Sun Tzu for the Suburban Entrepreneur

This week I took a look back at a book I read as an elective in college. Despite its title, it really doesn’t have much to do with violence, but rather is an ancient text with instructions about becoming successful using strategic thinking, making plans, and out-thinking the obstacles in your way. I’m referring to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

This classic of Chinese history and philosophy, saw a great resurgence in the United States, in certain high-powered circles, during the 1980’s. Characters in movies, like Michael Douglas’ GORDON GEKKO, in the 1987 film “Wall Street”, typified the “winner take all,” “kill or be killed” mythos that Americans came to associate with The Art of War. Gordon may have coined the phrase, “Greed is Good,” but he and others like him, would be wrong to dismiss it as a brutish and bloodthirsty self-help book you need to ingest on your way to the top. There are actually quite a few insights relevant to modern-day business, that don’t require you to smite or conquer anyone.

Right at the beginning of Art of War, Sun Tzu lays out the (5) factors that determine victory in battle, but with a little modern reinterpretation, they can also work for success in business. The (5) factors are:

1) Moral Law
2) Heaven
3) Earth
4) The Commander
5) Method and Discipline

Let me explain.

MORAL LAW, according to Sun Tzu, was a principle of harmony that united armies around an idea or leader. It gave them something to fight and die for. It was MOTIVATION to act beyond your own selfish reasons. For today’s business warriors, you’ll be most effective when you have a COMPELLING REASON to succeed. Whether that is a company mission you are inspired by, a strategy you have had a hand in helping to create, or an inspiring leader.

HEAVEN, is Sun Tzu’s way of referring to the natural forces that are beyond the control of any military commander. The Sun and Moon, day and night, weather, and natural disasters are all examples of UNEXPECTED things that effective military commanders had to know how to deal with. Modern business folks also have to be prepared to deal with people, events, organizations, customers, and even the weather that pop up without warning and threaten your success. HAVE A PLAN to deal with emergencies and unexpected challenges, even if you don’t know exactly what those events will be.

EARTH, to Sun Tzu, dealt with the physical world and things he could measure and see, like Mountains, Rivers, distances to travel, etc.. A smart commanders MAKE PLANS according to the obstacles they can see, an will be successful as long as they are flexible when unexpected things happen. Business owners also need to CREATE A PLAN FOR THE MUNDANE, everyday things are easy to predict. Advanced planning is not just for emergencies, but necessary even when everything is working smoothly. Planning helps us transition from task to task and goal to goal, and keeps us moving in the right direction.

THE COMMANDER, in Sun Tzu’s world, stood for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. These are based on the (5) CARDINAL VIRTUES of Chinese society, which are: (1) humanity, (2) uprightness of mind, (3) self-respect and self-control, (4) intellect, and (5) good faith and honesty. For today’s business folks, true success is as much an INTERNAL STRUGGLE as an external one. It’s the Golden Rule. It’s the Rotarian motto of, “Service Above Self.” It’s all about living your life as the best possible version of yourself, and improving yourself Mentality, Spiritually, Emotionally, Intellectually, and any other way you can.

And finally, METHOD AND DISCIPLINE, to Sun Tzu, refers to military organization and logistics. It’s more planning, but it’s tightly focused on DELEGATING AUTHORITY and making sure you have the resources you need, when and where you’ll need them most. This is an extremely important lesson for modern business people. Dreamers and idea people, like myself, can come up with “out of the box” solutions, but sometimes struggle to put those solutions fully into practice, or find that we’ve failed to plan ahead for something we’ll need in the end stages of an operation. Sometimes you’ll need to delegate and BRING IN OTHERS, with other talents, to help you reach your goals.

I highly recommend that you take some time to peruse The Art of War (only .99 cents on most e-reader platforms), and glean some insight on how to become more strategic and out-think the obstacles in your way.