Overview
In this chapter, Sun Tzu discusses the issues that we must address before
we start a competitive campaign. The topics are unity, focus, and the
intersecting roles of a military commander and the nation’s leader. The
central idea of this chapter is that unity and focus are the source of true
power. No matter how large and seemingly powerful, an organization that is
divided and unfocused is actually weak.
Sun Tzu puts the typical view of competition into a larger context. Most
people think that power comes from size: a bigger force is stronger than a
smaller one. In the media, only big celebrities, big government, big
corporations, and big events make the news. Sun Tzu sees this view as too
narrow. Size is something of an illusion. It looks powerful, but it isn't
necessarily. It is what is going on beneath the surface—the cohesion and
devotion of the force—that determines strength.
An army of any size can win, but, in Sun Tzu's words, that force has to
have the right attack strategy. Our size relative to our competitor’s
determines the strategy we choose. Sun Tzu is very specific about the
strategy we must use given the relative size of our competitor. Sun Tzu also
reemphasizes the critical importance of the right competitive attitude.
Though he counsels us to avoid destructive conflict, he doesn’t want us to
think that this means we can avoid competition. Indeed, he tells us that we
must always be seeking those competitive situations in which we are certain
to win.
The chapter ends with a discussion of politics and its divisive effects
on competitive organizations. Political issues arise from competing
interests within organizations. They most likely arise when we plan our
attack, that is, movement into a new area. We must work carefully to avoid
allowing these divisions to cripple our efforts.
Sun Tzu’s chapter on analysis provides the keys to identifying winning
situations. Our goal here is to understand our situations so we can predict
where we can win and where we cannot.
