Lessons from War Strategy for Work

Hi! Haven't written anything in quite some time, but things have been...well, you know, insane the past few months. Happy to report that I'm finally feeling like we're out of total chaos and maybe like most of you, I'm trying to find things that benefit my mental and physical health by working out, reading, etc. instead of burning myself out by working quite literally all the time. This recently led me to read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu and I have found so many interesting lessons in here that are applicable to work thought I'd share some of my thoughts and parts of the book I found intriguing. Mostly because I feel like now, more than ever, we are literally at war. We're currently all battling a global virus and our businesses are all battling against the impacts that virus has caused. I've always been intrigued by this book because of the knowledge and application I knew it would teach me about business strategy. I am excited I'm finally reading it now because I actually cannot think of a better time to be prepared to fight, be resilient, be strategic, be unified, be intelligent and be strong- just like soldiers at war.

Here are some of my reactions and reflections as I read and what stood out as something interesting to me. If you've read this book or even as you read the clips below, you might have completely different responses and that's what is totally cool about this book! I only have three to share, but would love to hear more from you if you've read it.

"Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks a battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory."- Master Sun

Basically, if you don't have a plan in place "your victory is uncertain." I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to be certain my efforts would result in a victory. I love this quote a lot especially as we strive to build and deploy efforts around new initiatives. It reminds me to feel more confident about inquiring about the long-term goal and strategic thinking behind projects that I don't have clarity on where they're headed. This is why I love people who are brave enough to challenge things and create dialogue that could introduce new ways of thinking that might save you from defeat later on.

"So there are five ways of knowing who will win. Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are victorious. Those who discern when to use many or few troops are victorious. Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same desire are victorious. Those who face the unprepared with preparation are victorious. Those whose generals are able and not constrained by their government are victorious. These five are the ways to know who will win." - Master Sun

I'm sure I would have a different takeaway if I had read this at any other time, but section reminded me a lot of the past few months. Like many companies, we for sure experienced having to charge on with fewer troops for a short while. The team that remained had to get on the same page (and quickly) about our goals and desires. One thing I found really incredible was how fast things that seemingly mattered before COVID, suddenly vanished. It was as if we dropped everything to unify and focus on fewer things (i.e. only the things that made us profitable to survive). And while no one was truly prepared to face what we did, we jumped in and came prepared mentally every single day as much as we could.

"There are five strategic things are to be assessed- the way, the weather, the lay of the land, the leadership, and discipline." - Du Mu

How many times have you started on something or maybe launched something, only to realize the timing was terrible, directions were wrong, or the execution failed? I'm sure we all have. I love this approach to strategic thinking because it accounts for 5 simple things. The way to me is the general plan and mapping out what you want to achieve. The weather meant "is the timing right?" and do we foresee any storms that could impact us? The lay of the land reminded me of a understanding the competition in order to position ourselves for success. And finally, the leadership and discipline is probably the most important to me. Without leadership that is aligned or providing clear direction, your strategy probably isn't going to lead to victory. And without discipline, you don't have consistency or a reason to work harder. In general, I feel like I will use those five references as a strategic tool moving forward.

Hopefully these sparked something in your mind that might help you regardless of any situation you may be in. Whether you're looking for a job or still working, you still have to maintain a strategic mindset, understand your positioning and "the lay of the land" and use intelligence to navigate through it all- just like the very best war generals have for centuries.

Thanks for reading All Kinds of Vibes // Megan