As the saying goes, "A mall is like a battlefield." Fierce competition has penetrated into every link of the business world, causing all participants to shout "too much"! So how can we "survive and develop" in the era of "involution"? The author has studied the art of war for more than 20 years, and believes that if we want not to "involute," we must first study "involution." As long as we have a clear understanding of the essence behind the phenomenon of "involution" -- competition, we will naturally be able to break away from "hand-to-hand combat" and even be able to "surrender without a fight"! So what is the essence of competition? The essence of competition is competition, and there are mainly the following three levels:
1. Spell cognition - see who can gain insight into opportunities
Sun Tzu said in the Art of War: "Knowing one's opponent and knowing oneself will not be defeated in a hundred battles." Knowing the heavens and the earth, victory is endless. "Cognition is the first level of competition between people, and it is also the first part. It is not only about understanding the world, but also about whether we can seize the opportunity in the competition and whether we can exert our strength in the right direction. In this age of information explosion, having deep cognitive abilities means being able to see through the surface of things and gain insight into their essence. So how can we win in the link of "fighting cognition"? To borrow a sentence from the well-known teacher Ma: think more about the things that others "can't see, look down on, and can't understand".
Doing things that others can't see requires us to have keen observation and a certain amount of forward-looking thinking. Just like when playing chess, a master strategist can always see the situation after a few moves in advance, so as to lay out the move. Ordinary people, on the other hand, can often only see the step in front of them, are confused by the immediate benefits, and miss the opportunity because of gains and losses.
And doing what others look down upon also requires enough courage and faith. Many times, those seemingly inconspicuous opportunities are often overlooked by most people. However, only those who dare to take risks and dare to try will be able to seize these opportunities and achieve corner overtaking and soaring. For example, when the Internet first emerged, many people were skeptical, believing it to be a temporary bubble. However, those with visionary ideas saw the huge potential and devoted themselves to the Internet industry (from portals, blogs, e-commerce, self-media, to short video/live streaming, etc.), and finally achieved a career.
In addition, you should be in awe of things or businesses that you don't understand, and not easily reject them. Only by maintaining a modest "empty cup mentality" can our thinking not be "solidified", can we slowly understand new things, and can we seize new development opportunities.
Second, fight to implement - to see who can be the last to come
As the saying goes: "Martial arts in the world are the only ones that are fast and unbreakable!" If everyone discovers the same "gold mine" at the same time, the most important thing at this time is to see who starts faster and who has stronger execution! Even if we have a deep understanding and discover a rare business opportunity, if we cannot translate it into practical action, we can only watch others "eat meat" and we can only "drink soup." Therefore, the competition at this level is to compare "who can do it faster", who can be the last to come, and quickly "stake the ground".
3. Fight for resources - see who can fight to the end
The competition of resources is the third level of competition between people, and it is also the most backward competition, which is embodied in the "dragon king competition". For the poor, small companies or those who are not rich in resources, try to win the first two battles, and do not drag the competition to this link. As for the rich, large companies, etc., they should do the opposite, and the competition must be delayed to this link. The author has studied countless cases and come to the conclusion that having fewer resources will definitely be at a disadvantage, but not necessarily in the competition. Because having resources, you don't necessarily use them, and you don't necessarily make them really valuable. As long as we can use resources at a higher level than our opponents, understand strategy and the art of war better than our opponents, and avoid a simple "war of attrition" and emphasize "outwitting", then there will still be a chance to "turn the tables against the wind"!
To sum up, the competition between people mainly exists at three levels: cognition, execution and resources. Cognition determines our direction and choice, execution determines our speed and efficiency, and resources provide us with support and guarantee. In real life, we must comprehensively improve our ability in these three aspects in order to stand out in the fierce competition. At the same time, we must also be good at using strategic thinking, responding flexibly in the competition, and constantly innovating in order to achieve the ultimate victory.
For more dry goods, please pay attention to the WeChat public account "Strategy and the Art of War", if you don't understand strategy and the art of war, how can you calmly deal with the increasingly fierce competition?