Comparing: Opportunities and Weaknesses
The Art of War 8:2.1-8:3.3 You must be creative in your planning.
This post continues our project explaining each stanza of Sun Tzu’s work. The English and Chinese quotes are from my award-winning translation, The Art of War and The Ancient Chinese Revealed. Basic translations are written from the narrow perspective of opposing armies. These articles focus on the more general application of this philosophy to all competition. Start here for the book’s opening lines.
The text explained in this article is Section Two and Section Three of Chapter 8 of The Art of War. Each Section consists of only one stanza. Both Sections are short, only four- and three-lines, respectively. That fact gives its ideas more weight if less detail.
The general topic of this chapter is Adaptability, but its Chinese title is <Nine> <Changes>. The <nine> here is from Hexagram Nine of the I-Ching. This hexagram, called Wind Over Heaven, refers to dark clouds on the horizon, a coming storm. This “heaven” hexagram indicates Climate in Sun Tzu’s system. Though the strategic element, Climate, represents constant change, its changes fall into certain categories that can be foreseen, like the coming storm in the dark clouds on the horizon. Another aspect of Hexagram Nine is that this situation brings new risks, but it brings opportunities as well.
Opportunities and Weaknesses
In the lines below, we summarize each Chinese character in their original order with the single English word shown in < > brackets. The line of Chinese is followed by an English sentence translation.
<You> <must> <be> <creative> <in> <your> <planning>
You must be creative in your planning.<You> <must> <adapt> <to> <your> <opportunities> <and> <weaknesses>
You must adapt to your opportunities and weaknesses.
Opportunities are opened by changes in Climate. Weaknesses are defects in a the ability to compete: failures in Command, or a lack of needed Methods. Notice we don’t adapt to our strengths but our weaknesses. Our weaknesses are our limitations. In these situations, they are more important than our strengths. As “Dirty” Harry Callahan said in Magnum Force, “A man has got to know his limitations.”
This idea, that we must adapt to change based on our limited resources, is one of the foundations of Sun Tzu’s system. Change will happen even if we ignore it. Change will happen even if we try to prevent it. All our attempts to stop change are a waste of resources. Climate is a force of nature. The fact that we have learned to use natural forces does not mean that we control those forces. The best we can do is adapt them.
How do we deal with coming changes? We seek to harness them, just like we do the other forces of nature. Competition is a comparison. We are compared to other people. We are not compared to forces of nature. We are compared to others on how well we adapt to change, how well we utilize it for everyone’s benefit. Seeing dark clouds on the horizon, Wind over Heaven, is not a signal to go out and battle the storm. It indicates that we have time to seek shelter and, within our limits, use the coming storm to improve our positions.
Variations
Over time, both the nature of our opportunities and our weaknesses change. Even though some situations resemble others, we must remember that they are never the same. We categorize similar categories of change together so we can know what types of solutions are needed, but each response is tailored to the specifics.
<You> <can> <use> <a> <variety> <of> <approaches> <and> <still> <have> <a> <consistent> <result>
You can use a variety of approaches and still have a consistent result.
What we care about is the results. Consistency comes from flexible and continual adaptation not from any rigid adherence to rules. Our response must focus on what is changing, that is, what is different that matters in each situation.
The purpose of having categories of response is so that we can focus on what is unique to the situation. The more variations we try, the more we learn.
<You> <must> <adjust> <to> <a> <variety> <of> <problems> <and><consistently> <solve> <them>
You must adjust to a variety of problems and consistently solve them.
Notice that Sun Tzu does not say that we “should” use a variety of approaches, but that we “must”. If we respond identically, we are not looking at what has changed. We rick becoming predictable. As always, we want to use an element of surprise.
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Weaknesses of Opponents
The next section, Section 3, offers us similar advice, but for working with our opponents. People are especially interested in negotiating new relationships during times of change. We all know that we don’t know enough, and we are more willing to work with new allies.
<You> <can> <deter> <your> <potential> <enemy> <by> <using> <his> <weaknesses> <against> <him>
You can deter your potential enemy by using his weaknesses against him.
These times of foreseen change are the most dangerous times for conflict, but many people will react in fear to the coming change and lash out at others. We want to use their weaknesses to discourage this behavior. We do this first by not appearing weak ourselves, but we also have a more surprising use for our opponents’ weaknesses. We can use their weakness in two ways: the obvious, discouraging their opposition, and then the more strategic, winning their support. In terms of improving our positions, winning support is more important. Turning an opponent into a supporter is far better for our progress than simply neutralizing momentary opposition.
<You> <can> <keep> <your> <potential> <enemy’s> <army> <busy> <by> <giving> <it> <work> <to> <do>
You can keep your potential enemy’s army busy by giving it work to do.
Opponents and their people will tend to do what they already know how to do. As those looking for opportunities for them, we can give them activities to perform to adapt to the change that will make us both better partners in the future.
<You> <can> <rush> <your> <potential> <enemy> <by> <offering> <him> <an> <advantageous> <position>
You can rush your potential enemy by offering him an advantageous position.
If left to their own devices, opponents might choose activities in preparing for the coming change that can create future problems for us. Instead, we want to quickly find a way where they improve their position by working with us. Even if they consider us enemies, they still want to improve their positions just like we do.