The Art of War has been used for over 25 centuries by generals to wage war and latterly by business executives and sports coaches to win in their respective ‘battlefields’. Much has been written over the last 15 years or so aiming to bring clarity to Sun Tzu’s tenets and to transpose the 13 Principles into corporate language that everybody could follow. In this series, we’re going to take a look at some of the most important ares identified by Sun Tzu and how they apply to your digital strategy.

Leveraging the wisdom in The Art of War can only benefit the reader. Not only will the reader see a General’s overview of all that’s required to run a competitive strategy, but they’ll automatically begin to translate them into their own business language. And this can be the beginning of a long journey that will only strengthen an individual’s strategic mind. There are plenty of free downloads of the 1910 translation by Lionel Giles and it’s always going to be a good idea to take a look, if you’re not already familiar with the text.

However, until recently many have found it difficult to move Sun Tzu’s thinking into their own world. Even with the help of books by the likes of Mark McNeilly and Donald Krause; if the reader wasn’t in a position of power, much of the book became redundant. Sure, it was great knowledge to have and always sparked interest as a talking point at dinner parties and networking events, but only really suited those in powerful positions.

That has all changed. The internet presents us with a perfect battlefield and since the advent of iMarketing, Sun Tzu’s work has become more important than it was before, if that’s possible. The reason is simple; namely that the internet provides a complete ‘battlefield’ and a need for a total strategy. Creating and servicing a successful internet presence will be augmented by a knowledge of this classic piece of writing.

If you think about it, the internet is perfect ground for applying Sun Tzu’s 13 Principles. You build your power level by establishing your digital calling card. Once you have created your ‘army’ (website) and have equipped it accordingly (links, videos, reports & attitude), you can go out and study the battlefield (marketplace). How competitive? Who are the major players? Off-page SEO possibilities? Backlinks or JVs? These are all areas for study and analysis. And war!

Merely by thinking in terms of your site as a mobilised army or competitive sports team, will help you to understand the simplicity of Sun Tzu’s strategy and how you can leverage it to your advantage. Just by asking yourself what Sun Tzu might have recomended, is the beginnings of leveraging advantage.

There’s a brilliant documentary based on The Art of War by The History Channel that speaks to experts like Mark McNeilly and gives historical recreations of Sun Tzu’s Principles.

All of the 13 principles listed in the table of contents of the Art of War can be seen as the cornerstones of your positional strategy. It is important to state that The Art of War is not about how to fight, it’s about how not to fight. And it’s the same with our competition in the marketplace. You don’t fight them, you continually position yourself, leveraging your strengths and exploiting their areas of weakness.

It’s also a wise idea to learn to play Go! There’s plenty online. Takes 5 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master and gives you insight into the differences between Western and Eastern approaches to competition. In the East, it’s about market share or ground, and in the West, we have a more head to head attritional approach, similar to chess. The East is about taking ground, the West is about winning. Much can be learned from Go! and you can always tell your boss that you’re brushing up your strategic skills, when you’re caught playing at the office.

It should always be kept in mind, that The Art Of War concentrates on how not to fight. Crucial to the core of the work, is that by knowing yourself and knowing your adversary, then you will succeed in a hundred battles. It’s longevity is partly down to the fact that it is centered on not actually fighting unless absolutely necessary.

Becoming aware of The Art of War, is a vital step in anybody’s thinking about strategy and execution. If you study all the strategy books out there, you’ll find that they’re all modelled on Sun Tzu. So again, as with Jung and Aristotle, if you know the primary source and primary research, you begin to understand better that which follows.