Chapter 1 Part IV

5) Equipped level and numerical strength of army - Technology available to staff

Now in war the equipped level and the numerical strength of the army plays and important part in victory. Because the larger the army, the more you can strengthen you positions or attack more places to distract your enemy. The next best thing would be to equip your army with the best armor and weapon so that they have the advantage over the enemy’s army. This advantage, no matter how small or little, will be important during war. Because as I said in war, it is either live or death, for the nation as a whole.

So how does this relate to business? We can easily interpret this as the equipped level of your staff in carrying out their jobs. For instance, an employee cannot do much if you only provide her with a typewriter. All she can do is fill out forms or file a report. But if you provide her with a computer, now that is a totally different thing. She can do calculation of account, enter accounts and so on.

Each and every staff should be equipped with the bare necessities to help improve their work rate. We have seen how Wal-Mart is using the latest technology, RFID, to help improve their logistics and sales. By using technology, you would be able to provide your staff with real time data so that they can make quick decision and clinch sales easily. Of course all these have to be weighted against the costs of buying and installing the technology. Be well versed with the latest available technology, note their development and once it is advantageous to equip your staff with it, go ahead to buy it.

6) Training Level of Army – skill set and knowledge level of Staff

When we say equipped level, most people would quickly relate to technology available to staff, we tend to overlook the software which is the skill set of the staff. We need to send our staff to attain more skills and knowledge. Knowledge of the industry to feel the pulse of it, new developments in their field like sales and marketing, knowledge of maximising the efficiency of the technology available and so on. A computer is nothing if one does not have the knowledge to use. Now another point I want to mention here is that most employer would send their employees to pick up skills that are needed immediately but this often does not provide a company with a competitive edge, what employers should look out for is sending staff to obtain skills that are needed in the future so that you are well equipped to handle the new opportunities that you foresee coming and reduce the reaction lag as mention in Porter’s Competitive Strategy.

Now a lot of people worry that if you send these people to improve their skill sets, they would leave for greener pastures when they are poached for that skill. I would suggest that you make this clear to the employee and ask that he be contracted for a period of time or at least require the staff to pay part of the training fees, not substantially of course.