Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao

The state of Wei launched an attack on the state of Zhao in In 353 BC. The king of Zhao asked help from state of Qi to forestall this attack Qi obliged and sent a strong contingent commanded by General Tian Ji. The General wished to attack the strong Wei army directly, but his strategist Sun Bin who is a descendant of famous Sun Tzu advised a counter attack on Wei by besieging it rather than meeting them in battle in Zhao. The result was…….

When the Wei army camped on the outskirts of Zhao, heard  the news of besiege of Zhao, changed course and returned home to defend home front. A returning army exhausted after a long journey back home was an excellent opening for General Tian Ji who massacred the Wei army and rescued Zhao. This incident led to the second stratagem in the “36 stratagem” under the title “Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao”.

Distract and destroy syndrome:  As a business stratagem, besiege Wei to rescue Zhao drives home the point that a new and upcoming company should never pick up a fight with the strongest competitor. Instead it must mount stealth attack on what the company cherishes to preserve. When this happens the strong company retreats to preserve its position or covers up weakness. A good example is the innovation ladder. Apple is definitely the super innovator yet Samsung has beaten her on sales volume.

Find the chink in the armour: Another way to look at this stratagem is for the new company to find out a niche market where the strong guy is absent or under-performing. The new entrant can leverage its competitive advantage over the lead company. Sun Tzu summarises: “If the enemy is campaign his defence will be weak; if his army is fast moving, his baggage train is slow; if the army is well-equipped, the treasury is down”. Needless to say Huawei is beating big Telco giants in 5G technology.

Bring an ally onto the scene: In a competitive environment do not go solo. Business stratagem dictates that you must build alliances. These are done at the development, rolling out, installation and in support services. Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao is a classic advice given by Sun Pin in building right alliances. Chinese business culture is anchored on demand generation as an input side along with supplier network on the supply train. When a company is moving fast in its chosen field it must realize that the baggage train will become slower as Sun Tzu points out. To speed up every business must have allies to push the carts carrying goods to and fro faster.

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist