Deceive the heavens to cross the sea

In Chinese folk lore there are stories of kings and their stratagems in fighting battle and conducting matters of statehood. “Deceive the heavens to cross the sea” is the first of the celebrated 36 stratagem. The germ of the proverb is to appear non-threatening to competitors by going about the daily routines in normal way and in open manner until the crunch time comes…

In 225 BC, State of Qin in China sent General Wang Jian to conquer the next most powerful state of Chu. At an earlier occasion state of Qin sent much bigger army to attack Chu but was defeated convincingly. General Wang Jian knew this well and did not want same thing to happen. So instead of a direct attack on Chu he camped at the outskirts of the state. 

The Chu state was ready for war and was taunting Jiang to take up the fight. Wang Jian dismissed it matter of factly and was seen openly engaged in fun and frolic in daytime and partying during night. Several months passed and there was no sign of any hostilities happening. Chu army exasperated from the long wait decided to call off the campaign and started withdrawing from their encampment. The retreating army was an easy prey for General Wang Jian and in the ensuing surprise attack he not only decimated the entire Chu army but captured the state of Chu with little bloodshed.

Masking oneself and making false pretension is the key element in this stratagem. When you behave normally under tense situation and that too in open and visible manner the opponent gets weary and ultimately either lowers his guard or gives up on his campaign. This stratagem has deception, evasion and a great degree of misleading the opponent inter twined in it.

As a business stratagem, deceiving heavens to cross the sea is applied by companies engaged in footwear, aviation, leisure and gaming where the enticement trap can be easily laid. For example, Nike wants to tell a story, how Nike product started its journey from idea to reality in the form of fitting footwear on the legs of consumers. Interesting and important facts about footwear, health, fitness that Nike product provides to users are highlighted. In doing so the premium price Nike charges is entirely forgotten!

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist