is causing this change in perspective. When technological change was slower and markets were stable, the vital task before a corporation was increasing its share of the market and profits. This could be done only at the expense of its rivals and, therefore, it made sense to have a war-like approach to business.

Things have changed a lot since then. Now technological change is happening at a speed that no one can control and many markets are undergoing dramatic upheavals. Look at telecommunications, finance or the media, for example. In an environment like this, the most important task before a corporation is not ensuring incremental growth in sales and profits; it is ensuring survival in the turbulent future. This forces corporations to look at their competitors in a different light altogether: they're co-travellers in the same boat, rather than antagonists in a battle field. It makes sense, therefore, to sit down with some of them and see if you could steer the boat to safe shores together. This is a simplistic description of the process at work, but what is happening in the information technology industry is remarkably similar.

The industry is in ferment, new standards are bound to emerge as the Internet revolution continues and every major company in the industry is scrambling to make sure that it ends up on the winning platform. No one can set standards all by himself and, therefore, alliances and networks are the only way to ensure that you stand a chance to survive in the future. Microsoft and Intel, which already dominate the industry and, therefore, have a lot at stake, are working together to set the new standards. Sun Microsystems, after looking like a loser for years, has got second wind with the Internet revolution and is working out its own alliances.

The new lesson is, however strong you are, if you are alone, you are doomed. Apple Computers tried to go it alone for years and had to face bankruptcy before changing tack. Not everybody gets such a second stance. That is why the corporate leader in the next century will be in the coopetition mould rather than in the traditional competition mould.

The demands on the corporate leader of the next century will be different from what they were during much of this century. Robert E. Spekman of the University of Virginia who led a team that did research on strategic alliances, has this to say about the new leader: