The document summarizes seven business lessons from Sun Tzu's book The Art of War. The lessons are: 1) defeat opponents through strategy and flexibility rather than conflict; 2) divide opponents by diverting their attention; 3) use competitive information strategically for advantage; 4) unite employees in singleness of purpose and commitment; 5) utilize strengths at full capacity; 6) exploit prevailing conditions and find opportunities in challenges; 7) target competitors' weaknesses. The document also outlines six strategic principles for managers based on Sun Tzu, including capturing the market without destroying it, avoiding strengths and striking weaknesses, using intelligence and deception, acting with speed through preparation, shaping competitors through alliances and control points, and developing strong leadership.

1. Seven business lessons from The art of war
book by Sun Tzu
1. Defeat your opponent by strategy and flexibility
In the art of war book; Sun Tzu made us understand that our competitive objective should
be to conquer our competitors by strategy, not by conflict because conflict may ultimately
benefit no one.
He also highlighted that overcoming competition requires careful and detailed planning,
clear business strategy and proper strategic management. Flexibility entails responding
quickly to changing factors such as economic, environmental and political factors. It also
entails aligning swiftly or taking advantage of emerging trends.
"No plan survives contact with the enemy." – Sun Tzu
Your overall business strategy must be flexible and opportunistic with respect to the
prevailing situation. That means you must constantly review your strategies and make the
necessary adjustments. You must also not be static with respect to your strategic plan and
you must take certain decisions quickly. The Art of War
"To defeat the enemy, you must be as flexible as water. Water has the ability to quickly
take the shape of any container it finds itself." – Chinese proverb
2. Divide your opponent
This is the second lesson I picked up from the art of war. You must look for smart ways to
divert your enemy's attention while you are making your strategic moves. For instance,
when you are developing a new product or when you want to launch one, try to strategically
divert your competitor’s attention. The Art of War
3. Use competitive information
You probably must have watched the news on TV today? Have you taught about the information
you heard in the news? Did you analyze the information you obtained from TV to find out if that
information will affect your business positively or negatively?

2. "The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competitors, the
best way to put distance between you and the crowd is to do an outstanding job with
information. How you gather, manage and use information will determine whether you win or
lose." – Bill Gates
Information can be a competitive advantage for your business depending on how fast you
apply it. Mind you that Information is not power but its strategic application is power. You
must always strive to use information to your advantage. The Art of War
"If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete." – Jack Welch
4. Forge a team with singleness of purpose and
commitment
I have said this earlier in an article I wrote titled "10 Business Challenges Entrepreneurs Face
When Building a Business from Scratch" and Sun Tzu supports my stance. You must bring
your employees together as one family. Your business must become their business.
"Teams should be able to act with the same unity of purpose and focus as a well
motivated individual." – Gill Gates
Your ability to forge a team out of your employees makes you a good business leader. You
must unite your team to act with singleness of purpose. They must be committed to your course.
They must understand your business mission and vision. If they can't envision the future with
you; they are not worthy being your team. The Art of War
5. Utilize your strengths at full capacity
Sun Tzu in the art of war explains that to defeat the enemy, you must discover your
strengths and utilize that strength of your at full capacity. You have to give your business
everything thing you've got to keep it going.
6. Use climate and prevailing conditions to your
advantage
Of all the strategies and lessons shared by Sun Tzu in the art of war, this one really hit me the
most. I have seen entrepreneurs cry and lament about unfavorable environments, lack of

