It's a retreat...not a surrender

Glean from rich fields, and the armies will have enough to eat. Take care of your health and avoid stress, consolidate your energy and build up your strength. Maneuver your troops and assess strategies so as to be unfathomable. 

Sun Tzu-Chinese warrior philosopher, in The Art of War (5th to 3rd century B.C.E)

The military metaphor has been widely used in business. It encourages you to think of your competitors as your enemies and your goal as defeating them. A lot can be learned about strategy from this approach, and certainly businesses who ignore their competitors do so at their peril - I'm still surprised by how many business people say that they 'don't have any competitors', or that they 'don't worry about them.'

While knowing your competitive environment is essential, one of the main limitations of the military metaphor is that it assumes a 'zero sum game'. In other words, there is one winner and one loser - victory must be gained at all costs. It's a limitation because in business this is not necessarily the case. New players may widen the market, rather than take away the market share of existing companies. 

The other limitation is that this 'win at all costs' mentality can lead us into stressful, unhealthy lives where we ignore the very things that give us the strength we need to compete. The essence of Sun Tzu's The Art of War draws on Chinese Taoist philosophies that see the 'peak efficiency of knowledge and strategy is to make conflict altogether unnecessary: to overcome others' armies without fighting is the best of skills.' 

Instead, we should keep ourselves strong and healthy, be always alert to what our competitors are doing, anticipate what they will do next, and prepare to respond when the time is right. The best performing companies know the importance of timely retreat. The retreat is not a surrender-it's not a sign of weakness or defeat. Rather, it's a time to rest, reflect, recharge and renew, to plan ahead and build strength. 

Business decision makers who practice timely retreat, individually, or with their teams, return to the battle refreshed, with their eye on victory. Their competitors who have struggled on - unwilling to rest- are tired, hungry and battle weary. It's easy to see who will be the better performer. 

As Sun Tzu said: "In ancient times skillful warriors first made themselves invincible, and then watched for vulnerability in their opponents."

When you're thinking ahead about the future of your organisation, contact us to design a purposeful retreat that will prepare you, and your team, for the battles ahead. 

Monique's Book Mark: There are many versions of Sun Tzu's classic, The Art of War. The one I recommend is translated and edited by Thomas Cleary.