Sun Tzu on Corporate Warfare: The Basics

Corporate warfare is the only means of growth for a firm.

There are Five Primary Factors in waging corporate warfare:

1. Corporate Culture is what causes the people to have the same thinking as their superiors.

§ The corporate leader is simply doing the will of the customer, as if he or she and they are the same entity.

§ There must be no fear of danger and betrayal by or from either the corporate officer, management or non-management employee

2. “Heaven” is the natural, uncontrollable forces related to the markets and it’s inherent segments, which may place constraints on operations

§ Traveling on a safe and easy route, as pertaining to the market environments

§ Must be flexible and able to adapt to sudden changes in environmental variables in the markets

§ Resources must be adequate to support a campaign under adverse variables

§ Support from staff elements must be effective and immediate

§ The leader must be well-trained and well-experienced to meet the needs of an ever-changing marketplace

§ There must be at least one strong leader in every business unit to urge and motivate their colleagues along

3. “Ground” is the natural, uncontrollable forces related to the industrial environment and other elements which may place constraints on operations

§ Traveling on a safe and easy route, as pertaining to the industrial environment

§ Must be flexible and able to adapt to sudden changes in environmental variables in the industry

§ Supplies and equipment need to be adequate.

§ The officers, managerial, and non-managerial employees must be well-trained to handle fluctuations in variables in the industrial environment

§ There must be at least one strong leader in every business unit to urge and motivate their colleagues along

4. The Corporate Leader displays the necessary traits of wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline.

§ Wisdom is the quality of being able to make sound, logical decisions; perfected through years of study and experience.

§ Credibility is being able to gain the trust of others through dependable and consistent demeanor; as a leader’s word carries much weight and it makes for an easier task of rallying those subordinate to the Corporate Leader

§ Benevolence is the intentions of the corporate leader always being focused on doing things beneficial for his or her subordinates, the firm, and utmost—the customer. The corporate leader must not have concern for himself or herself, but he or she must be without bias and malice in their decisions and actions.

§ Courage is a necessary trait for a truly effective corporate leader. The courageousness of a leader reflects in where he is on the corporate battlefield, how he or she guides and motivates the subordinates.

§ Discipline prevents him from growing soft. Even at rest, the good corporate leader is always alert. The corporate leader should instill high standards in himself or herself as well as in their subordinates, both management and non-management. Low standards will cause a loss of a sense of urgency, and therefore overall readiness. “Laxness begets defeat.”

5. “Law,” or policy, procedures, rules, regulations, and the like are the controls that hold all of the other four elements together. It is the amount of organization, or housekeeping, the communications structure, the chain of command, and level of logistics and other support.

§ Free of clutter

§ Good communication, backed by strong communication channels

§ Urgency in amount of support and support structure

§ Control of expenses

§ Without an efficient system of moving essentials, the army will be weakened.

§ Effective management of other resources

§ The wise corporate leader considers the costs of doing battle closely, spending money and consuming resources like they were his or her own

§ Supplies should be replenished from the opponent’s provisions whenever possible

Every corporate officer, senior, middle, and supervisory manager must know and be able to apply these concepts, for they are supremely necessary in succeeding in any corporate campaign.

• Knowing and being able to apply these elements lessens the risk to valuable resources, personnel, capital, and the image of the firm.
• There is no substitute for a well-planned operation
• There exists a critical importance in training and educating members of management at all levels.
• Training and education were highly valued.
• One does not attain the position as a corporate officer without possessing acute awareness of the principles of business, industry, and warfare.
• One common cross-cultural denominator is that successful leaders and successful business units are fanatical about training their employees.

Be able to compare, contrast, and calculate these Five Principles against any and all organizations/firms involved in any campaign of corporate warfare.

• Must be unbiased
• Must be able to solve or otherwise adapt to any shortcomings that are found
• Be able to adjust the strategic elements so that they fall in your favor
• If the corporate leader knows the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent, then he or she can attack with great speed, and defend with great mystery.
• Calculating requires quantitative methods
• Contrasting requires qualitative methods

The corporate officer or manager who does not properly practice corporate warfare should be terminated from the firm, for they do not understand the way of corporate warfare. Ignoring them will prove detrimental to the operation. Given the choice between a corporate officer who practices tried-and-true concepts in warfare versus one who does not, a good human resources manager or manager closely involved with hiring should not hire the haphazard one, but the one who sees the full value of planning, purpose, strategy, and tactics.

The Corporate Soldier

“Live to win, dare to fail.”
—Metallica, “Carpe Diem, Baby”

Business: The glorious manifestation of a group of people organized together to conduct commerce. Within any such organization lies hierarchies of line personnel, support staff, and the managers at all levels which add value to the venture at every step along the way. A well-functioning and efficient organization possesses well-trained individuals throughout the strata of a company. Organizations—non-profits, governmental organizations, and business concerns from the smallest “Ma and Pop” sorts through the largest sprawling multi-national corporate conglomerates—are clustered within this definition of “corporate.”

Wikipedia defines soldier as the following:

“A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. In most countries, the term soldier is limited to such people who serve in the land branch of the armed services (usually known as the army). Armies are strictly hierarchical societies, and within them, groups of soldiers are usually divided into military units of some kind.”

The key points here are that soldiers are professionally trained, equipped, and that they work in groups of all sizes towards the end of an organization’s interests. While the hierarchical structures of organizations have evolved, certain universal truths are true of successful individuals within their respective successful organizations.

“Organization doesn't really accomplish anything. Plans don't accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don't much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.”
—General Colin Powell, U.S. Army (Retired)

All of the posts in this forum have been to the end of developing the premise and paradigm for this Corporate Soldier: A man or woman capable of leading, in whichever capacity or level they serve in the organization, properly trained and equipped to do serve the interests of the organization by organizing resources and doing commerce.

“Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered).”
—Julius Caesar, said in an address to the Roman Senate regarding his victory at the Battle of Zela in 47 B.C.

The Corporate Soldier is not limited to non-managerial personnel, either. In the military, especially in units with a reasonable combat probability, it is firmly implanted into the minds of each troop that it is necessary to know and be able to serve in the position that is two rungs higher on the hierarchical ladder than one’s own. Nothing changes more constantly, unpredictably, and forcibly as a combat environment: Because of this, soldiers know that they must reasonably be able to serve in multiple capacities within their area of influence. Just as a rank-and-file worker must be ready to take on the job duties of their supervisor or one of their colleagues, the supervisor or manager must be able to take on the roles of his or her colleagues or subordinates.

Furthermore, everyone—Everyone—is a leader in an organization. The typical leadership paradigm within many organizations is those in supervisory, managerial, executive, or select staff positions. The modern organization, the new paradigm in the information age, is to democratize leadership: Accountability and responsibility at all levels, in all roles, within the organization. Decentralization further increases effectiveness, efficiency, and creates a more direct link between the needs of the situation with the capabilities of the portion of the organization handling it.

So, I invite you to read on and learn how to be one of today’s, one of tomorrow’s, corporate soldiers—leaders that are around to enhance, shape, and add value to the world around them.