Over the next two weeks, I will be posting a series of blog entries on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Today, I start at the beginning: chapter one. (Makes sense.)
If you are not familiar with the book, I highly recommend it. It’s a fast read, and most versions have commentary at the beginning that provide a fascinating historical context for the work. There is also a terrific website, sonshi.com, that has a copy of the book, interviews (including one with me), and a forum dedicated to The Art of War. I highly recommend perusing that site.
So here are the key questions that jump out at me from chapter one: first, why study war? And second, what’s the framework for understanding how to win?
The first question is easy: because if you ever find yourself in a war, you had better know how to win. Not engage, not skirmish, but win. Only by being able to win a war can you hope to avoid one.
The second question is deceptively complex. Sun Tzu lays out a five point model for thinking about the elements of warfare. Master these five elements, and you’ve got it made in the shade. They are: the “way”, heaven, ground, command, and law/doctrine that sounds simple only until you start to apply it.
Way is culture or influence. It is the ability of leaders to unite subordinates under a common theme and create a heightened level of commitment to the common cause. Sun Tzu puts this as the first amongst equals.
Heaven includes things like season, weather, day/night, warm/cold… in business parlance, I liken “heaven” to macro-economic strategy: do you understand the environment in which you operate?
Ground includes, literally, issues related to terrain: hills, valleys, distances, woods, etc. For businesses, this translates into micro-economic strategies and tactical execution.
Command, in the military as in business, reflects issues related to people, and especially leadership.
Law/doctrine refers to organization, control, supply lines, and provisions. Think processes and technology.
But as “all warfare is based on deception,” the way these five forces come together is incredibly nuanced and involved. Your enemy is a hothead? Provoke him. You are too few in number? Stay on the move until you can build your ranks. Your enemy is weary? Make him come to you and lay siege on your towns. Oh, and by the way, maintain discipline, trust, unanimity, and total commitment within your camp at all times.
Think about the leadership skills required to keep an entire organization focused and committed when your entire strategy is a feint! No wonder “the way” is listed first!
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There are many metaphors used in business and management. “War”, “sports”, “exploration”, “creating”, just to name a few. The idea that business and management are “warfare” is an old and out dated metaphor, unless you are Robert Nardelli. There are times to be tough and times not to be. There are times to be a coach and times to be a player. There are times to be the lead mountain climber and times to be the Sherpa.
The real challenge of management and leadership is knowing when to be which.
I began reading the Art of War many years ago.. and decided it didn’t apply to the real world of business and management. While the book extols the virtues of flexibility, (a positive trait) treating everyone like they’re the enemy doesn’t resonate with me.
The five elements are fine, but once again, I can use them without thinking of business and management as war.
If we look at those managers and leaders who treat their competitors as enemies and their direct reports as soldiers, invariably take a heavy toll on people. There are better ways to lead and manage.
Be well,
Steven
I am a Major in the United States Army and I am currently attending the Command General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This is a year long school which teaches newly promoted Majors how to think and not what to think. This will be the last formal military education many of us will have until we are promoted to LTC. We are being given the tools required to set us up for success as Field Grade Officers.
Part of our studies focuses on military history. However, we do not cover Sun Tzu, although we probably should. Alot of his lessons still apply to both the art and science of war today. It applies not only to conventional warfare, such as force on force with a peer enemy. But also to stability operations and counterinsurgency operations.
Question one is as you say very easy. You study war because you want to win. Not to broker a peace deal or make a compromise or a cease fire, but to win. However, I will take it a step forward and say you also study war to ensure the peace and protect the citizens of the nation.
Question two has the elements of war. The U.S. Army has expanded on this with the principles of war. These are as follows:
Objective
Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective.
