What is the “Make It Obvious" law and how can you use it in business context?
Knowing your “opponent” before direct confrontation can give you huge advantage in many situations. Today I would like to share with you my experiences on why such behavior can increase your chances to succeed and how to do such research before.
Introduction
Everyone, who ever came across the The Art of War book, author of which is Sun Tzu, knows, that real victory starts long before the battle. In short, the philosophy is based on premise, that most of your success is based on appropriate preparation. To increase your chances, you should first of all take care of your knowledge. It is the most important weapon, which you can bring to the battlefield, more precisely – knowledge about yourself and about your opponent. It is fundamental rule, which goes far beyond the battlefield – it refers to business, sports or even interpersonal relationships. Why? Because before taking any action, it is crucial to:
🟢 Recognize your own capabilities.
🟢 Identify areas, which should be improved.
🟢 Analyse strengths and weaknesses of both yourself and your opponent.
🟢 Understand context and conditions in which the “battle” takes place.
🟢 Think about a plan to surprise your opponent.
Let’s compare your chances in popular situations, when you have described knowledge and when you don’t
Football match
Without preparation
❌ You don’t know your opponent’s tactics from previous matches, their key players or patterns of play.
❌ You don’t know what to focus on more during trainings before the match.
❌ You can make mistakes in player selection (for example, you don’t know, that enemy’s striker is really fast and you are choosing a slow center-backs to play againt him).
With preparation
✅ You know opponent’s patterns and key player strengths, so you can adjust your team’s tactics better to play against them.
✅ Your team can train weaknesses identified earlier before the match.
✅ Team feels better prepared and is ready to defeat the opponent.
Job interview
Without preparation
❌ You don’t know company and you can’t point values, which are important to it.
❌ You can’t answer to most of recruitment questions and your answers seem uncertain.
❌ You don’t give the impression of being the right person for this position.
With preparation
✅ You know company and values, which are important to it.
✅ You answer recruitment questions confidently, demonstrating your knowledge effectively.
✅ You are making a good impression.
You can probably compare infinite number of such cases, but with help of these two you will definitely agree, that there is significant difference. It show us directly, how important is knowledge about your opponent before the battle.
Let’s switch to practical part of this article! Let me tell you, how to do value research before your battle.
1. Gather important informations, for example
🟢 If you have math test – Find out what the scope of the required material is. Then search and list all clear sources, which can be helpful for you during learning.
🟢 If you have job interview – Look for information about the company, learn about recruiter you will meet and ask for experiences previous candidates, who had such interview in the same company (through forums/blogs/LinkedIn).
2. Prepare a strategy, for example
🟢 If you have math test – Plan your study time wisely. Proritize the most challenging topics, but don’t neglect basics. You can also set a time to simulate test and take care of appropriate revisions before real exam.
🟢 If you have a job interview – Plan to practice mock interviews with your friend. Make strategy for handling unexpected questions by preparing adaptable answers.
3. Analyse informations, for example
🟢 If you have math test – Learn from earlier gathered sources. Try to gain as much knowledge as possible. Identify areas where you need extra help or practice.
🟢 If you have job interview – Understand company culture and values, analyze the recruiter’s personality type and skills, prepare popular questions related to the job and try to answer them.
4. Try to predict possible scenarios, for example
🟢 If you have math test – Consider what additional knowledge might be useful during the test. Are there different types of tasks, or could there be questions where multiple answers are correct? encounter tasks where many answers are correct?
🟢 If you have job interview – Delve deeper into earlier prepared questions. Do you also think, that there can appear additional questions you should be ready for? For example, you might need to prepare for a technical interview, HR interview or both.
Concluscion
Please remember, that these tips are universal and you should adjust them to your own situation. It is not really important whether you are manager, athlete or primary school student.
The sooner you start taking action, the more you will increase your chances of winning your “battle”. Good luck!