Sun Tzu

"Boyd emphasized the primary role of cheng/ch’i: •   Cheng / ch’i maneuvers were employed by early commanders to expose adversary vulnerabilities and weaknesses (á la cheng) for exploitation and decisive stroke (via ch’i) 163 •   Use cheng/ch’i scheme to achieve an expenditure of energy or an irruption of violence—focused into, or through, features that permit an organic whole to exist164 •   Establish focus of main effort (ch’i / Schwerpunkt) together with other related efforts (cheng / Nebenpunkte) and pursue directions that permit many happenings, offer many branches, and threaten alternative objectives (note: which ties multiple thrusts into the cheng /ch’i scheme)165 •   The ultimate goal is to “generate uncertainty, confusion, disorder, panic chaos… to shatter cohesion, produce paralysis, and bring about collapse.”166 •   . . . to gain a feel for the different ways that the cheng/ch’i game has been (and can be) played167   Unlike Sun Tzu, Boyd examined all forms of human conflict, but his conclusion was the same: cheng / ch’i maneuvers are fundamental to any strategy for defeating your opponent."

"General Samuel Griffith noted in his the introduction to his translation of The Art of War: “Sun Tzu realized that an indispensable preliminary to…"

"As odd as this may seem—a doctrine of war and a car manufacturing system turning out to be brothers under the skin—they both use time as their principle strategic device, their organizational climates share several elements, and they both trace back to the school of strategy whose earliest known documentation is Sun Tzu’s The Art of War."

"Sun Tzu’s goal was to shape the enemy’s mind so that if armed conflict finally proved necessary, it would be relatively quick and bloodless. One of the primary tools for achieving this was the interplay between things he called cheng and ch’i. Cheng maneuvers are those that the enemy can comprehend: the formations lined up for battle, the chariots on the wings, the maneuvering and charging in full view of the enemy. Thus cheng is usually translated as something like “orthodox” or “expected.” We might even add, “measurable.” Experience suggests that if you try to force victory only through what can be observed and measured, that is, primarily through cheng, you will find yourself in attrition warfare."

"Deceit and Ambiguity in Every Form of Competition Like Sun Tzu, Boyd emphasized the primary role of cheng/ch’i: •   Cheng / ch’i maneuvers were employed by early commanders to expose adversary vulnerabilities and weaknesses (á la cheng) for exploitation and decisive stroke (via ch’i) 163 •   Use cheng/ch’i scheme to achieve an expenditure of energy or an irruption of violence—focused into, or through, features that permit an organic whole to exist164 •   Establish focus of main effort (ch’i / Schwerpunkt) together with other related efforts (cheng / Nebenpunkte) and pursue directions that permit many happenings, offer many branches, and threaten alternative objectives (note: which ties multiple thrusts into the cheng /ch’i scheme)165 •   The ultimate goal is to “generate uncertainty, confusion, disorder, panic chaos… to shatter cohesion, produce paralysis, and bring about collapse.”166 •   . . . to gain a feel for the different ways that the cheng/ch’i game has been (and can be) played167   Unlike Sun Tzu, Boyd examined all forms of human conflict, but his conclusion was the same: cheng / ch’i maneuvers are fundamental to any strategy for defeating your opponent."

"One way, as mentioned earlier, is to take active measures to seek out and reward bearers of bad news, the corporate versions of Sun Tzu’s spies. Here’s another, even simpler idea: Be the customer. I don’t mean “identify with the customer,” or “respond to customer desires,” or some other inane canard. All business is people buying from people. You’re on the selling side, so to understand what happens on the buying side, walk around the table and sit in the buyer’s seat. If you’re in retail of some type, buy your own product or service just the way the paying public does and use it just they way they do."

"“All warfare is based upon deception.”—Sun Tzu •   “War is trickery.”—Muhammad, Prophet of Islam •   “Mystify, mislead and surprise”—Stonewall Jackson •   “I put the scare on them, and I keep it on.”—Nathan Bedford Forrest"

"Sun Tzu had concluded that, “He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.”"

"Sun Tzu was careful to say that certain victory involves both cheng and ch’i. He goes on to explain that each contains ways to create the other, and that there is no limit to these combinations.157"

"Those who know the situation in the marketplace serve the role of spies for the leaders of modern companies. They will sometimes be bearers of bad news, and, if you follow the Sun Tzu tradition, they will bear this news to you while there is time to act. They are saviors of the company and should be recognized and rewarded as such. True, it takes a strong leader to admit publicly that a position that he or she championed is now wrong or outdated. But in this day and age, companies without strong leaders are doomed, anyway. Those readers who are…"

"Sun Tzu’s use of cheng and ch’i: •   Their (cheng and ch’i) effects are mutually generative and reinforcing •   One way to look at it is that Cheng = distraction; ch’i = decision (However it should be noted that neither by itself will have these effects.) •   Ch’i by definition represents the unexpected, strange, or unorthodox. (You can try a maneuver that you intend to be ch’i, but whether it actually is depends on the enemy. This is why preparing the enemy is so important in the Sun Tzu / Boyd school.) •   Engage with the cheng, win with the ch’i. •   Cheng / ch’i maneuvers apply to every one and every level within the organization. •   If the enemy, despite our best efforts, sees through our ch’i maneuver, then it would immediately become a cheng.156"

