Ancient Chinese War Strategies - The New Corporate Game Plan?
Hiranya Fernando, WG'04
Issue date: 2/23/04 Section: Perspectives
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We've all heard of Sun Tzu's The Art of War (well, you should have - it is required reading before joining any b-school program, much in the same vein as Liar's Poker or Barbarians at the Gate).
Originally inscribed on bamboo strips around 500 BC, the Chinese military leader's advice in matters of war for emperors and generals has the strength of timeless wisdom. Today, subdue the enemy and win without fighting, know your battleground, maneuver to gain advantage, deceive your opponent, and always seek the high ground are part of the everyday vocabulary of corporate pop culture. Yada yada - we at business school are not only well versed in this stuff, we live it every day in a manner that would make our man Sun brim with tears of pride. How could we have survived that noxious learning team retreat without knowing our battleground or outwitted the competition during DIP without deceiving our opponent?
Many a book has been written adapting these ancient adages not only to mastering the challenges of the modern business world, but also to accomplishing the important goals in one's personal life. This does not necessarily reduce the value of the original advice; it simply means that you have to be careful when you pick and choose among the hundreds of adaptations of the genre out there.
But I think I have found a gem, or at least one that appears to have promise, insofar as it is a rather bold and creative take on the old stuff. What if I told you to "Kill with a borrowed knife" or "Beat the grass to startle the snake" or "Shut the door to capture the thief" or "Shed your skin like the golden sacada"?
No, I am not mad. I am just "Feigning madness but keeping my balance." There are 36 of these proverbs or stratagems, and they form the basis of a new book called The Art of the Advantage by Kaihan Krippendorff. The author, who is a Columbia MBA and has a BSE in Finance from Wharton, ran a workshop at Wharton last week to explain the premise of his research.
Originally inscribed on bamboo strips around 500 BC, the Chinese military leader's advice in matters of war for emperors and generals has the strength of timeless wisdom. Today, subdue the enemy and win without fighting, know your battleground, maneuver to gain advantage, deceive your opponent, and always seek the high ground are part of the everyday vocabulary of corporate pop culture. Yada yada - we at business school are not only well versed in this stuff, we live it every day in a manner that would make our man Sun brim with tears of pride. How could we have survived that noxious learning team retreat without knowing our battleground or outwitted the competition during DIP without deceiving our opponent?
Many a book has been written adapting these ancient adages not only to mastering the challenges of the modern business world, but also to accomplishing the important goals in one's personal life. This does not necessarily reduce the value of the original advice; it simply means that you have to be careful when you pick and choose among the hundreds of adaptations of the genre out there.
But I think I have found a gem, or at least one that appears to have promise, insofar as it is a rather bold and creative take on the old stuff. What if I told you to "Kill with a borrowed knife" or "Beat the grass to startle the snake" or "Shut the door to capture the thief" or "Shed your skin like the golden sacada"?
No, I am not mad. I am just "Feigning madness but keeping my balance." There are 36 of these proverbs or stratagems, and they form the basis of a new book called The Art of the Advantage by Kaihan Krippendorff. The author, who is a Columbia MBA and has a BSE in Finance from Wharton, ran a workshop at Wharton last week to explain the premise of his research.