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From the Chairman: B2B Lessons from Gettysburg

Jim Meyers
Chairman, Custom Media Committee

05-Aug-08 —Last week, I attended a three-day leadership experience on the American Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania (one of Imagination’s B2B association clients extended the invitation). I’ve read several books on the battle and have watched the movie “Gettysburg” multiple times, so I jumped at the opportunity to see the Civil War battlefields firsthand. The staff of the U. S. Army War College provided unique insight into the strategies, strengths and limitations of the armies and their leaders.

Sixteen participants studied the three-day battle from both a tactical and strategic viewpoint, with the idea we’d apply lessons learned to our everyday business environments. Was it relevant? Absolutely!

Before the battle of Gettysburg, the South fought a primarily defensive battle, attempting to protect its territory, rarely looking for offensive opportunities. At Gettysburg, General Lee took a huge risk by pressing the attack. Unfortunately, several factors worked against him including the lack of a clear set of objectives, poor communication with his officers, poor competitive intelligence and an opponent who had the “high” ground.

On the other hand, the North, led by General Meade—who’d been in command of the Union army for three days—provided written objectives to every senior officer, held nightly war conferences to review results and strategy, had excellent battlefield intelligence and held the high ground.

Walking the battlefields, I compared the lessons of Gettysburg to my own company and to the current state of the B2B publishing industry. Many publishers today are fighting a defensive battle to protect their territory. They’re fighting to protect existing print publications from the onslaught of digital media competitors while trying desperately to protect advertising revenues from media shifts and budget cuts.

It’s difficult and, yes, very risky to take the offense in business strategy. But every day that goes by is another opportunity lost to change the direction of our individual business wars. A key lesson I took away is that constantly being on the offensive is critical to long-term success because you are constantly keeping your competition on its heels. You’re dictating the action, rather than reacting to it.

But your objectives and plans must be communicated and understood throughout your organization so that each employee can make the tactical decisions necessary to reach that goal. In turbulent times, we need to make sure that every employee is on the same page, understands the shared goal, and has the support they need to be successful.

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