November 2023 (1) – War and Peace

As the world struggles to make sense of the intractable wars in Ukraine, Middle East and some parts of Africa and we wonder if these will ever end, I think it is important for entrepreneurs to reflect on war and peace and see if there are lessons that can help.

Most of us may have read or at least heard about the fictional narrative work titled War and Peace by the famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy. The book highlights the impact of Napoleon's war on the Tsarist society through the interwoven stories of the three families - the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys and the Bezukhovs – and it brings out the philosophical divergence between the broader moralistic viewpoint of society with that of the individual’s.

Just like the book itself which is very difficult to read and digest, both War as well as Peace are themselves anthropological situations that defy any simple analysis of causes and impacts. The interplay of greed, justice, fear, loss, prosperity, loyalty, persecution, liberty are often complex. But they are seldom as obtuse as we may like to believe. Military strategists have therefore always endeavored to study them and leverage them for success.

So why should it be any different for entrepreneurs and business leaders? At the very least, understanding such interplay can help resolve dilemmas that often arise between what is good for different stakeholders and what is good for the enterprise. Let’s check out.

The Interplay Around	Leads To
Greed – are the financial performance targets commensurate with the capabilities of the resources being accessed and being deployed. Is the deployment done in a fair manner?	If the answer is No, then there will be War with Shareholders, Bankers, Vendors and Employees
Justice – is there a system for ethics and governance that can transparently and quickly assess any breach of norms and provide a recourse?	If the answer is Yes, then there will be Peace with Regulators, Employees and Shareholders.
Fear – Do you constantly fear disruptions from technology, IP theft, employee fraud, restrictive cash flow budgets, competitive pricing or changing customer preferences?	If the answer is Yes, then there will be debilitating internal War.
Loss – What does loss of relevance mean in the various stakeholder relationships that the enterprise is managing? Will such a loss critically impact image/brand or future competence to compete?	Whether the answer is a Yes or a No, you are at best in a zone of Ceasefire. War or Peace is only temporary.
Prosperity – Whose prosperity will be upended if the enterprise becomes successfully entrenched? Is there a way to co-opt such a stakeholder early in the life-cycle of the enterprise?	If the answer is a No, then there will be War that will constantly undermine the future growth of the enterprise by such stakeholders.
Loyalty – Are you confident of maintaining customer and shareholder loyalty?	If the answer is Yes, there will be general Peace.
Persecution – Are your vendors, employees and the local community indicating directly or indirectly that they face persecution in the course of following your company’s operational systems? Do you know what needs to be done?	If the answer is No, then the stage is being set for a debilitating War which will invite outsiders to break the organisation.
Liberty – Is there operational freedom for employees and local communities to contribute to and benefit from the enterprise’s growth plans?	If the answer is Yes, then there will be reinforcing conditions of Peace.

Knowing these, will it not be easy to know when to avoid a war or how to maintain peace with stakeholders so that the enterprise can sustain its success?