Business is Warfare and you will best succeed by acting like a Warlord. Learn from the master, Sun Tzu and The Art of War.
Sun Tzu or Sun Zi (depending on translator) was the author of what is now called The Art of War written between 345 and 272 BC. I love this book. If you study it and understand the principles they can be applied to almost any endeavor. Over the course of my life I’ve used the principles in The Art of War for playing chess, football, trail running, competitive orienteering, Texas Hold Em and all manner of business. Business is a form of warfare.
To me this is so basic. A foundation which all other thoughts about Business Strategy and Tactics originate from. Many people are using aspects of The Art of War without knowing it! They do not understand the basics of the the strategies they employ. This means that you can defeat them in business with superior strategy and tactics. Over the next few months we will articulate how and why.
Please feel free to join the conversation. Add your thoughts, ask questions, dispute examples. I defy you to prove that The Art of War does not apply to modern business.
To paraphrase Sun Tzu: “A CEO must be informed about all five of these factors*, but only he who truly understand them will be victorious, while those who fail to understand them will be defeated.”
In modern business terms the five factors are a type of SWOT model or PEST analysis.
- Moral Influence = Organizational Moral and belief in Mission
- Weather = “Outside Forces” as found in a PEST Analysis
- Terrain = Marketplace, think of the 4 Ps.
- Commander = Management structure / leadership
- Doctrine = Principles
In our next installment we will expand on these concepts and also introduce the basic format that we shall be following.
