The ART OF WAR For Startups

[DennisttJege]

Sun Tzu emphasized the importance of positioning in military strategy. The decision to position an army must be based on both objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective beliefs of other, competitive factors in that environment. He thought that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment; but in a changing environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations.
How to apply THE ART OF WAR in Startups
Waging War Successful military campaigns require limiting the cost of competition and conflict. Startup Advice - Successful startups are comprised of people who have worked on startup teams before.
Strategic Attack The source of strength is unity, not size. Startup Advice- It’s better to be the team quietly plugging along on a product instead of the team that is at every event, celebrating before they have actual success.
Forces Importance of creativity and timing in building an army's momentum. Startup Advice - All startup team members must work hard toward a common goal, but there has to be a reward for doing so.
Military Maneuvers How to win confrontations when they are forced upon the commander. Startup Advice - Larger companies should keep startup teams and their product intact after an acquisition.
Variations and Adaptability The need for flexibility in an army's responses. Startup Advice - Form strong alliances with other startups and trade services to help each other grow.
Now watch a short animation on: The Art of War - Sun Tzu

Good Luck!
Dr. G.L. Danford

[Douglasot]

Thank you for your post, sir. May I ask what makes you a "Dr." (I would be happy to learn that you are a professor of warfare.)

Indeed, Sun-Tzu emphasized the importance of positioning. He did so with his actions. As we see in the famed story of Sun-Tzu defeating an army of 300,000 with a mere 30,000 soldiers. Only his positioning, applying (and teaching grand strategists both centuries, and millennia, in the future) guerrilla warfare, and the principles of Go, can logically explain the most legendary of stories, the stories of war and battle (perhaps eclipsed only by Genghis Kahn's arrival at The Gates of The Shah). And even if you subscribe to the "Sun-Tzu did not exist and was not a real person) doctrine, you cannot deny the affect of The Art of War, even in modern-day warfare. How else does one explain how Vietnam subdued the USA decades ago?

In terms of entrepreneurship, this should give one extraordinary confidence, even if (and perhaps especially because of) he is small in number, for Sun-Tzu advised NOT to rely only on military strength, on mere numbers alone. Numbers, yes, but calculated numbers, calculation done by rigorous thinking and deep contemplation of The Ultimate Strategic Goal.

Translation: Are you small? A one man army, even? Fear not. You can attack a $1,000,000,000,000 - yes, Trillion, with a capital "T" - with proper strategy and tactics. Just ask General Giap and the Vietnamese. They dropped the USA, just like David dropped Goliath, with only one stone: The unbreakable rock of strategy. The rock did not break, even though the USA dropped more bombs on Vietnam than they did in WWII.

As the bombs dropped, and the sky filled with black smoke from the flames of hell below, one can almost hear the voice of Sun-Tzu whispering from The Grave: "Do not rely on military strength alone."

The decision to position an army must be based on both objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective beliefs of other, competitive factors in that environment. He thought that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions.
Indeed, and this is reflected in Robert Greene's favorite Law of the 48 Laws: The 48th Law... Assume Formlessness.

In this chapter, Greene discusses the ancient board games Go and Chess, and how they respectively reflect the dichotomy between Eastern and Western thought regarding strategy. Greene, a huge fan of Sun-Tzu, regards this law as the most important, and in doing so, he aligns himself with Sun-Tzu, one of the few men to truly deserve the title "Master," with a capital M. Musashi, of course, but he already had an M. Like @Mattie. LOL. Ah, I kill myself. :smoking:

Strategic Attack The source of strength is unity, not size. Startup Advice- It’s better to be the team quietly plugging along on a product instead of the team that is at every event, celebrating before they have actual success.
Absolutely correct. A real hustler stays busy, focused on the bottom line. I had a meeting with a company on the Inc. 500 the other day. You know what it says on their board in the conference room? There's a list. Number one on that list is "Revenue."

In my head I'm thinking, hell yea, these are guys I can do business with. That's basically the Gordon Gekko Greed is Good speech all summed up in one word.

I like to work with busy companies. The business owners I know who win celebrate with their clients. They reward their clients with their time, thus strengthening the bond, causing more business to flow in, in the form of references and repeat business from expanding clients.

I know a guy who tried to celebrate before he got a deal. Fact is, he tried to steal the deal from me. Turns out, he celebrated before he actually had success, because I got the deal, and he lost. (Crush You Enemy Totally) :upyours::cool::troll:

Now he feels like: :sorry::depressed::hurting:

Yea. That's right. Fuck with the Ubermensch again, bitch. See what happens. :tiphat:

But I digress.

Forces Importance of creativity and timing in building an army's momentum. Startup Advice - All startup team members must work hard toward a common goal, but there has to be a reward for doing so.
This definitely reflects one of Sun-Tzu's most important concepts: The Death Ground Strategy. In essence, the Death Ground Strategy states that, because all warfare constitutes life and death, the soldiers must carry this in the hearts and minds at all times. To ensure this, a wise general puts himself and his troops on death ground. When on death ground, the troops must either fight like hell for their lives, or die. American soldiers faced this Biblically horrific plight when they stormed the beaches of Normandy. Sun Tzu faced this when he and his troops invaded Chu. A hustler faces this when he goes all in, when he puts everything - his blood, his life, his money, his honor, his respect, his hopes, his dreams - into his hustle, and fights to the death to win.
.

[drwtoieu43]

I love that book. And yes, I agree. Eastern & Western see things differently. I think I learned this a few years back. If you're thinking the same way everyone else is thinking, you will be crushed.

Ubermensch said: ↑
When on death ground, the troops must either fight like hell for their lives, or die. American soldiers faced this Biblically horrific plight when they stormed the beaches of Normandy. Sun Tzu faced this when he and his troops invaded Chu. A hustler faces this when he goes all in, when he puts everything - his blood, his life, his money, his honor, his respect, his hopes, his dreams - into his hustle, and fights to the death to win.
This is very true. I suppose only a certain portion of the population understands this philosophy.