Strategies in the news (May 9, 2022)
Staying on Top (a supplement to The Strategy Toolkit)
1) Competing by doing what your competitor doesn’t do: Chinese gamer NetEase versus Tencent
“NetEase is big and trying to get even bigger — in part by doing the sorts of things its closest competitor, Tencent Holdings Ltd., wouldn’t do.
“A part of that strategy kicked off last week, when NetEase opened its first game development studio in the U.S. It’s the latest in a years-long quest to expand beyond China, which has become all the more urgent since Beijing’s crackdown on internet companies..”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-05-10/netease-sets-sights-on-video-game-consoles
There are strategies in which you imitate the leader (e.g. fast-follower) and there are other strategies whereby being distinctly different (in this case, focusing on consoles, investing in the United States, etc.) is key…
2) What is four-dimensional physics and what does it mean for product strategy?
“In physics, topological indices lie at the heart of electrical, optical, and other behaviours in many materials. In particular, they often classify electronic energy bands in a crystal. When nontrivial, those indices guarantee special properties, such as the existence of currents circulating around the edge of a material despite the bulk remaining insulating—as in the aptly named topological insulator. Similar to the genus of a squishable orange, the indices are hard to change, so topological properties, such as those special edge currents, can be remarkably robust even in the face of disorder, as long as the bulk remains insulating.”
https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.4981
The idea of higher level dimensions is seen more often in science fiction than the everyday world of experimental research. But just as we’ve seen with quantum physics and its quantum computing applications, the counter-intuitive yet mathematically robust concepts underlying four-dimensional physics are about to expand beyond the laboratory…
3) The parallels between the LME’s nickel-trading debacle and the LIBOR scandal
“Like all established exchanges, the LME benefits from the power of networks: the more traders it attracts, the more others flock to it. A consequence is that the LME has a formidable market share in metals trading.
“Like many London institutions, it leans on its heritage. It has a 145-year history, and is the last open-outcry venue in Europe. Viewed from New York or Connecticut, though, heritage looks like backwardness, and the LME’s face-to-face trading a sign of its insularity. For now nickel trading has resumed in London. Players have returned to the tables, a few of them cursing like Santoro. But the game will never be quite the same again.”
A timely reminder of the integral role of trust in complex markets and financial strategy. LIBOR fell apart once trust was compromised. Consider this a red flag warning for the LME...
4) Developers of small modular nuclear reactors see a silver lining in shifting geopolitics and macroeconomics
“Going small also offers opportunities to simplify the design, which helps keep costs low. The cooling water in NuScale’s plant circulates through the core by simple convection, requiring no pumps or moving parts. And smallness, says Chris Colbert (NuScale Power’s chief strategy officer), brings safety benefits, too.”
The unintended consequences of the vast array of economic sanctions against Russia are equally vast for the rest of the world, not the least of which is the effect on energy prices and supply guarantees. Not only is this upending efforts for combating climate change, but it is forcing a re-think of energy strategies globally…
5) Cyborg insects: robotised arthropods may search collapsed buildings for survivors
“They have begun fitting species of cockroaches with instrument packs that might let them do a useful job: searching collapsed buildings for survivors.
“One such researcher is Sato Hirotaka of Nanyang Technological University, in Singapore. He has been working on cyber-insects (including flying versions, in the form of giant flower beetles) for 15 years. Now, he has added another twist to cyber-roaches. Instead of having their movements dictated by remote control, his are autonomous agents. They are run by algorithms that respond directly to sensors in their backpacks.”
https://www.economist.com/babbage/2012/09/18/roaches-to-the-rescue
Such a great example of gaining strategic insights from biology. The field of augmented animals is exciting and poised to grow incredibly…
