In his column Hector Torres makes the second installment of the principles expounded by Sun Tzu, the Chinese warrior who wrote The Art of War in 500 BC.
by Héctor R. Torres, PhD, CPP, CFE, CHS*
A fraternal greeting from Puerto Rico to all colleagues and readers of this column! It is a pleasure to share again with you. In the previous column I was reviewing the principles expounded by Sun Tzu, the Chinese warrior who wrote The Art of War in 500 BC. I explained how the principles of Sun Tzu's book can be applied in the business world and especially in the security business. In this column we will continue to explore these principles by focusing on the use of strategies in the business world.
Strategy
In previous writings I have highlighted that the strategy is based on allocating and positioning resources on the battlefield and in the case of business in the market. This is done to ensure victory and success. However, in order to carry out the strategy, some basic rules must be considered.
First, you always have to take into consideration the wants and needs of customers as well as the ability of a company to fulfill those wants and fulfill those needs. No strategy would be effective if the customer is not taken into consideration. Second, no strategy should be formulated as a reaction to competition.
Strategy is not a competitive game. Rather, it should be focused in terms of the customer and the market situation. Third, the strategy must take into consideration the resources available as well as the regulatory environment. Fourth, the strategy is the product of a thorough analysis both internally and externally to identify strategic opportunities in the market. These basic rules are highlighted in the basic strategy of Sun Tzu's Art of War which consists of these three principles:
1. "Subjugating the enemy without fighting": In terms of business, strategy should be focused on customers and not on the competition. For this, a non-confrontational strategy must be developed. You should not compete with rivals in the market but meet the needs of customers.
2. "Capture your cities without attacking them": Applying this principle to business, the strategy is to use an indirect approach to compete and win in the market. The strategy is to create or offer a product or service different from the competition to create an initial niche.
3. "Overthrow the country without the use of protracted operations": Protracted wars are physically, morally, economically, and financially devastating for a country. The same applies in the business world. A company should never engage in a protracted strategy that exhausts its resources. If it does, it runs the risk of losing greatly and ceasing to exist.
Fundamental Points of the Art of War
Sun Tzu in The Art of War emphasizes that all good strategy is based on fundamental points that cannot be ruled out. In his own words Sun Tzu explains:
Therefore, there are five points where victory can be predicted:
1. He who knows when to fight and when not, will win.
2. He who understands how to deal with higher and lower forces will win.
3. He whose forces are united in purpose will overcome.
4. He who is well prepared and waits for the enemy who is not prepared will win.
5. He whose generals are capable and not interfered with by their regent shall win.
It is through these five points that victory will be known. Therefore I say to you:
* If you know the enemy and know yourself, you will be able to fight a thousand battles without the danger of being defeated.
* If you do not know the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing will be equal.
*If you do not know the enemy and yourself, you will be defeated in every battle."
The application of these important points has great relevance for those competing in the business environment of this century. In order to compete we have to have good information to decide the best time to implement a strategy. We must use different strategies when we confront superior or inferior rivals in the market.
Unity of effort when implementing a strategy is vital to its success. You have to be proactive, take the initiative and take advantage of the opportunities that our competitors discard. For the strategy to be effective, it is necessary to decentralize its execution. Finally, no strategy can be effective if we don't know our market, our rivals and ourselves.
Although The Art of War was written more than 2500 years ago, its principles present us with a solid foundation for ensuring success in the volatile and changing business world of this century.
For more information on the principles of The Art of War I suggest Gerald and Steven Michaelson's book Sun Tzu, The Art of War for Managers (2nd edition) published by Adams Media (www.adamsmedia.com). I invite you to continue to share your ideas and concerns of the world and security management.
A hug and see you next time!
* If you wish you can write to the author of this article by email: [email protected]