"Clausewitz illustrates friction thorough the simile that doing things in battle is like moving in water. This doesn’t sound too bad, but imagine that you are trying to escape from a pursuing sheriff’s posse. Hounds are braying; bullets are zinging overhead. Suddenly you run off a bank and plunge into a river. As you thrash around waist deep, you find that the faster you try to go, the harder everything is. Your life depends on moving faster, but you can’t, and the harder you try, the more frustrated you get. It won’t take much of this before panic begins to sink in, and you lose the ability to make effective decisions—very much like the effects Boyd and Sun Tzu aim for. They don’t come directly from the physical difficulty of moving through water so much as from not knowing how far away the dogs are and from the fact that nothing you’re trying seems to be making the situation any better and you’re running out of ideas fast. It’s not industrial strength…"

"As an oriental scholar, as well as a practitioner of the art of war, Gen. Griffith offered a unique and valuable perspective on Sun Tzu’s use of cheng and ch’i: •   Their (cheng and ch’i) effects are mutually generative and reinforcing •   One way to look at it is that Cheng = distraction; ch’i = decision (However it should be noted that neither by itself will have these effects.) •   Ch’i by definition represents the unexpected, strange, or unorthodox. (You can try a maneuver that you intend to be ch’i, but whether it actually is depends on the enemy. This is why preparing the enemy is so important in the Sun Tzu / Boyd school.) •   Engage with the cheng, win with the ch’i. •   Cheng / ch’i maneuvers apply to every one and every level within the organization. •   If the enemy, despite our best efforts, sees through our ch’i maneuver, then it would immediately become a cheng.156"

"Sun Tzu insisted that all warfare is based upon deception. There is no conflict, however, between ambiguity and deception, since the first provides an environment for generating the second."

"Sun Tzu put it in the last chapter of The Art of War: No reward is more generous than that for a spy … There is nothing…"

"Sun Tzu (c. 5th century B.C.), who is still widely studied today, dismissed the fascination with size thusly: “Numbers alone confer no advantage.”"

"Thomas Cleary, in his The Japanese Art of War (which may have been Boyd’s all time favorite book, next to Sun Tzu itself)"

"Instead, put yourself at the Schwerpunkt of the transformation effort. Look people in the eyes when you’re preaching the new doctrine. Lead your company in studying Sun Tzu and Musashi, discussing Warfighting, and comparing your processes to those of Toyota. Start your own Crotonville and teach there yourself."

"If a general who heeds my strategy is employed, he is certain to win. Sun Tzu1"

"As we saw, the Chinese of Sun Tzu’s day insisted that the war was won or lost before the action began, and much of the Art of War concerns preparing a culture that is certain to win. Pre-war activities and decisions also form part of the level of conflict known as grand…"

"Balsillie followed two Sun Tzu tactics religiously: appear strong no matter how weak your hand; and move to uneven terrain if an aggressor is overwhelming. For Balsillie, rugged ground meant keeping competitors, suppliers, and customers off balance. “Bung them up in wool and play obfuscation; promise them this and then do that,” he says. “I am very good at that. I can send very uneven signals. Give them nothing to be certain with. Let them think they are getting what they want, but don’t be overly provocative. I can do that forever.”"

"In the hospital, he mostly spent his time reading and voraciously went through numerous books, including business books, history books, success stories of Carnegie, Rockefeller, Konosuke Matsushita, and Soichiro Honda. Among these, “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu and “Lanchester’s Laws” had the strongest influence."

"Law—Create a “system that can consistently win.” Regarding the final “law,” “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu refers to it as “legislation.” Legislation is said to involve “organization, regulation of signals, the responsibilities of generals and military officers, the management situation of provisions and ammunition, and whether these systems are enforced strictly.” Following this, Masayoshi Son considers “law” to be “creating systems, mechanisms, and rules.”"

"I considered this a good test and learned from ‘The Art of War,’ and one conclusion I arrived at is the business law that I named the ‘Law of Sun Squared,’ combining the ‘Sun’ from Sun Tzu with my own surname."

"Incidentally, the reason Masayoshi Son arranged “The Law of Square of Sun” in a “five horizontal characters” array is understandable since it derives from the “Five Rules” of Sun Tzu’s Art of War (“Tao Tian Di Jiang Fa” shown in “Chapter One Planning”)."

"“The Art of War by Sun Tzu” teaches, “if you calculate much, you win; if you calculate little, you lose.” When venturing into a battle, one must always evaluate the “chances of victory.”"

"Sun Tzu is read as Sun Tzu in English just as in Chinese, and introduction books in English translations are published, with many friends having already read them. Literally, it is a book of military strategy and practice that transcends time and geography."

"Sun Tzu’s Art of War also advocates “focusing on intelligence gathering”"

"“The Art of War” (consisting of thirteen chapters) is a military strategy book by the thinker Sun Wu, who served King He Lu during China’s Spring and Autumn Period (770-403 BC). There was also a theory that it was authored by Sun Tzu, a descendant of Sun Wu. However, in 1972, bamboo slips of military texts were excavated from Yinjue Mountain in Shandong Province, confirming Sun Wu’s authorship of “The Art of War.” It is undoubtedly one of the most renowned military strategy books globally."

"Way—First establish your resolve The first section, “Way, Heaven, Earth, Law,” are words from the “The First Calculations” chapter of “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu. The first “Way” in “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu refers to “the way of correct governance, where the will of the people and the ruler are united.” In contrast, the definition in “Son’s Twofold Principle” is simply “philosophy, resolve.”"