Sun Tzu "Art of War"

Art of Business Strategy and Strategic Thought

During the Warring State’s period, military general and strategist, Sun Tzu, wrote his famous Art of War. The Art of War, a military treatise, covers different strategies and tactics of warfare. In following Sun Tzu’s principles, a state will be successful in warfare. His military strategies and tactics have proven to be more than successful, as they have been highly referenced and used in warfare throughout the past 2500 years. Being a military text, the Art of War is clearly important to the history of warfare. However because many of Tzu’s ideas are not focused on the actual combat itself, the Art of War is easily applied in any situation involving competition or strategic planning. The Art of War’s most modern applications can be seen in the fields of sports, law, business, and even dating. Out of the Art of War’s most modern applications, Sun Tzu’s work has made the largest impact on the business world. Companies do not engage in warfare with each other, rather they are in constant competition to be the highest ranked in their respective industries. The Art of War’s principles and idea’s can easily be seen throughout the world today. Sun Tzu’s principles they are the most influential contribution is to the study of strategy, specifically in the area of business.

Around 500 B.C.E in Ancient China, most states were constantly receiving enemy threats or were engaged in warfare with enemy states. During the Warring States period, a states means of survival and success were centered around warfare, “Warefare is the greatest affair of state, the basis of life and death, the Way (Tao) to survival or extinction” (Tzu 167).  Sun Tzu wrote his most famous of his military texts, The Art of War, during this period. The Art of War is guided by the principle of heavy analysis and research before proceeding with any actions. This text not only challenged and shaped the “art” of warfare itself during Ancient China, but set the ground work for all strategic thought to come.

In the world of business, to do well as a company, the industry you are in must be somewhat successful itself. To be in a dominant position, companies need to share their industries market in a way that they will profit from (McNeilly 14). This is the idea of profitable market share. Two of Sun Tzu’s principles are very applicable to profitable market share. First is Sun Tzu’s idea of preserving your opponent; “Preserving the enemy’s state capital is best, destroying the enemy’s state capital is second best. Preserving their army is best, destroying their army is second best” (Tzu 177). Mark McNeilly, author of Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six Strategic Principles for Managers, explains that while trying to gain dominance in your industry, one should not destroy the profitability of the industry (14). In this case, by trying to take out competitors and single handedly dominate an industry; one would end up hurting themselves. McNeilly continues with an example of Marlboro, a cigarette brand, who began price cutting when they started losing market points to their competitors (14). Marlboro believed this would benefit them because they had run a single test on their customers, but “What competitors decided to do become clear soon enough. As the other major industry players cut prices drastically, soon no one was making money” (McNeilly 14). Sun Tzu states “Thus it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements. One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes be victorious, sometimes met with defeat” (Tzu 179). By only knowing the customers reaction and not the competitors, they were “met with defeat”.  Had Marlboro tested their competitor’s response to price cutting before implementing it, they would’ve saved money. Michael Handel, author of Master of War: Classical Strategic Thought, states that it is necessary for strategist to understand the nature of the war being fought (5). The idea of familiarizing oneself with their competitor or enemy is a guiding principle in strategic thought today.

While Sun Tzu believes in preservation of the enemy, he also states that eliminating the enemy is sometimes necessary. In terms of business, a company can eliminate a competitor as long as they are able to gain share in their industry, without destroying their industry. For example, “video rental company Blockbuster, which was successful for many years but in 2010 was flirting with bankruptcy because it did not respond to the new business model Netflix developed of directly mailing or delivering videos online to consumer’s houses” (McNeilly 20). In this situation, Netflix was applying multiple of Sun Tzu’s principles. The first principle is to attack where he is not expecting; “strike positions that are undefended. To be certain of an impregnable defense, secure positions that the enemy will not attack” (Tzu 191). By providing customers with the convenience of easy access to their movies, Netflix attacked an area in which Blockbuster lacked. By creating a more convenient experience, Netflix bettered what Blockbuster was doing, giving Netflix the upper hand.  This idea of improving the technology has been used for thousands of years. At the same time Netflix was attacking another aspect of Blockbuster, its leadership. Michael Handel comments that defeats are worsened the poor performance of leaders to develop strategies to counter their opponents (8). Blockbuster’s inability to attempt to respond Netflix’s business model can partially be accounted to its leadership. In the workplace, engaged and motivated leader’s make or break companies. Similarly, strong military generals make or break the success of the armies.  

The second principle of Sun Tzu’s in use is capturing the enemy, “Change their flags and pennants to ours; intermix and imploy them with our own chariots. Treat the captured soldiers well in order to nurture them. This is referred to as conquering the enemy and growing stronger” (Tzu 174). Netflix bettering the at home movie watching experience, conquered its failing competitor. Granted this did not merge the two companies, a positive outcome still arose. By conquering their lesser competitor, Netflix was able to create a new market, resulting in a large profit for them.

