Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed in the quality of this article, especially given it tries to tackle something that is so non-intiuitive. Unpredictability runs the universe, so it's evidently not a horrible strategy at some level, given I wrote this.
The author states unpredictability is NOT the same as secrecy, but then goes on to say "building fake factories" is not a good strategy. If a corporation built fake factories, then the fact they were fake would be a "secret" that only they knew about for a time (diversion).
On the other hand, if the corporation randomly picked an activity that was obvious, such as diving into a new product line, the new product line would be real and there would be no secret behind the move (given it was randomly chosen to be produced). The "purpose" behind the move may reveal itself as added profits by taking existing production efficiencies and applying them to a random product. Or, it could be a tactical maneuver to confuse or disrupt the competition (in other words, it could also be a diversion).
The problem with these types of discussions is that they typically fall into the bucket of "talking about talking about doing something". One will have a hard time seeing the benefits of it while only discussing it.
The author states unpredictability is NOT the same as secrecy, but then goes on to say "building fake factories" is not a good strategy. If a corporation built fake factories, then the fact they were fake would be a "secret" that only they knew about for a time (diversion).
On the other hand, if the corporation randomly picked an activity that was obvious, such as diving into a new product line, the new product line would be real and there would be no secret behind the move (given it was randomly chosen to be produced). The "purpose" behind the move may reveal itself as added profits by taking existing production efficiencies and applying them to a random product. Or, it could be a tactical maneuver to confuse or disrupt the competition (in other words, it could also be a diversion).
The problem with these types of discussions is that they typically fall into the bucket of "talking about talking about doing something". One will have a hard time seeing the benefits of it while only discussing it.