The Hut On Hen's Legs - Baba Yaga

Have you ever heard the piece of music called "The Hut On Hen's Legs"? (Also known as 'Baba Yaga' or 'The Hut on Fowl's Legs') - It is a very famous piece of music from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an exhibition". It is a wonderful piece of very dramatic classical music, and was even included on "Classical Thunder" - a compilation album of stirring classical music.

It is also the theme music for my all-time favourite TV series. This series was made by the BBC (obviously), back in 1977. The series is called "The Secret War".

"The Secret War" is all about the aspects of the Second World War which weren't commonly known by the general public at the time. (Hence the title, obviously).

The series covers how very difficult problems were solved (and in some cases not solved!), not by soldiers on either side of the battle, but by scientists and engineers. One episode covers the invention, and development of RADAR, and the counter-measures taken by either side to regain the upper hand.

There is a common thread that runs through the series, and it is this; someone comes up with a new idea, totally out of left-field, which has the potential to change the way that war is fought, and may even help to win the war, and how the establishment cannot grasp this new development, and does not want to risk time and money developing this new idea, because the people responsible for signing it off have no idea what the development really means.

Does this sound familiar? The reason this series is my favourite, is because it contains interviews with the people who either came up with, or developed, or actually used in anger, each of the new breakthroughs that are covered in each programme.

One episode is entitled 'The Battle Of The Beams', and it covers how scientists in Germany had adapted an existing technology ('Blind Approach Landing', used to guide aircraft pilots safely to the runway at night or in poor weather conditions), and turned it into a mechanism for guiding bombers to their targets. This initial system was called "Knickebein" (literally 'Crooked Leg' in german and also the name of a magic raven from a german fairy story). Professor R.V. Jones of Air Ministry Scientific Intelligence then relates his story of how he discovered the existence of Knickebein, and how he and a team of scientists came up with a series of counter-measures to render the Knickebein technology useless. The german scientists then went on to develop other systems ('X-Gerate' and 'Y-Gerate' (aka 'WOTAN') to regain their advantage, and again, how R.V. Jones and went on to neutralize these systems too.

The thing about the series that is most fascinating, is that 'The Secret War' was fought on many fronts (not geographical ones, but scientific/engineering ones) all at the same time - and it has provided my with a huge insight into commerce (or maybe you call it 'business'?) - A General ('Company Director') who fights a new war ('selling a product or service') without appreciating how the battlefield ('marketplace') has changed since the last battle ('signed contract was received'), is at an immediate disadvantage if the enemy general ('competing company director') has a new, secret weapon ('new product or service'), that the General does not know even exists!

The flip side of this is where an engineer proposes a new weapons-system ('new product or service') to his commanding officers (company management), which is turned down flat, because it is ;

1. too expensive
2. too difficult to understand
3. means admitting that the existing weapons ('products and services') are now obsolete
4. no perceived use for it on the battlefield ('no market for it')

To fight a war, you need;

people
money
fuel
food
communications
courage
weapons

To compete in the marketplace you need;

people
money ('fuel' and 'food')
communications
courage
products and services ('weapons')

Not a *huge* amount of difference between the two above lists, is there, really? (Okay, in war, people are killed, on both sides - in commerce, people lose their jobs on both sides)

Are *your* competitors developing "RADAR" or a "Knickebein"? Are *you* developing "RADAR" or a "Knickebein"? - if the answers to those two questions are "Don't know" and "No", then you are probably going to lose the battle, and possibly the war!

Yes, it's hard taking the decision to spend money and effort on new products and services - and hoping your competitors aren't taking risks either is a BIG gamble - watch the series for yourself, and you can see just what happens if you dither or if you to choose to put in maximum effort and take the gamble! :)

[rewind]

P.S. This is blog entry is not a glorification of war, and does not condone war, but is purely intended to get a point across. And also to rave about just how good programmes made by the BBC are, even 30 years after they are made :)