Sun Tzu and the Art of Business
In the 6th century BC, a Chinese strategist named Sun Tzu wrote a legendary tract called The Art of War. Although intended primarily as both a practical and philosophical examination and guide to actual warfare, the lessons found in the book have been applied to many other areas of human endeavor, with interesting results.
Clearly, business is not war, although it may feel that way at times when it comes to dealing with pressures, competitors, and challenges that are a daily fact of life across many different industries. Shaking out the battle-oriented language of Sun Tzu’s masterpiece, it is possible to glean several important nuggets of insight that can be applied to the modern business landscape.
Sun Tzu was an advocate of avoiding head-on clashes with a strong opponent, instead preferring to have armies probe their adversary for areas of weakness that could be attacked and exploited. Both small and large businesses can benefit by adopting this philosophy. When bringing products to market, it can be advantageous to gain a foothold in a particular niche and then gradually expand sales and market share over time, rather than simply blitzing a market that is already home to established competitive products. In fact, if a product or service’s launch is aimed in areas where pre-existing brands do not adequately serve consumers, or if it offers additional features when compared to popular choices, it may even be possible to catch competitors by surprise. In business, taking advantage of an organization’s ill-preparedness can lead to great success.
Intelligence has always been a huge aspect of military might, and in Sun Tzu’s day it was no different. The Art of War makes extensive reference to gathering as much information about the enemy and the battle ahead as possible, a strategy which is analogous to performing adequate market research prior to entering into a new sector. In the business world, assumptions can often be fatal – especially if they lack any kind of solid data to back them up. Instead of guessing, taking the time to actually investigate the chances for success in a given arena can often improve those chances to a huge degree. Become familiar not just with consumer needs and habits, but also with the past practices of other companies in the same field and how their efforts were rewarded.
A final interesting lesson to take from The Art of War from a business perspective is preparation and speed of action. Some companies feel that being the first to market is a sure way to achieve fantastic success. While in some cases this may be true, if an organization isn’t prepared to handle that success once it builds momentum, then it can quickly be overwhelmed by consumer demand. Nothing is more frustrating than wanting a product but not being able to acquire it because the company behind it doesn’t possess the means to produce and distribute it at an adequate level. Move as fast as possible when it comes time to introduce a product or service, but make sure that your business is ready to spring into action with as much support and production volume as needed to handle a roaring success.
Adopting an adversarial view of the business world can be seen as a somewhat negative approach. However, one does not have to run screaming onto the global business battlefield with swords drawn in order to appreciate the wisdom found in Sun Tzu’s masterpiece. Business leaders should approach the work with an open mind and strive to glean as much as they can from the centuries of knowledge that it represents.
