Strategic Thinking: Sun Tzu’s Legacy and the Modern Business (Part 2)

The previous post described some of the Sun Tzu’s strategies and how a manager can use them in business today.

Sun Tzu says:

What enables a wise general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is the foreknowledge. Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; cannot be inductively obtained from experience, nor by any deductive calculation. The knowledge of enemy’s disposition can only be obtained by other men.

Sun Tzu emphasizes on the use of spies and he categorizes the spies into different groups. The foreknowledge is a fresh information that the company obtains from the enemy. I have already discussed the importance of panoramic view, but this panoramic view without having a prey focus is useless.

The other men that Sun Tzu mentions are quite important to you and your company. This is the other men who bring you the most important information. Management is the art of doing things by others and a wise manager knows how to get the required information from others; the information about the enemy which is aligned to the goals and objectives of the company.

As mentioned in the previous post, the enemy is not only the competitor but can also be translated into other company’s stakeholders as well. Thus, you are not going to gather information through an unethical approach, but you can use your network, stay updated on industry news, or send out your team to conduct survey and field research.

The entrepreneurial intelligence was also discussed before. Having a good intelligence plan to gain useful information that you need is quite vital for the company. Getting feedback from customers and knowing your target audience cannot be done by merely sitting on the computer and search for information; but you need to send your team out or even better outsource the survey in order to leapfrog the false information caused by subjectivity and bias of your own team members. Do not miss your competitor’s ads at all, as they give their value proposition over there.

Sun Tzu says:

There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, and commands of sovereigns which must not be obeyed.

Sun Tzu reveals one of the most popular mistake of managers in our era; to struggle without enough knowledge, experience and good plan. There have been failures in business by having a wrong plan, false information, or choice of wrong industry or market. When a manager uses a panoramic view besides having a prey focus approach, he/she knows well the areas that should not be touched. This comes trues in particular when you know yourself and your enemy well; following the basic of Sun Tzu’s strategy.

Having a prey focus approach is the most important part of this saying of Sun Tzu. You need to focus on your prey; know your customers and their needs well, know your competitor well, know the market you want to enter well, know your suppliers and their capabilities well, know your own team members well, and know your path and network well. This way you will not enter in any market available, you will not manufacture any product you can, you will never acquire any type of company you can, you will not buy from any supplier you face, you will not apply any strategy you are suggested, and you will not advertise in any media you know.