Be responsive

"Just as water follows the ground, which determines its flow, the army responds to the enemy, who determines its victory."
- Sun Tzu

One of the most powerful, yet confusing aspects of Sun Tzu's philosophy is his prescription to take up a "formless position" when facing the enemy. It reminds one of the Zen notion of "becoming like water" and "emptying one's mind."

But the advice to be "formless" is not simply philosophical or mystical - it is meant to be practical advice for how to engage an opponent. For Sun Tzu, one's strategy for dealing with an enemy depends heavily on the enemy - on avoiding where the enemy is strong and attacking where he is weak.

Thus, being formless, for Sun Tzu, is essentially about not coming into battle with a game plan or a pre-defined strategy. It involves watching and listening to the opponent, seeing where the enemy's force is weakest or is unprepared, and then uniting one's force against those critical points.

In other words, being formless is about being responsive to the enemy - following his changes, adapting to his movements, and determining the appropriate response to his situation.

In life, the principle is just as powerful and critical to your success. Too often we are given the advice about "focusing on what you can control, not what you can't." For Sun Tzu, only the first half of that is true: we should definitely understand what we can and do control - the resources, skills, and capabilities we are able to use to push ourselves forward.

But we should never simply "ignore" or be "indifferent" to what goes on outside of our control. Our fate is tied to the system in which we live. It affects our lives, our sense of control.

Rather, we should always be responsive to things outside our control. Of course, not attached to them. Not hoping or expecting things were different (a surefire way to make yourself miserable). But we should be observant, attentive, and ready to act when the time is right.

So, for example, you may not be able to control your partner's response to bad news you need to give him, but paying attention to his moods and perspective would go a long way into determining when's the best time to give him the news as well as how to deliver it.

You may not be able to control whether the stock market is up or down, but understanding the factors that cause it to go up and down and following these factors would be helpful in determining when to buy a certain stock. As famed investor Warren Buffett tells us, the secret to investing is to "be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful." When people are fearful, that is, when they are selling - that's when we should be buying.

You may not be able to control whether that hiring manager hires you for the job. But understanding the newest move his competitor has just done to undermine the company's position would be very useful in determining what you say in that interview.  

No decision or response you make can ever guarantee a certain outcome. But neither should that be the goal. By continually being responsive to the changing moods, cycles, and situations of the people and environment around you, you are strengthening your ability to increase your effectiveness, adapt to change, and ultimately come out on top.