On War, On Marketing

Carl Von Clausewitz wrote about an interesting concept in ‘On War’. Friction. To quickly explain it: when the best practice for a pursuit is clearly understood, and the strategic and tactical concepts are simple and widely understood, the most important factor in success is in execution and overcoming friction.

Clausewitz wrote about warfare in the 18th century, but a lot of the ideas he developed regarding leadership and strategy are interesting and remain relevant. Friction is one idea that is especially relevant.

Most plans are simple. A website needs to be built, or a certain amount of creative needs to be made and published. All the information needed to meet these aims is available to practically everyone in the market place. The success or otherwise of most projects is not in the planning. It is in execution.

This is where friction comes in. Clausewitz wrote about how an inability to communicate clearly, weather, the uncertainties of the terrain, incomplete, old or incorrect intelligence can all stop a commander from executing their strategy with the speed and certainty needed.

The same can be applied to online advertising, and other projects. As important as the original vision, brief or spec maybe, it is how well the project is executed, and how well unforeseen problems are dealt with that determine its success.