The Hindu Business Line : Come, let's play the game of Go

BILL Gates, Mao Tse-tung and John Nash. What's common among them? They have all played a simple two-person board game called `game of geniuses' or simply `Go', a 4000-year old Asian weapon for success. On a table that is too cluttered with work, there may be little space for a playbook, but find some time for Troy Anderson's The Way of Go, from Free Press (www.simonsays.com).

It discusses "8 ancient strategy secrets for success in business and life" to answer questions such as: use of limited resources for maximum gain, choice of initiatives to continue or abandon, when to lead and when to follow your opponent, and so on. "The board itself is composed of a 19 x 19 grid, with 72 edge points, a total of 361 intersections, and is split-able into four equal quadrants around one centre point," explains the author. "On the surface, Go is a contest between black and white stones... All moves in Go are irreversible."

Chapter 1, `Global Local', Anderson explains how in Go, "you try to surround this area or that area, but in the end, something goes awry and you don't get either." You don't know where your territory will come from ultimately, he points out. Change your lens from global to local and vice versa; otherwise, "you can get either detailed or holistic, deep or shallow, short term or long term." Remember that if you keep looking at things from only one perspective, "you will lose out to the opponent who can do both."

Next comes `Owe Save'. You need a balance between the two, which range from risk to caution. As in chess and undue diversification, in Go too, the opponent can see weaknesses that you cannot defend simultaneously. "If you attack without the proper build-up, you are vulnerable to counterattack. If you stretch the pendulum back and back, the opponent will have the opportunity to use that force to swing things back in your face."

Third is `Slack Taut'. Slack is like the leash you let out while walking your dog. "Your opponent, like the dog, has an independent mind." So, if you play too taut, "the pressure you are applying on the opponent may get judoed back in your face." In teaching too, you can tell people "that they are doing something wrong" through "nudging and not by outright approaches".

The fourth secret is `Reverse Forward'. Normal behaviour is to plan forward and reminisce backward, but "some of the more powerful techniques Go players use require you to plan backward and reminisce forward". How? "Backward planning starts with the goal and then looks at the steps needed to get there. Forward reminiscing is visualising the steps you're going to take and living in that future by putting yourself into that mind frame."

If you want to get ahead in middle management, how to apply this technique: "The right way is not to kowtow to one's boss or just sing the company's praises, contrary to popular belief, but instead to stand up to the establishment and challenge the status quo."

Fifth comes "Us Them". Football has used this technique, states the author. "In preparation for an upcoming game, coaches will study game film, analyse the opponent, and coach second- and third-stringers to simulate the plays and styles of the opponent." See through your opponent's eyes, is the message. Caution: "Opponent's moves could be feints, probes, or other indirect diversions from your real problems."

Sixth is "Lead Follow". Initiative is in leading, not in reacting to opponent's moves. Yet, it may be better to follow, at times." Allow him to drive you to victory, advises Anderson. "Sometimes the opponent forces you into good positions: Let it happen." Beware, there could be traps.

"Expand Focus" comes as the seventh rule because there's too little time and too much that you want to do. There are dangers in both. You can spread yourself too thin expanding; when too focussed, you may miss out on opportunities. "Just as you want to focus, you will want the opponent to get distracted and diffused," is a game worth trying.

Last secret is `sorry'. For what? "There are no rules," writes the author. Go, look beyond the rules, "transcend the simple structures that are like so much scaffolding, structures that help you get there, but are not the building itself."

ManageMentor@TheHindu.co.in

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