Tips of Using Sun Tzu Art of War in Business Strategy

Every investment made is considered a business with profit but comes with a different concept. Regardless of that, it will still have its very own competitors.

This is also true for every investor who is seeking solutions and strategies for problems in order to have healthy competition.


The famous book, Art of War by Sun Tzu was known for thousands of years and has become very useful to people in this generation especially when it comes to effective strategies to win the world of business.

Until today, the strategy in the book Sun Tzu is still being used in the context of business. Many businesses out there have already implemented the strategies.

The Main Objective of Sun Tzu's Art of War

At the end of the day, the war is to be won but the main strategies stated in this book were that we should closely know our opponent and who will be our challengers in the market. Since we can take a better edge in the market and do much better than our competitors.

Know your enemy as well as yourself, you should not worry about the chances of winning the war

There will be 5 strategies that can be used in Sun Tzu's The Art of War in terms of investments.

1. Know Your Competitors

Even though you think that you are way ahead of your competitors, it will be good to know who your competitors are in-depth. We will never truly know our competitors unless we know them very well and this includes both their strengths and weaknesses.

For instance, when you look at Amazon first started out as an online book store and now they have expanded into many other things by knowing who they are up against. This can also be said of Netflix when it managed to beat Blockbuster by trying a different approach to its business model.
Those who will get to have a taste of victory will be those who know when to jump in or flee from war. If you look into an investment prospect, it will be to know when will be the correct time to jump into the market as well as to step out. Sometimes following what others do might not work for you in the end.

2. Forget Strength and Emphasize On Competitors' Weaknesses

This will make your life much easier than focusing on strength alone which takes time and a lot of effort. This style of strategy is rather more convenient and much safer since the risk can be avoided. There are many ways investors can get profit.

Some of the things stated in the book are " Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course avoid going high places and move faster downwards" Thus this statement clearly means that those who can change their strategy according to the opponents are facing will win the war.

Warren Buffet also once said:

Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful

Always take the opportunity when it comes by as things never last for too long.

3. Getting Intelligence Information

It is always important to get some information regarding your competitors so that you know what you are up against. 

According to Sun Tzu:

Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never peril

This statement clearly defines the importance of knowing the capability of your competitors and comparing them with your own.

 You should learn from what happened between Mcdonald's and Burger King in the "Great French Fry War" in the year 1988. What happened was that Burger King tried to compete by giving out free french fries to the public.
However, Mcdonald's clearly wasn't going to back down and decided to come up with its own plan. They decided to send out a message to all the Mcdonald's restaurants to only serve the best quality french fries to the customers. In the end, Mcdonald's managed to come on top simply because they start ahead by knowing what their competitor's plan was.

As an investor, you should always have a principle of "Buy on rumors. sell on news" since, with every price fluctuation, there is always a story behind it.

Always have many friends and experts in the industry that you are involved in.

4. Act Fast as Time Don't Last

Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where has taken no precautions

 Sun Tzu

When time is of the essence, it is highly crucial for investors to find solutions to problems since golden opportunities don't come by every day. This is especially true if you are a stock trader as you will lose the opportunity to sell it at a high price if you are just mere seconds late.

In this modern world where information can be obtained at the fingertips, there should be no excuse for anyone to not succeed. Those who make the decision first and act accordingly will be the ones at an advantage.

5. Leadership is of Importance

Any type of work or business that you are involved in will require not just diligence but also the attitude of a good leader. As you can see that the strategy of Sun Tzu did not just emphasize intelligence but it is more teamwork, justice as well as staying active most of the time. 

Leadership skills are super important and essential to ensure that the objectives are fulfilled. Therefore, you should always learn from the expert and constantly share knowledge with others so that many people can benefit from you. 

Which features do you think are crucial for an Investor?

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