The Guiding Policy V

...the policy itself also created advantage by resolving the uncertainty about what to do, about how to compete, and about how to organize.

A guiding policy creates advantage by anticipating the actions and reactions of others, by reducing the complexity and ambiguity in the situation, by exploiting the leverage inherent in concentrating effort on a pivotal or decisive aspect of the situation, and by creating policies and actions that are coherent, each building on the other rather than canceling one another out.

For example, Gerstner's "provide customer solutions" policy certainly counted on the advantages implicit in IBM's world class technological depth and expertise in almost all areas of data processing.  But the policy itself also created advantage by resolving the uncertainty about what to do, about how to compete, and about how to organize.  It also began the process of coordinating and concentrating IBM's vast resources on a specific set of challenges.

ACTION POINT: Reduce complexity and ambiguity and use anticipation to create advantage.