Coopetition Interactive is © 1996 by the Authors.
Games in business are played in a fog--not von Clausewitz's fog of war,
perhaps, but a fog nonetheless. That's why perceptions are a fundamental
element of any game.
It's perceptions of the world, regardless of whether they are accurate,
that drive behavior. Mike Marn, management consultant at McKinsey, recounts
a striking example: "One price war in industrial electrical products
started when an industry trade journal mistakenly inflated the total market
volume by 15%. The four major players all thought they had lost market share
and dropped prices to recover what was really never lost."
The job of managing and shaping competitors' perceptions is an essential
part of business strategy. In 1994, for example, Rupert Murdoch's New York
Post cleverly averted a price war with the rival Daily News. by creating
the perception that it was ready to start one. Presently, we'll see how
this came about.
Sometimes it's customers or suppliers, not competitors, that need convincing.
How can Federal Express absolutely, positively convince people of its reliability?
How can a job candidate convince a prospective employer that it won't go
wrong by giving him a chance? How can an author convince a publisher that
he has a great book to write--and that he'll complete it on time? The need
to convince goes both ways. How can the employer convince the job candidate
that it will provide valuable training and experience? How can the publisher
convince the author that it will invest in marketing the book? These are
some of the questions we'll answer in this chapter.
Perceptions play a central role in negotiations. Buyers and sellers often
have different views of the pie; sellers portray what they have to offer
as valuable, while buyers remain skeptical. Perhaps these are honest assessments,
or perhaps they are negotiating ploys. How can buyers and sellers come to
an agreement? What should they tell each other? What should they not tell
each other? Should they try to resolve any difference in perceptions before
trying to reach an agreement? We'll also answer these questions and suggest
some new ways to negotiate.
The domain of perceptions is universal. Everything is a matter of perception,
even perceptions themselves. Reflecting the breadth of this topic, the chapter
draws examples from several different spheres of life--the business, the
personal, and the everyday.
Change people's perceptions, and you change the game. Shaping perceptions
is the domain of tactics. By "tactics," we specifically mean actions
that players take to shape the perceptions of other players. Some tactics
are designed to lift a fog, others to preserve a fog, and yet others to
stir up new fog. We'll look at all three possibilities.