Comparisons: Enthusiasm
The Art of War 7:5.1-9 You control your army by controlling its morale.
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. Start here for the book’s opening lines.
The nine lines discussed in this article are the first two in Section Five of Chapter 7 of The Art of War. The general topic of this chapter is Armed Conflict. The previous section was about how we utilize communication to create a unified view of our positions. This section and these two stanzas are about how we utilize the changes in the emotions of others to win the best decisions regarding our positions.
In these stanza’s the topic is how our emotions change in a predictable way, making us more or less enthusiastic for competition or supporting competitors. We want our group members, our supporters, our opponents, and those making decisions about us to judge us in the best light. We do not control the rising and falling of our enthusiasm as much as it is controlled by the passage of time.
“Three” Armies
This stanza explains with the importance of enthusiasm in competition.
In the section below, we summarize each Chinese character with a single English word shown in < > brackets. The line of Chinese is followed by an English sentence translation.
<Make> <three> <armies> <can> <seize> <spirit>
You control your army by controlling its morale.
When Sun Tzu uses the term “three armies,” the number <three> refers to the third hexagram of the I Ching. The I Ching provides a kind of shorthand in Chinese philosophy and science for describing specific situations. Hexagram Three is called “Trouble at the Start.” It describes a new, unsettled competitive arena or a new, unsettled competitor organization. These situations are difficult at the beginning. In these situations, we must stay focused on our mission and wait for the right conditions for moving forward to present themselves. In this case, the right conditions depends on the balance of enthusiasm.
How well we do in these situations depends on our ability to engage in them enthusiastically. We must be wary of those who offer assistance with strings attached. Our positions are too tenuous to make specific commitments. Instead, we must look for people who we can assist who can also assist us. These reciprocal relationships can offer us guidance about where we might provide value and win rewards.
<General> <army> <can> <seize> <feeling>
As a general, you must be able to control emotions.
These “trouble at the start” situations are inherently emotional. The outcome of competition is always uncertain. While uncertainty can create fear, generating enthusiasm can overcome it. As a leader, we must use this as an opportunity to excite the emotional involvement of our people and supporters.
The Daily Cycle
The next stanza discusses how everyone’s emotional environment changes throughout the day.
<Correct> <cause> <morning> <spirit> <sharp>
In the morning, a person’s energy is high.
Emotion is the spark that incites action. The time when we are more likely to get others to make the choice to act is in the morning or early in any decision-making process. Beginnings are important times. This is true both for competitors and for those making decisions to support us or to oppose us. In the beginning, we should avoid giving others any reasons to oppose us and give them every reason to support us.
This is also the time when we should accept offers of mutual assistance. We should make the effort to assist others in ways that will be beneficial to all. Action early on will encourage others joining us. Good things are more likely to happen when we form alliances early on.
<Daytime> <spirit> <lazy>
During the day, it fades.
Emotion is temporary. In terms of the five strategic elements of Sun Tzu, emotion is part of Climate, the element of time and change. Emotions are highly changeable. Enthusiasm fades over time, sometimes quite quickly. This is one reason why small, quick moves are better than long drawn-out campaigns. As the saying goes, we must strike while the iron is hot, especially when our enthusiasm for the contest is hottest.
In terms of enthusiasm and “trouble at the start” situations, a little action does a lot, but a lot of action often does little. These are times when small gestures can work better than large over-dramatic moves. We must be conscious of doing the right thing rather than the thing that is most impressive. We also must be conscious of potential problems due to the interference of others.
<Dusk> <spirit> <return> <home>
By evening, a person’s thoughts turn to home.
Every situation has a point at which rest and even retreat becomes necessary. Pressing forward when enthusiasm is lost is often a waste of effort and energy. In terms of people making new decisions, the status quo looks better and better at the end of the day. When enthusiasm has faded it becomes harder and harder to find any way forward. We must be prepared to rest in order to dream about possibilities and rediscover our enthusiasm.
The Opposing Angle
We must use these lessons to pick the right times to meet our opponents. We must consider how enthusiastic they are for the contest.
<Make> <good> <use> <war> <is>
You must use your troops wisely.
How do we best utilize all aspects of competition? Competition is first, last, and always, a comparison. Our positions in the minds of others is determined by how we are compared to others. Our enthusiasm doesn’t only rise and fall, so does the enthusiasm of those with whom we are compared and the enthusiasm of those doing the comparing.
While we all go through the same cycles, with our enthusiasm stronger in the beginning than the end, we are not all on the same clock. We do not all start and stop at the same times. We need to develop a sense of how the personal levels of the enthusiasm of other may be rising or falling.
<Avoid> <this> <sharp> <spirit>
Avoid the enemy’s high spirits.
When others are riding an emotional high, for whatever reason, we must avoid being compared with them. This is especially true when their enthusiasm is growing stronger.
<Strike> <this> <lazy> <return> <home>
Strike when his men are lazy and want to go home.
Waiting is all. The enthusiasm of our opponents will fade. We seek to match the rising points of our cycle against the falling points of theirs. This is when we try to force a comparison and a decision.
<Here> <govern> <spirit> <is> <also>
This is how you master energy.
All action is sparked by emotion, or, in the original Chinese, <spirit>. Negative emotions can motivate us to act, but positive emotions like enthusiasm work best for competition because others see enthusiasm positively.