The Art of War has had an endless amount of applications throughout history. Countless tactics and ideas are taken from the text and applied in daily life. People knowingly and unknowingly apply these principles from thousands of years ago in some of the simplest aspects of their lives. Being one of the earliest recorded texts focusing on strategy, most of the strategic principles used today have derived from this text. Society’s constant progression has changed how strategies are applied in war or competition. However, the dynamic of war and strategy have withstood the test of time. It can be reasonably said that the Art of War is the most influential work in the strategic thought. Because strategy is used to advance in all aspects of life, Sun Tzu arguably has set the framework for how to be successful.

Summary

In reading Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”, I focused specifically on chapter’s 1, 3, and 6.  Each of the chapters covered a different aspect or tactic of war, while all tying into the same general themes of knowing yourself and the enemy, and analytical thinking. In the first chapter, “Initial Estimations”, Sun Tzu introduces his Art of War by stating the importance of warfare to the state, “Warefare is the greatest affair of state, the basis of life and death, the Way (Tao) to survival or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed” (Tzu 167). This idea of analyzing is very important to Sun Tzu’s methods. Throughout the rest of the Art of War, all of Sun Tzu’s tactics and strategies are formulated from thorough and careful analysis. Sun Tzu goes on to explain his structure of war: tao, heaven, earth, generals, and laws (Sawyer 167). Through using these elements for comparison, you will be able determine a course of action based off of your strengths and your opponent’s weaknesses. I specifically liked this chapter because Sun Tzu while it emphasizes how critical warfare was to the state, his process to go about warfare very is diplomatic and analytical. Sun Tzu’s work logically makes sense. He is able to support all of his actions through careful research and planning.  The idea of analyzing your opponent reminds me of John Greco’s “Virtues in Epistimology”. Greco and Sun Tzu believe that to be successful or come to good conclusions, you must use have a strong (or virtuous) process in how you came to the conclusion. In both cases the authors believe in asking questions, and using logic. At the same time, his confidence in determining his opponents outcome gives his work a slight arrogance, similar to utilitarianism but nowhere near as extreme. However, because Sun Tzu is able to reasonably justify his actions, I don’t think he fits in to the utilitarian category.

Sun Tzu introduces the idea of being opportunistic and knowing how and when to attack ones opponent. This idea becomes especially important in Chapter 6, “Vacuity and Substance”. By chapter 6 we have a solid idea of Tzu’s strategy, “Sun Tzu’s basic strategy focuses upon manipulating the enemy, creating the opportunity for an easy victory, and applying maximum power at the appropriate moment” (Tzu 138).

In chapter 3, “Planning Offenses”, Tzu shifts his focus to employing the military. He introduces a really interesting idea of preserving the enemy, “Preserving the enemy’s state capital is best, destroying the enemy’s state capital is second best. Preserving their army is best, destroying their army is second best” (Tzu 177). Tzu goes on to explain a hierarchy of different attacks, listing attacking the opponent’s cities at the bottom. Tzu states that attacking these the enemy’s cities should be avoided at all costs (Tzu 177). This idea of winning without necessarily attacking the enemy or engaging in conflict gives Tzu methods a sense of morality. Here Sun Tzu seeks to conclude that to be successful, it is necessary know yourself and your enemy so you are able play to your strengths and to your opponent’s weaknesses.

Annotated List of Works Consulted

Handel, Michael I. Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought. 3rd Rev. and Expanded ed. London: F. Cass, 2001. Print.

Handel’s Classical Strategic Thought compares Sun Tzu’s work with other philosophers in classical strategic thought. It provides in depth comparisons and evaluations of the Sun Tzu’s work in relation to other strategic thought. I used this source as a reference to military strategy. By looking at the military strategy, I was able to compare and contrast the differences between military and business strategy.

Jackson, Eric. "Sun Tzu's 31 Best Pieces Of Leadership Advice." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 23 May 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

This article provides a quick summary of the Art of War by listing his main points and most important quotes from the text. I used this source to help narrow down my areas of focus and simplify my ideas.

McNeilly, Mark. Sun Tzu and the Art of Business. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

McNeilly’s Art of Business goes through six of Sun Tzu’s main ideas and shows how they were applied in different areas of the business world. I heavily used this source for the application of Sun Tzu’s strategies applied in the business world. I also used business examples from the text to compare and contrast other ideas and tactics Sun Tzu mentions in his writings

Tzu, Sun, and Ralph D. Sawyer. Art of War. Trans. Ralph D. Sawyer. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994. Print.

Sun Tzu and Sawyer’s Art of War is the source of my primary source. The book also provides a section that gives historical context as well as an introduction analyzing the text itself. I used this source as my primary source and took some of the information from the historical context section.