The Journey Continues: Attack by Strategem
Ronald O. Neely
Sun
Tzu stated that supreme excellence is achieved when a general can
subdue the enemy's forces without any battle being fought or
resistance being offered. Short of supreme excellence, he
describes a descending order of precedence regarding when and how to
execute warfare. For example, if you cannot subdue the enemy
without fighting, the next best thing is to attack your enemy in the
open field. The least desirable type of warfare is to besiege a city
or country and attempt to take it over. Modern examples of Sun
Tzu's philosophy exist in recent history. Consider if you will
how President Kennedy handled the Cuban Missile Crisis in
1962. Without a single shot being fired, he was able to suppress
Russia's plans to put nuclear weapons in Cuba. Conversely,
consider the decision to invade Iraq in 2003. History will be
the judge of the appropriateness of that decision, but it was
unquestionably more difficult and costly. 
Perhaps
you can think of similar examples in your organization. In business,
supreme excellence is achieved when organizational objectives are met
and there are no negative consequences. Many times however,
organizations must choose between competing objectives and tough
decisions must be made at all levels.
In
chapter three of The Art of War, Sun Tzu coins the term attack
by stratagem. He describes the responsibility of the
general to analyze the entire situation, to include the environment,
the opposing forces and his own forces' capabilities and constraints,
prior to engaging in warfare. Once a general understands the
situation as much as possible, he or she can then apply the "rules
of war" most appropriately. For example, if an enemy is
superior, it should be avoided. If an enemy is inferior,
it can be surrounded and captured. Finally, if the enemy is
equal, a good fight can be offered. In a business application
then, the idea is to ensure the leaders have as clear and complete an
understanding of the situation before choosing the best way forward.
Sun
Tzu goes on to describe the ways a leader might bring misfortune to,
or hinder his forces. One way is to ask the troops to do
something they are not realistically capable of doing. Imagine
working in an organization where funding is cut, but the workload is
increasing and leadership is asking the workforce to do more with
less! Or, perhaps you've worked in an organization where
information wasn't shared very well; leaving the workforce to
speculate on what was coming next. Sun Tzu knew 2,500 years ago
that lack of information to the troops and leaders failing to adapt
to current circumstances leads to certain anarchy in any
organization. To help ensure the general's success, he offered
the "essentials of victory" to include:
- Know when to fight and when
not to fight (prioritize your objectives)
- Know how to handle
superior, inferior and equal forces (adapt to the situation)
- Motivate your troops with
the same spirit throughout the ranks (share
information)
In today's world, it is essential to develop a
clear and complete understanding of the organizational situation, to
the extent possible, before taking action toward organizational
change, or responding to environmental change. Perhaps Sun Tzu
said it best when he stated, "If you know yourself and you
know the enemy, you need not fear the result of a hundred
battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, you will be
successful half the time. If you know neither yourself nor the
enemy, you will lose every fight."
If
your organization is experiencing challenges, like most are, maybe
now is a good time to ask some tough questions. How well do you
know your own strengths and weaknesses? How well do you know
the strengths and weaknesses of the people you work with and you work
for and who work for you? What organizational resources are in
jeopardy of going away and what can you count on to be there in the
future? What are the organizational priorities? What
tasks and objectives must be reached at all costs and what task and
objectives can you put on hold if the resources to accomplish them
are simply not available?
These
are difficult times. But, history has proven again and again
that the wise leader can still obtain victory, even in challenging
and difficult situations.
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