By Overview:
Businesses all over the world compete with others to be on top. That is why a popular Chinese proverb is used for it “Marketplace is a Battlefield”. And you have to make strategies and use them efficiently if you want your business to thrash others.
Sun Tzu the author of “The Art of War” Described 5 elements that can be implemented in both war and business. These rules are to conquer the opponent. But with proper understanding and analyzing the situation.
I will share the 5 elements and examples to make it easy for you to understand. So, let’s dive into it.
5 Elements of Success:
1) TAO [Goodness]:
The first element that Sun Tzu emphasizes is goodness or righteousness. And it means making the ideal decision at the right time even if it has consequences.
We all know how big Nestle is and they show the example of Tao by making the right decision for the Chinese people when they got hit by an earthquake of a magnitude of 8.
Nestle gave 10 million Chinese Yuan to the people of China to help them in this tough situation. They didn’t have any kind of purpose behind it they just did the right thing according to them.
When the Milk disaster hit China they already had a substitute for that and that is Nestle. The company expanded its business and now China is one of the biggest consumers of Nestle.
2) Tien [The Timing]:
Another ancient war strategy is to use time properly. As it is the most crucial decision of when to wait, Attack, and defend. As the whole war and military strategy of war depends on it.
According to Sun Tzu, you should not until you see an advantage in moving. And you shouldn’t send your military where there is no benefit present. Lastly, do not wait until it’s important.
To understand it better let’s go through the example of one of the most popular coffee brands Starbucks. The brand wanted to enter the Chinese market. But it was not possible, as there has been a very strong tea culture present in China for thousands of years.
Starbucks didn’t hurry, they did a lot of market research and started finding the right strategy to make their way. And then use the strategy of not competing with the tea. The reason behind it is if they compete with the tea which has been the first preference then it would seem like to the locals that the brand is trying to ruin their culture.
That is why they showed Starbucks as a luxury item of a luxury lifestyle. This strategy worked extremely well. And now China is the second most Starbucks-consuming country. This is what you call a perfect timing. And this is what needed to do in the business assignment as you should go for the perfect timing. Or else take assistance from assignment help UAE.
3) DI [Assets / Resources]:
Another important thing is how a business uses its assets and resources. And that applies the same in the military and war. The better you use your troops the more chance of winning the battle will be with you.
The actual meaning of DI is earth. Sun Tzu shares this strategy so anyone can use this in battle. Which is to understand the competitor in business and the opponent in battle. Also, analyze what are the benefits and disadvantages they have.
To Understand this, you have to understand the example of a brand which is the largest producer of Surimi in Europe. And now the brand wanted to enter China. But the price of local products is way too low and the brand hasn’t gained the trust of the people of China.
So that is why have to come up with a different solution which is to enter the market as a high-protein product. And offers its sea foods that target a rich audience. And this strategy became successful for them.
4) [Leader / Leadership]:
The result of every battle depends on the leader and his decisions. As leadership is the most important thing is to win either at war. Or to win over your competitors in business.
Let’s understand it with an example. There was a hotel in Yunnan Province, China in the 90s that complained that its staff was not motivated enough to do the work. And that is because their salaries were fixed.
The government took action and changed the leadership, but that leadership was not the local one. And they didn’t understand the market they had captured. The new management breaks all the discounted offers with the tourists and because of this, no one was booking the hotel. And the hotel fell into big trouble. As this shows the importance of leadership in strategy whether to win over a business or any opponent.
5) FA [Discipline and Method or Management]:
The meaning of this element is to manage the quality of everything. And as it is being used in the war and for military purposes. So, this uses to indicate the route the items and everything that leads to the camps should reach the camp easily without any issue.
And to understand this in the context of the business let’s see an example. Back in 2014 One of the biggest fast food chains McDonald’s was under the shade for the case of poor quality and expired meat used in their products. This news spread like fire. And the biggest food chains have to pay millions of dollars in fines.
This shows the lack of discipline of the fast food company and they didn’t handle the ingredients to reach the best quality.