36 Stratagems

Tactical planning provides an input to the overall business plan and ensures contingency plans have been thought through prior to an event or action. The following pages consider business tactics based on the Chinese "36 Stratagems" which is an historical military text. Stratagems are clever, sometimes unconventional solutions to a problem and are normally at the level of tactics. If you have an interest in Chinese strategy have a look at "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.

The 36 Stratagems are grouped into sixes:

• Stratagems 1 - 6 are when you are in a winning situation
• Stratagems 7 - 12 are when you are in a confrontation situation
• Stratagems 13 - 18 are when you are in an attacking situation
• Stratagems 19 - 24 are when you are in confused situations
• Stratagems 25 - 30 are when you are in a ground gaining situation
• Stratagems 31 - 36 are when you are in a desperate situation

You may be wondering why you should show any interest in military tactics and particularly historical Chinese tactics. The reason is simple, China is again becoming a major power and sooner or later your business will have to transact business with Chinese organisations and you will be affected by the manoeuvering of Chinese companies in international markets. The Chinese believe that the twentieth century was the Century of the Atlantic with most trade and politics revolving around relationships between North America and Europe; they believe this century will be the Century of the Pacific where most trade and politics will revolve around relationships between China, India, Japan and North America.

Chinese and Indian companies are already investing internationally and taking over foreign companies. The level of investment in China and India by western organisations continues at a high level. The sooner you understand how to do business in the Chinese way the better. To the Chinese business is very similar to warfare and they therefore refer to their ancient texts for advice. The Chinese notice how Japan used these same Chinese texts to build their international business empires after the Second World War.

Most Chinese strategies and tactics are based on two concepts:

1. There is rarely a good reason to let your competitor know what you are doing, there may be very good reasons to mislead your competitor as to your intentions
2. Do not play the competitor's game instead find out where your competitor is weak and attack them there.
3. Determine your competitor's tactics, just because someone is being friendly does not mean they should be trusted - they may have ulterior motives.