Should Entrepreneurs Deceive?

Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at 01:43pm by David Askaripour in Operations

If you really think about it, deception has a lot to do with success in life. In order to gain an advantage, the chess player must deceive his opponent by using tricky tactics and stratagems, the basketball player must deceive the opposing players with pump fakes and sharp maneuvers with the ball, and soldier in war must deceive the enemy when hiding in the jungle appearing to be a part of the trees and grass.

Deception can also be used in entrepreneurship when done correctly. Now, I’m not talking about deceiving your customers – you should absolutely never – ever, ever, ever – do that. I’m talking about deceiving your competitors.

Savvy entrepreneurs know that when it comes to your competitors, it’s a battle that is only won with strategy, creativity, and deception.

Have you ever played a bit dumb when negotiating with another company in an effort to gain more insight into the deal? Have you ever spoke to your competitors about launching a service and ended up launching something completely different? Have you ever let your competitors think that they had an advantage and then hit them with a bag of new services out of nowhere?

If you’ve done these things or variations of them, then you’ve been practicing the art of deception with your competitors and that’s perfectly fine.

During these advanced times of business, I’m not sure if you can afford not to deceive your competitors. We’re living in a world where the fittest survive and adding deception into your arsenal can prove to be a powerful advantage.

Sam Walton knew that by starting Walmarts in small towns where none of the other larger chains wanted to enter would be a powerful deception that would render his competition complacent.

Walton entered these towns because he had a larger plan. He knew that with excellent customer service and dirt cheap prices, that he would eventually reach a critical mass with his stores and by the time his competitors caught on to his stratagem, it would be too late. Walmart is now the number one retailer in the world.

Another form of deception is secrecy. By making your competitor guess your next move or have them think that you are going right when you really plan on going left, you can gain a huge psychological advantage over them.

You have to be cunning and sly when it comes to knowing what information to release about your company and what information to keep sealed until the last moment when you launch. Keep your competitors in the dark where the only thing that they can do is wonder and wait for your next move.

If deception is used to gain a competitive advantage and solely focused on the competitor and never the customer, then it can catapult your business to new heights. However, there is a thin line between doing the right thing and the wrong thing, so be smart and don’t do anything immoral that can damage the reputation of your business for a lifetime.

Do you ever practice deception (hmm… not sure how many people are going to admit this one )?

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