This last section of Chapter Two of The Art of War focuses on the rewards we want to win in terms of the effect of cost. It is largely about knowledge. Knowledge isn’t limited in the same way as other resources. Its limit isn’t material but temporal. It is also a special kind of reward. Knowledge is what we learn and what others learn about us.
Information is time-sensitive. It is outdated, not used up. It is controlled by the changes of climate not the borders of the ground. Those references from the “book of changes” made sense in the context of a chapter on the changes of climate. But, here, we leave the I Ching and the Bagua behind.
Making Victory Pay
The first line of this section is so critical to good strategy that it is hard to overemphasize.
Make victory in war pay for itself.
<Make> <war> <valuable> <victory>
The Art of War, Chapter 2, Section 4, Line 6-7
My English sentence translation captures the idea, but the Chinese characters transliteration captures the line’s broader meaning. “War,” of course, is more broadly, understood as competition. The goal of competition is winning rewards, but not all competitive moves are successful in that regard. However, all competitive moves are valuable because staying in the game eventually leads to success. Managing costs is essential to this.
There are many “valuable” forms of “victory.” The obvious one is winning a competition. This is clearest in a zero-sum game. We win; someone else loses. However, even “losing” can pay in many different ways. We can still improve our position in the minds of others by losing. And, even if we don’t do that, we can improve our skills at competition. How do we get good at anything? Practice. All competition is valuable as practice.
“Victory” is always a comparison of two things: our total rewards minus our total costs. When we win a job. It is important that the job is worth whatever it cost us. But our chances of winning every move by strategy is nonexistent. Strategy must allow for our losses. It must keep all costs low so we can continually try new and different things.
Avoid expensive, long campaigns.
<Not> <expensive> <long> <time>
The Art of War, Chapter 2, Section 4, Line 8-9
This second line again connects one topic of the chapter, “cost,” with the chapter’s other topic, the changes of climate over time. What can we never do? Have costs so high that they take us out of the game. If we break a leg practicing running, it cost us more than the practice is worth. Since we will “lose” many times more than we win, especially at first, we must control our total costs.
There are two cost dangers in competition. First, investing too many physical resources. The second is investing too much time. Physical costs are measured in amounts. The cost of time is measured in duration. Duration can also affect physical costs: resources, such as food, spoil over time.
One resource that “spoils” over time is people’s opinions if we don’t make progress. If we don’t make competitive moves, we stagnate in the minds of others. The longer we stagnate, the more frozen our positions become in their minds. Short, quick steps are what demonstrate progress. If we undertake long campaigns, like going to college, others cannot help but see us a stuck. The same is true of in relationships, career, or any position in which we have settled. If we aren’t moving, we are dying.
The military commander’s knowledge is the key.
<Make> <know> < war> <of > <general>
The Art of War, Chapter 2, Section 4, Line 10-11
It doesn’t matter if our moves are successful or if we fail, we can win in both situations. As I started saying forty years ago: We win some, and we learn some.
We learn best from failure. Without failure, we learn too slowly. Experience is the greatest teacher, especially when it teaches us what not to do. The biggest cost savings of all comes from learning what not to do. Of course, learning from the failure of others is even less expensive than learning from our own failures.
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