Hyperwars Audit

Hyperwars
11 Strategies for Survival and Profit in the Era of Online Business
by Bruce Judson, Kate Kelly

Take an audit of your company's readiness
The purpose of this audit is to bring to life, for your company, the ideas discussed in HYPERWARS. The audit is designed to probe how deeply people in your business have adopted the attitudes that will be necessary to succeed in the emerging competitive battleground.

SECTION I: STATE OF MIND

1. What is the mind-set in your company today regarding the Internet and the speed of change?

By and large, do people within your company view the Web as something that will dramatically change their business or is it generally regarded as "not a big deal"?
Where the Internet is regarded as important, do the people in your company believe that they have to act fast to win or lose with regard to the opportunities it presents? Or is the Internet seen as a factor that can gradually be addressed over time?
Are Web-based businesses considered possible threats to your core business? If not, can you imagine a scenario where they might be?
Is there a belief within your company that, under certain circumstances, the Internet could transform your basic business at a dizzying rate? If not, what protects your business from the possibility of rapid change?
SECTION II: ASSESSING YOUR READINESS TO COMPETE

A proactive approach and an ability to move quickly and flexibly will be central attributes of winning companies in the era of HyperWars. This section helps you to determine whether your company has sufficiently developed those capabilities.

2. Is speed (to develop new products, to deliver made-to-order goods, to deliver shipments ordered) a priority in and of itself within your company?

Do you know of companies in your industry that can do things faster than you? If so, why do they have this edge?
Would objective third parties view your business as nimble?
3. Have you established, and taken full advantage of, a company-wide intranet?

Is it used to further aid in the overall speed of everything that happens within the company?
Has it been deployed to cut costs wherever possible?
Is it used to promote information-sharing that leads to better products or service from the company?
4. Have you established an extranet that encompasses your key customers and suppliers?

Can you imagine any ways in which the extranet could further build relationships with customers and suppliers, speed development times, or cut costs? If so, have the necessary changes not been implemented for valid reasons?
5. Have you investigated new procurement methods, such as digital age middlemen and preapproved online supply catalogs, that can lower your costs?

SECTION III: BUSINESS VULNERABILITY

Some businesses are inherently more vulnerable to Internet-based onslaughts than others. This section is designed to help you think through the degree of your business's vulnerability to rapid Internet-based change.

6. Can you imagine how any aspect of your product could be delivered better, faster, or cheaper online?

Can you imagine how online activities might add value to your customers' product experience?
If you can imagine these possibilities, have they been implemented by your company?
Have competitors implemented any of these ideas? If so, are you concerned about what these competitors are doing? If not, why not?
7. Can you imagine the development of a service or product that could entirely destroy your business?

If so, what would the characteristics of this service or product look like?
If any variation of such a service or product were launched, do you know how you would want your business to react? Do you believe your business could react fast enough in the way you would like it to? If not, should you invest now in developing this type of response?
Are there actions you can take today to block the successful implementation of a service or product that could destroy your business? Does it make sense to invest now in such efforts?
8. Are you a middleman of any kind (brick and mortar or online, dealer, retailer, agent, reseller, or distributor)?

If so, are there special ways in which you add value for your customers?
Do you believe this value is sufficient to prevent customers from buying directly from your suppliers, or to prevent suppliers from selling directly because they know they can't compete with the value you add?
9. Do you sell your product to middlemen (as defined above) or directly to the end user?

If you do not sell directly to the end user, could you via the Web? Have you started serious experiments to build your business through this distribution channel?
10. Have you experimented with developing new, Web-based products? Are these products targeted at your traditional customer base or at a new base of users? Is it possible to expand your customer base?

SECTION IV: MAKING IT HAPPEN

This section, in a sense, returns to the start of the audit. My research indicates that companies that succeed in adapting their businesses to meet online competition have a game plan and people in place with designated responsibilities.

11. Who in your organization is accountable for the answers to the above questions?

If no one person is responsible, do the individuals you believe to be accountable unambiguously recognize that this is an important part of their job?