Great Thinkers: How to Beat Any Adversary

Introduction

Competition is part of life—we compete with others in the social world, the business world, and even in our free time for fun. But while there are lots of different kinds of competition, winning approaches all involve the same thing: A smart strategy well executed.

Ahead, we’ll examine what Great Thinkers in military and politics have to say about the nature of strategy and how you can get ahead of the competition.

Sun Tzu: Know When to Fight

Before you ask how to beat other people, the most important question is: Do I need to fight them at all? This is one of the main points of The Art of War by ancient Chinese strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu. Tzu explains that the best victory is one where you never actually have to fight. If you only fight when necessary—and when you know you’ll win—you’ll use far fewer resources and face far fewer risks.

Tzu elaborates that before you fight, you should take stock of three things: what’s at stake, your capabilities, and the capabilities of the enemy. Then, only enter into conflict if you believe you’ll win and that the fight is worth taking. This way, you maximize your chances of not just winning, but winning when it counts. For example, a poker night with friends is low-stakes, so it’s not a big deal if you lose. On the other hand, starting a business in the same field as a massive corporation means putting a lot on the line to fight a much stronger enemy, and is therefore a bad fight to take.

To measure yourself and your enemy, Tzu recommends you focus on three factors: environment, leadership, and discipline. Environment refers to where and when the conflict is taking place. For Tzu, this means the weather and terrain of the battlefield. For a business owner, it might mean the overall state of the economy and industry. Leadership refers to your ability to inspire others and your overall knowledge in your field, while discipline refers to the willpower and morale of you and the people under you.

Clausewitz: Separate Strategy and Tactics

Once you’ve decided to enter the ring, so to speak, you’ll want to go in with a plan. Nineteenth-century Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz elaborates on this process in On War. He focuses on the difference between strategy and tactics and explains why you should keep them separate.

Clausewitz explains that strategy refers to your big picture plan: your overall goal and how you plan to obtain it. For example, the goal of Army A is to defeat Army B. The strategy of Army A consists of things like strategic locations to fight battles over, cities to occupy, or how to maintain supply lines. The goal of entrepreneur A, on the other hand, is to build a valuable company and then sell it off. Their strategy consists of how to get initial investment, grow revenue, and attract potential buyers.

Tactics are the specific choices you make in the moment to pursue your strategy. Army A choosing to fight over a specific location is a strategic move, while choosing to flank Army B during that battle is a tactical move. Choosing an investor to court is a strategic move, while making your initial pitch fresh and exciting is a tactical move.

Clausewitz notes that while strategy and tactics are deeply intertwined, you need to keep them separate in your mind. Otherwise, you might make in-the-moment decisions that seem smart but don’t help you achieve your goals or even detract from them. For example, entrepreneur A thinks they should pitch their company as small but stable—that way, they won’t be under pressure to grow as quickly. However, the tactic of being humble contradicts entrepreneur A’s strategy of making their company stand out to attract buyers.

Machiavelli: Think Ahead

After developing a strategic plan and a toolbox of tactics, it’s time to think about potential future obstacles. Niccolo Machiavelli, the 16th-century Florentine diplomat and author, emphasizes the importance of foresight in The Prince. He explains that strategic success relies on anticipating future threats, both in terms of who they might come from and what they might consist of. He gives the example of a political leader recognizing which neighboring states could pose a threat based on their ambitions and habits.

Machiavelli argues that foresight requires being a realist, or doing what’s pragmatic and effective instead of what’s morally best. He notes that realism helps you focus on the way things actually are instead of imagining how they should be in a perfect world. This approach makes it easier to anticipate the worst and plan accordingly instead of getting caught off guard. For example, an idealist never expects that a longtime friend and ally would turn against them—they think the bonds of friendship are stronger than power struggles. But a realist recognizes how disastrous such a betrayal would be and plans accordingly.

Musashi: Act Decisively

Once you have an idea of how to move forward, you have to execute your plan. Legendary 17th-century Japanese Samurai Miyamoto Musashi covers how to act in the heat of the moment in The Book of Five Rings. Speaking about battle, Musashi explains that the best warriors are proactive and decisive. When you act swiftly to execute your plan, you set the terms for the competition by forcing everyone else to react to you. This allows you to choose favorable terms that help you succeed. And when you fail to be proactive, someone else will beat you to it and force you into an uncomfortable position.

For example, charging downhill at the enemy forces them into either a disorganized retreat or to fight with a height disadvantage. Alternatively, spotting a new unfilled market niche and acting proactively to fill it sets you up to be the standard-bearer for that new industry.

Great Thinkers’ Advice for Beating Your Competition

• Sun Tzu (The Art of War): Size up yourself and your opponents before you choose to compete. Pick battles you believe you’ll win.
• Carl von Clausewitz (On War): Strategy is your overall plan, while tactics are the methods you use to pursue it. Make sure your tactics support your strategy.
• Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince): To succeed, you need to plan for future obstacles. Be realistic about who and what might get in your way.
• Miyamoto Musashi (The Book of Five Rings): Be proactive and decisive when executing your plan. This forces others to adapt to the terms you want.

What Do You Think?

What kind of competition do you have in your life? What strategies or tactics have you used to beat the competition in the past? How can you make or improve on a plan to succeed in the future?