The ultimate military purpose of war is the destruction of the enemy’s armed forces and will to fight. The ultimate objectives of operations other than war might be more difficult to define; nonetheless, they too must be clear from the beginning. The linkage, therefore, between objectives at all levels of war is crucial; each operation must contribute to the ultimate strategic aim. …
Offensive
Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
Offensive action is the most effective and decisive way to attain a clearly defined common objective. Offensive operations are the means by which a military force seizes and holds the initiative while maintaining freedom of action and achieving decisive results. This is fundamentally true across all levels of war. …
Mass
Mass the effects of overwhelming combat power at the decisive place and time.
Synchronizing all the elements of combat power where they will have decisive effect on an enemy force in a short period of time is to achieve mass. To mass is to hit the enemy with a closed fist, not poke at him with fingers of an open hand. Mass must also be sustained so the effects have staying power. Thus, mass seeks to smash the enemy, not sting him. This results from the proper combination of combat power with the proper application of other principles of war. Massing effects, rather than concentrating forces, can enable numerically inferior forces to achieve decisive results, while limiting exposure to enemy rife. …
Economy of Force
Employ all combat power available in the most effective way possible; allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
Economy of force is the judicious empioyment and distribution of forces. No part of the force should ever be left without purpose. When the time comes for action, all parts must act. The allocation of available combat power to such tasks as limited attacks, defense, delays, deception, or even retrograde operations is measured in order to achieve mass elsewhere at the decisive point and time on the battlefield. …
Maneuver
Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.
Maneuver is the movement of forces in relation to the enemy to gain positional advantage. Effective maneuver keeps the enemy off balance and protects the force. It is used to exploit successes, to preserve freedom of action, and to reduce vulnerability. It continually poses new problems for the enemy by rendering his actions ineffective, eventually leading to defeat. …
Unity of Command
For every objective, seek unity of command and unity of effort.
At all levels of war, employment of military forces in a manner that masses combat power toward a common objective requires unity of command and unity of effort. Unity of command means that all the forces are under one responsible commander. It requires a single commander with the requisite authority to direct all forces in pursuit of a unified purpose. …
Security
Never permit the enemy to acquire unexpected advantage.
Security enhances freedom of action by reducing vulnerability to hostile acts, influence, or surprise. Security results from the measures taken by a commander to protect his forces. Knowledge and understanding of enemy strategy, tactics, doctrine, and staff planning improve the detailed planning of adequate security measures. Risk is inherent in war; however, commanders must not be overly cautious. To be successful, commanders must take necessary , calculated risks to preserve the force and defeat the enemy. Protecting the force increases friendly combat power. …
Surprise
Strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
Surprise can decisively shift the balance of combat power. By seeking surprise, forces can achieve success well out of proportion to the effort expended. Rapid advances in surveillance technology and mass communication make it increasingly difficult to mask or cloak large-scale marshaling or movement of personnel and equipment. The enemy need not be taken completely by surprise but only become aware too late to react effectively. Factors contributing to surprise include speed, effective intelligence, deception, application of unexpected combat power, operations security (OPSEC), and variations in tactics and methods of operation. Surprise can be in tempo, size of force, direction or location of main effort, and timing. Deception can aid the probability of achieving surprise. …
Simplicity
Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and concise orders to ensure thorough understanding.
Everything in war is very simple, but the simple thing is difficult. To the uninitiated, military operations are not difficult. Simplicity contributes to successful operations. Simple plans and clear, concise orders minimize misunderstanding and confusion. Other factors being equal, the simplest plan is preferable. Simplicity is especially valuable when soldiers and leaders are tired. Simplicity in plans allows better understanding and troop leading at all echelons and permits branches and sequels to be more easily understood and executed. …
I believe that in some context each one of these can be translated to the business world. For example unity of command works both in the military and the business world. If you own a business and each section of the business has a different vision, you will soon find your business having a hard time being successful.
Maneuver to me can be translated to product placement. If you are able to place a product in a market that your competition has not this may give you an advantage. Once you have maneuvered into this new market you should have the advantage over your competition.
Leadership development is important both in the military and business world. Actually, it is important in every aspect of human life. How we develop others as leaders will be very important to our future. I believe the more we study people like Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz and others, the better prepared we will be to develop ourselves as leaders and others as leaders.