Weekly Juice
2013 16
Silk Armor, Outthinking Your Competition
and
Disruptive Innovation
Europe's finest were prepared. They knew the army from Asia was on its way and Europeans had an army to defeat them – the best army they ever assembled. Yet, that army was thoroughly defeated by the Hunnic tribes that swept across the steppes of Russia and the Asian plains through modern day Hungary.
If the two armies stood side by side, and you were laying odds on the winner, you would have certainly picked the traditional, armor-laced troops of Western Europe. They had archers, foot soldiers and cavalry. This was the composition of all successful armies in Europe at the time. They believed themselves invincible.
Much like the artillery of more modern day warfare, the archers would go in first to soften up the enemy and reduce its number. Then the foot soldiers attacked, while the cavalry would be held back until the foot soldiers tired. Then, men on horses would sweep in from the flanks to crush the line and win the battle. This was the standard way to fight. Everyone in Europe fought this way. The best generals cleverly manipulated their archers, foot soldiers and cavalry to outwit and sometimes simply overpower their opponents.
The Huns just did not agree. They had their own approach – radical in concept compared to European standards. They did not wear armor so their horses moved far faster and lasted longer in battle. Additionally, they would use multiple horses in a single day to advance quickly or gain advantage of fresh mounts in battle. They did not have foot soldiers – everyone was on a horse. They did not have archers per se. All the soldiers were atop a horse. All were archers. They did not fight in lines drawn up to fight against an opposing line. The Huns fought like they hunted; they encircled the enemy.
While they did not have armor made of metal, they did have the protection of silk. Yes, silk. They wore silk and placed it on their horses as well. This did not serve in the same way as metal armor. Instead it prevented arrows from creating a gashing wound. The arrows would penetrate, but could be pulled out with far, far less damage.
Since they fought atop horses and fired their arrows at full gallop, they were " too fast" for the stationary archers of Europe who were unaccustomed to hitting moving targets that did not fight in lines.
Some say they were the inventors of the stirrup. These allowed the Hunnic warrior to stand while on horseback and shoot in virtually all directions while moving.
The bows of the Hunnic archers were smaller than the bows used by the Europeans. To further advantage, their bows were recurved composite bows that increased accuracy, speed, force of the arrows and distance while being lighter. Perfect for someone on a horse.
The Huns were victorious until the Europeans adapted. But this was not easy. Nor was it fast. It took a long time. The advantage remained with the Hunnic tribes for quite sometime allowing the Huns to forge into virtually all of Western and Eastern Europe while creating an eastern European empire of their own.
What are the lessons of this foray into history? And how can you apply these in the here and now? What else should this quick recount of historic advantage teach you? (I 'll give you that one right now: history is important for the lessons it teaches that you can apply in the present while giving you a modicum of prediction of the future as you come to understand human nature. Human nature remains a constant even while technology grows exponentially.)
The Huns out-thought their adversaries, who mistakenly considered them but savages.
They used disruptive innovations on warfare process by disregarding the "accepted way" of battle, confusing the opponents, and thus further slowing them down, sometimes to the point of freezing up.
They used speed to surprise and overpower their enemies utilizing lightning fast (for the time) forces that could fight in one part of the battlefield and then quickly strike another. Their opponents simply did not move that fast.
The Hunnic battle gear consisting of composite bow, large and small swords, lassoes and lances gave them advantage in close quarters and in distance attacks. They had superior armaments.
The Huns troops were safer from injury and death aided by their silk armor, and speed tactics of war.
They trained to be on horseback with composite bow from childhood. It was part of the fabric of their society.
All of these advantages led them to endless victories and a prominent place in the memories of the peoples of today.
Now here are five questions for you:
How can you create unfair, insurmountable advantages?
How can you use speed as your ally?
How could you use training to better "arm your troops?" to overpower the opposition?
What process can you create that gives you competitive edge that others will ignore (at least for now?)
How could you redefine the battlefield with your competitors to give you victory by virtual default?
Can you use Hunnic history to propel your business or professional practice forward?
By the way, how many people that you know use the fulcrum of the past to leverage their present to create the winning future?
Why not you? You never know, you just might outthink your competition.
0 comments:
Post a Comment