3. funding, bad government policy and almost about everything. To be truthful, I was also in
the group of the lamenting entrepreneurs but not anymore.
"Face reality as it is; not as it was or as you wish it were." – Jack Welch
I have learned to face business challenges squarely. Sun Tzu taught me that in every situation,
whether good or bad; there is an opportunity. Even in the worst situation, I try to find a
loophole. If I don't find one, I create one. No matter how bad the situation, you must find a
way to use it to your business advantage. The Art of War
“When I see a barrier, I cry and I curse, and then I get a ladder and climb over it.” –
John H. Johnson
7. Exploit the weakness of your competitors
Sun Tzu taught me to utilize my strengths at full capacity. But where do I apply this strength
of mine to obtain maximum result? This was Sun Tzu's answer; “to obtain maximum
effectiveness, you must use your strengths at full capacity to exploit your competitor's
weakness.”
“You are in a war. You must plan to take the other guy down first and do it. Winning
is not the best thing; it's the only thing. If it were not, no one would keep score. To win the
war, you must take charge. You must set the organization's objectives, establish a chain of
control, delegate, appraise performance, adjust and act.” – The Mafia Manager
Six Strategic Principles for Managers
Based on Mark McNeilly’s book Sun Tzu and the Art of Business
1) Capture Your Market Without Destroying It
“Generally in war, the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this....For to win
one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy
without fighting is the acme of skill.”
--Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu calls this the need to “win-all-without-fighting”. Since the goal of your business
is to survive and prosper, you must capture your market. However, you must do so in

4. such a way that your market is not destroyed in the process. A company can do this in
several ways, such as attacking parts of the market that are under-served or by using
subtle, indirect, and low-key approach that will not draw a competitor's attention or
response. What should be avoided at all costs is a price-war. Research has shown that
price attacks draw the quickest and most aggressive responses from competitors, as well
as leaving the market drained of profits.
2) Avoid your competitor's strength, and attack their weakness
“An army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the
lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.”
--Sun Tzu
The Western approach to warfare has spilled over into business competition, leading
many companies to launch head-on, direct attacks against their competitor's strongest
point. This approach to business strategy leads to battles of attrition, which end up
being very costly for everyone involved. Instead, you should focus on the competition's
weakness, which maximizes your gains while minimizing the use of resources. This, by
definition, increases profits.
3) Use foreknowledge & deception to maximize the power of business
intelligence.
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril”
--Sun Tzu
To find and exploit your competitor's weakness requires a deep understanding of their
executives' strategy, capabilities, thoughts and desires, as well as similar depth of
knowledge of your own strengths and weaknesses. It is also important to understand the
overall competitive and industry trends occurring around you in order to have a feel for
the “terrain” on which you will do battle. Conversely, to keep your competitor from
utilizing this strategy against you, it is critical to mask your plans and keep them secret.
4) Use speed and preparation to swiftly overcome the competition.
“To rely on rustics and not prepare is the greatest of crimes; to be prepared beforehand for any
contingency is the greatest of virtues.”
--Sun Tzu

5. To fully exploit foreknowledge and deception, Sun Tzu states that you must be able to
act with blinding speed. To move with speed does not mean that you do things hastily.
In reality, speed requires much preparation. Reducing the time it takes your company to
make decisions, develop products and service customers is critical. To think through
and understand potential competitive reactions to your attacks is essential as well.
5) Use alliances and strategic control points in the industry to “shape” your
opponents and make them conform to your will.
“Therefore, those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there
by him.”
--Sun Tzu
“Shaping you competition” means changing the rules of contest and making the
competition conform to your desires and your actions. It means taking control of the
situation away from your competitor and putting it in your own hands. One way of doing
so is through the skillful use of alliances. By building a strong web of alliances, the
moves of your competitors can be limited. Also, by controlling key strategic points in
your industry, you will be able to call the tune to which your competitors dance.
6) Develop your character as a leader to maximize the potential of your
employees.
“When one treats people with benevolence, justice and righteousness, and reposes confidence in
them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders.”
--Sun Tzu
It takes a special kind of leader to implement these strategic concepts and maximize the
tremendous potential of employees. Sun Tzu describes the many traits of the preferred
type of leader. The leader should be wise, sincere, humane, courageous, and strict.
Leaders must also always be “first in the toils and fatigues of the army”, putting their
needs behind those of their troops. It is leaders with character that get the most out of
their employees.
These principles have been utilized throughout time in both the military arena and the
business world to build creative strategies and achieve lasting success. If you use them
properly, they will bring you success as well.