Mr. Achievement - Stanley F. Bronstein - Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

CHAPTER 2 - DOING BATTLE

Battle - Any conflict or struggle. A hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces. Participation in such hostile encounters or engagements.

Previous Posts On Appraisals

While each one of these posts is designed to be read separately and independently of each other, it would be useful if you read the previous posts on Appraisals, which can be found by clicking here.

Moving Forward - A Quote From Sun Tzu

With one thousand fast chariots, one thousand leather-covered chariots and one hundred thousand armored troops to be provisioned over 1000 li — then expenses of outer and inner, stipends of foreign advisers, materials for glue and lacquer, and contributions for chariots and armor are one thousand gold pieces a day.

Only AFTER this are one hundred thousand soldiers raised.

What Does This Complex Quote Actually Mean?

It means that if you are going to need 100,000 soldiers in order to do battle, you can’t raise them without first taking the preparatory steps, such as gathering chariots, advisers, materials and money.

In short, doing battle requires preparation. If you are going to be successful in battle, YOU MUST FIRST POSITION YOURSELF TO BE READY.

Recommended Reading:

Laws of Positioning #79 - Position Yourself To Be Prepared

Strength, Victory and Speed

When one employs battle - if victory takes long, it blunts the military and grinds down its sharpness. Attacking walled cities, one’s strength is diminished. If soldiers are long in the field, the state’s resources are insufficient.

If you’re going to do battle, it is best if you can make the battle quick and get it over with. If the battle rages on for too long a period of time (just take a look at the Vietnam War or the Iraq War), the military is blunted and it grinds it down. The military loses its strength.

If you attack something that is well defended, such as a walled city, it is going to diminish your strength.

If your resources are left out in the field for too long, you will find that your resources dwindle and they will prove to be insufficient.

In other words, whenever possible BE PREPARED and STRIKE QUICKLY and EFFICIENTLY. DON’T WASTE TIME.

Recommended Reading:

Laws of Positioning #22 - Position Yourself To Be Decisive

Laws of Positioning #30 - Position Yourself To Be Energetic

Laws of Positioning #67 - Position Yourself To Be Motivated

Applying Slow Down Tactics To Prevail Over Your Opponent

Now if one blunts the military, grinds down its sharpness, Diminishes its strength and exhausts its goods, then the feudal lords ride one’s distress and rise up. Even one who is wise cannot make good the aftermath.

Here, Sun Tzu suggests that if you want to defeat an opponent, you should apply slow down tactics. Draw things out. Force your enemy to exhaust their resources. If you do that, the people around them will rise up in outrage and no leader will be able to prevail in such a situation, no matter how wise they are.

Just take a look at the Vietnam War for example. The primary tactic of the North Vietnamese was to dig in and simply force their enemy (the Americans and South Vietnamese) to deplete their resources. This tactic ultimately proved to have brought them much success.

Applying These Ideas To Real Life

Just because Sun Tzu and The Art of War puts things in a military context, it does not mean they won’t apply equally as well in real life situations.

Think about the business world. Sometimes the battle goes to the swiftest. Other times, it goes to the one who simply holds on the longest and waits for all their enemies / opponents to drop away.

Even babies know this. A small child knows that if they keep crying and keep whining long enough, many parents will be worn down and give in to the demands of the child.

What’s amazing to me is that while small children instinctively know this, why is it that so many adults don’t?

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, we will talk more about the deployment of your resources as you go into battle.