One of the big ideas of The art of the war is in the consideration of all the available potential, of partners or enemies, whatever is the situation. As Sun Tzu said : “Knowing the other and knowingoneself, in one hundred battles no danger. Not knowing the other and knowing oneself, one victory for one loss. Not knowing the other and not knowing oneself, in every battle certain defeat.”
Thegame consists in making them turn in your own profit. The strategy is not an exact science, and requires some creativity. What we have to make, it is necessary to make it done by the enemy. The thoughtof Sun Tzu is the opposite of the the direct way, frontal and destructive strategy which has difficulties producing qualitative changes.

Two important principles which govern the Chinese thoughtare the economy and the harmony. It is necessary to avoid the destruction or the resentment difficult to overcome, to by-pass or to manage afterward. In other words, it is necessary to reflect aboutthe consequences of any action, and to choose the one who protects more the available resources.

In The art of the war, it is about situational strategy in a perpetual transformation context. This iswhy the text of Sun Tzu is still studied, in the heart of the globalization and of the global interdependence. The world is in perpetual change and creates opportunities permanently for which it isnecessary to show speed. The solution : the network. More active and skillful than any strenght of important size, it handles the information quickly if the objective is common. It is what writes SunTzu : it is not the size of an army which insures its victory.

On the practical side, The art of the war does not obviously apply as a ready for use method. And nobody would say that he appliedsuch stratagem of Sun Tzu. However, we can say that a friendly Public Takeover Bid can be a real illustration of the ideas of Sun Tzu. Convince the opposition that they lost the battle is the best way…