48.1 Assessing the Strength

 48.1 Assessing the Strength

Question:

What are the essential things that one should consider before launching a venture?

Answer:

Before launching any venture, consider and compare the resources required

for the venture, your resources, the resources of the enemy (competitor)

              and the resources of your supporters.                                                        (Couplet – 471)             வினைவலியும் தன்வலியும் மாற்றான் வலியும்

துணைவலியும் தூக்கிச் செயல்.                                              (குறள் – 471)

Explanation:

When a king goes to war, he should consider the financial and military resources needed to win the war. He should also assess the resources available at hand, the resources of his supporters and his enemy. Then, he should decide his course of action.  When a businessman wants to enter a new line of business, he should consider his strengths and weaknesses and compare them with those of his competitors. He should also consider the capabilities of his suppliers and distributors. Also, when an individual wants to achieve something, he should consider the resources needed for the task, his own resources, his competitors’ resources, and the resources available from his supporters. So, this advice is applicable to everyone.

 

These days, corporate and military planners base their plans on what is known as  “SWOT Analysis.” SWOT is the acronym for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat. Though the details may vary, the basic idea of Valluvar in Couplet 471 and the SWOT analysis is very similar.

 

By way of explanation for this kural, Dr. S. M. Diaz attributes the humiliating defeat of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the Kuwait war to his failure to assess his military strength and that of the United States. If an individual’s goal has anything to do with competing with others, then SWOT analysis principles are also applicable to that individual.