The Crossing, Part 1

I thought I would start by explaining the title of the blog… the Tack or Cross decision.

Sailing

Imagine two cars at a four-way intersection next to one another. Each driver knows where he or she is going and crosses one another by yielding, turning, or going straight to their destination. Simple.

This is not as simple in sailboat racing because both boats have the same destination. Boats will impede others so they can finish ahead. There is no better time to impede another boat then when you are right next to them.

When boats cross one another, each boat makes a choice if they want to keep going straight (cross the other boat), turn to follow the other boat (tack), or perhaps force the other boat to turn (could mean either a tack or a cross). In making their choice, a sailor makes a quick assessment:

• Where is the opponent going?
• Why are they going there?
• Do I want to follow them that way?
• Do I want to keep going my present course?
• Can I force them to go the wrong way?

In the midst of answering these questions, one must consider the following: you cannot beat your competition by simply following them, nor can you win by doing the wrong thing.

A sailor can come to a quick conclusion on how to handle the crossing by using this framework. This framework allows them to focus on the decision at hand; to ask themselves these, and only these questions, so that other factors do not cloud the decision process. He or she may not make the right choice; it is a game after all. With time and experience, the better the sailor becomes at making these decisions.

Business

Now shift your focus from boats to companies. A manager or firm constantly comes into contact or “crosses” the competition with new products, services, and offerings. They make many decisions and they, much like the sailor, can get easily bogged down with extraneous information.

Here is a real example of a business crossing: imagine that you are Motorola. You will unveil your new product, the Razr², in eight weeks. Suddenly you hear that Apple released a new product, the iPhone. The iPhone has a revolutionary touch screen that is not on the Razr². The iPhone is an instant success. Motorola now could ask themselves some difficult questions:

• Does Motorola want to follow Apple and add a touch screen?
• Should it continue with the release, believing that the Razr²’s features differ from the iPhone and that it will be successful on its own?
• Can Motorola discredit the iPhone by demonstrating its lack of 3G and other features?

If you notice, the questions that Motorola could consider are similar to the questions considered by the sailboat racer in a crossing. A crossing can cause a lot of indecision and second-guessing for some firms or cultures. By applying the framework, a company in this situation can quickly devise a plan on how to react and not go astray from the decision at hand.

Combining Sailing and Business

To me, a sailor's racecourse and the marketplace are the same. Therefore, for business, the framework applies to more than just this real-world situation... As Newton said, objects remain in motion until acted upon by an outside force. This framework applies to most decisions where an outside force affects your current course, whether in sailing or in business. Any manager or sailor can use these framework (even if modified) to focus only on only what they need to make the decision.

Some of you may be thinking that decisions are not this simple, that some decisions require larger considerations. While I agree, I believe that in the majority of decisions, we tend to add complexity to where it is unwarranted. However, certain crossings do require consideration of the big picture. I plan to discuss those types of decisions in part two of this thread, to come later.