Road Maneuvering vs Business maneuvering.

Is there any similarity between something as simple as driving a car on the road and maneuvering the most complicated and difficult turns in business everyday.If u give it a deeper thought one can see some similarities and attributes quite similar.

I happened to observe this during one common everyday drive. As we move on a highaway some things we notice:

1. The next signal starts getting visible from far as we get near through fog,dust or turns and other obstacles.

2. Most of the Traffic violations happen at signal posts, as one tries to outsmart the rest by speeding little to cross the finish line i.e. The Signal

3. The next clever ones tires to burn few additional drops of oil and be the first to reach the signal, but still stop when the signal turns orange to red, so that they will be the first to move when it turns green.But what about the additional drops of oil, are they worth the minor advantage???

4. The distance between bumper to bumper is very crucial, too near..possible accident if not very alert, too far…some one else will try to squeeze in to utilize the opportunity to zoom past.

5. When one is almost at the signal, traffic ahead looking too much, possibly the second car from the signal has one possible plus, a right only or a left only lane. how about that?

All these and many more possible aspects have correlation to business maneuvering at a closer observation.Fog, dust and curves and obstacles are there for sure in business.In business the signals even more uncertain, unlike traffic signals where green has to come after red for sure.This makes it even more demanding for businesses and todays managers to be far more flexible and proactive to changing signals about the future of their business and the industry on a whole.On road, atleast u can see the vehicles surrounding you.In business the obstacle can come from any direction, some times from the most unlikely corners.So this can be easily attributed to the soldiers position in the battlefield.A moment of negligence can cost what? ? What happens if u take the wrong curve?. It is too tempting to change course when u face the last situation mentioned above.What about the violators.Some get caught. Some escape(These who escape give the rest some reason to try it themselves.)Some get their tickets delivered to home too. In the traffic situation, the surveillance equipment can play the role of the police. In the Business marketplace the regulatory watchdogs does the same job, even better nowadays. The result : More and more Enron’s, WorldCom’s e.t.c. The count is growing by the day, just like the Market grew in boom period.What about the one who burns little extra gas to be first to the signal. If one tried to cover too much in too little time. The speed goes up beyond the limits. This means trouble. Assume they reached the signal first. But in case of businesses the extra drops of gas correlated to additional couple of million of dollars. Whether these additional millions will add any value in the long run is the deciding factor of the future of the company. This is the possible place where Strategic Planning comes into picture.