The Thirty-Six Strategies: Defending

Studying the Thirty-Six Strategies could provide modern day generals of industry with another way of looking at situations they face. In a time of crisis, survival in the business world often depends on finding an unorthodox solution to even common problems. The Thirty-Six Strategies could rightly offer ancient Chinese wisdom to help you succeed in the modern-day battlefield of business.

Here we present the strategies for defending.

Create something out of nothing. (Simplified Chinese: 无中生有; Pinyin: Wú zhōng shēng yǒu)

The simplest interpretation for this strategy is, well, to lie. You can either by make competitors and opponents believe in the existence of something that does not exist or convince them that something that does exist does not. Confused yet?

Wikipedia cites an incident during the Battles of Yongqiu and Suiyang. The besieged Tang soldiers in Yongqui hit upon an ingenious plan when they discovered they were running out of arrows. The general Zhang Xun ordered his men to make a thousand scarecrows. At night, the soldiers dressed these scarecrows in their own armor and made sure they were visible from the enemy's camp.

The Yan forces shot at the scarecrows, thinking they were shooting at the enemy. The Tang soldiers got much needed ammunition – as much as 200,000 arrows, the story goes – before the Yan wised up to the trickery.

The next time they saw what appeared to be soldiers scaling down the castle walls at night, the Yan did not even bother to fire a single arrow. Which was really quite a mistake as this time, they were real soldiers who had no trouble attacking the mostly sleeping Yan. The Yan were forced to retreat from their positions.

A positive interpretation is, of course, innovation. Innovators are people who could imagine things as they could be and not just see things as they are. They are at the forefront of creating products and services that other people haven't thought of. Remember Google?

Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang. (Simplified Chinese: 暗渡陈仓; Pinyin: Àn dù chén cāng)

Liu Bang retreated to Sichuan to prepare for a confrontation with Xiang Yu during the Chu-Han contention. Once he had prepared his troops, he sent some of his men to repair the gallery roads that he had destroyed earlier. However, he was secretly moving his forces towards Guanzhong through the small town of Chencang. Xiang Yu was so focused on Liu Bang's troops repairing the road – a task that would take several years to complete – that he dismissed him as a threat. This allowed Liu bang to attack him by surprise, eventually leading to his defeat and the birth of the Han dynasty.

Watch the fires burning across the river. (Simplified Chinese: 隔岸观火; Pinyin: Gé àn guān huǒ)

The Chinese have another saying that expresses the same idea: “Sit on the mountain top and watch the tigers fight.”

Newcomers in business have to be alert to opportunities presented when big companies get in a squabble. When a big company chooses to take on another one, smaller companies could have the chance to move in and grab a piece of the market.

Hide a knife beyond a smile. (Simplified Chinese: 笑里藏刀; Pinyin: Xiào lǐ cáng dāo)

This is a strategy whose meaning is perhaps self-evident. First, you win your opponent's trust and when he doesn't consider you a threat anymore, that's when you strike. Definitely not nice, but straightforward.

This was the strategy used by corporate raiders in the 1980s, who claimed all the time that they just wanted to reward stockholders for the value of the company, The Pocket Interpreter for Business says.

Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree. (Simplified Chinese: 李代桃僵; Pinyin: Lǐ dài táo jiāng)

Westerners have their own version of this strategy: “Losing a battle to win the war.” During the Three Kingdoms Period, Cao Cao made use of this strategy. During a siege, his supplies were running low. He instructed his captain to use more water than rice to save grains. When the soldiers complained, Cao Cao ordered the captain to be executed. He explained to the troops that the captain had been selling supplies to the enemy. The troops' attention was diverted from the lack of food and their morale was raised, enabling them to win the battle shortly.

In business, there's often the temptation to focus on short-term goals. Far-sighted and successful businesspeople don't hesitate to forgo short-term gain that will not contribute to their long-term goal.

Employing this strategy demands courage and resolve, especially when sacrifices sometimes have to be made.

Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat. (Simplified Chinese: 顺手牵羊; Pinyin: Shùn shǒu qiān yáng)

Another strategy that doesn't need a lengthy explanation. Men on their way to battle still have to be aware of the little opportunities that come their way, such as a goat left unguarded, perhaps? The morale of this strategy is that no opportunity is too small. That applies to business, too.