
Fire and Motion - Leadership Strategies - Joel on Software - mattjaynes
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080401/how-hard-could-it-be-fire-and-motion.html?partner=fogcreek
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skmurphy
I think he is slowly working out Boyd's OODA loop (Orient, Observe, Decide,
Act) which says that a faster decision cycle in a competitive situation will
allow you to outperform your competitor. Fire and Maneuver are two types of
action, but I think he misses one of the key challenges most startups face:
they are in a battle of maneuver. They have to substitute agility for mass in
taking on more established competitors. See
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_Loop>

~~~
LogicHoleFlaw
Fortunately for startups,

    
    
      E = 1/2 mv^2
    

So, your energy rises with the square of your velocity, while the incumbent
competition only rises linearly with their mass.

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jimbokun
Google Docs = Fire and Motion.

I don't think Google cares much whether or not Google Docs ever replaces most
MS Office installations. But it forces Microsoft to respond and protect their
core business, and not focus on competing with Google in the markets Google
actually cares about.

Meanwhile, Microsoft disparately tries to get Yahoo, just to stay far behind
Google in advertising, but maybe less far behind than they are now (see
McDonald's trying to make Starbucks style coffee in the article).

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mixmax
Old but still very true

