The Three Core Principles of the Sun Tzu Way

A core principle is an essential condition that leads to a certain result. It can be used to guide or inform one's decisions and actions.

Having studied The Art of War for over twenty years, I have found that there are three critical principles that serve as the foundation for the Sun Tzu Way. These principles are the same that guide and protect the skilled warriors of the past in achieving total victory (quan sheng), and that can guide you in your own endeavors.

These principles are

1. Cohesion (hé). Communicate a clear direction (Tao) forward. Ensure everything you do supports and aligns with it.
2. Concealment (cáng). Keep your situation - your intentions, abilities, opportunities, and weaknesses - hidden.
3. Control (zhì). Use what you have available to you to build the momentum and influence you need to become master of your situation.

These three principles, though presented separately, are actually inseparable, working with and reinforcing each other.

Let's look at each in depth.

COHESION
"One whose upper and lower ranks share the same sense of purpose will win."
- Sun Tzu

For Sun Tzu, the winning army is one that has a strong sense of unity, acting with one mind, regardless of status or rank. Each member of the army, from the general all the way down to the lowest-ranking soldier, must share a common understanding of what they are trying to do or achieve and why.

For Sun Tzu, war is inherently chaotic and dangerous. Without a strong sense of purpose that binds everyone together, there will be no unified force to resist an invading enemy and ultimately keep the nation. Thus, an army that is united in purpose and whose activities are coordinated to serve this purpose is the first condition for achieving continual success. This fact is what I call the principle of cohesion (hé).

In life, the concept of the same. As humans, we all struggle with acting with one mind. We all have dreams, but are too lazy or scared or disappointed to pursue them. We all want to improve our health or relationships or finances, but feel - either due to our habits or past trauma or upbringing or intimidation - that we are incapable of really changing ourselves or our situation. In other words, we are divided within ourselves.

True change can only occur by overcoming this division and uniting the different parts of ourselves under a singular purpose so that they can cohere and work together.

Applying the principle of cohesion to your own life requires cultivating a clear sense of purpose (yi) - a clear understanding of what you are ultimately trying to do or achieve in life and why. With this understanding, you can then look at the different aspects of your life. You can ask yourself: What is serving my purpose? What aligns with it? What is holding me back from acting with one mind?

Of course, cohesion is just the first step. But it is the most important one since without it, success is impossible.

CONCEALMENT
"Those skilled in defense conceal themselves in the nine grounds below."
- Sun Tzu

For Sun Tzu, the best victory comes from the army occupying a strongly guarded position from which it can strike, and subsequently defeat, an enemy who is unaware or unprepared. As he writes, "the skilled warrior stands on undefeated ground, and does not miss the enemy's defeat."

Achieving this kind of victory requires hiding (cáng) one's positioning from the enemy. As such the principle of concealment is a critical principle in The Art of War.

The skillful general knows how to prevent his enemies from having an accurate or clear understanding of his army's situation and abilities. If the army is far from the enemy, he tries to make his army look near. If the army is big, he tries to make his army look small. He obsesses over covering over his army's situation, spreading misinformation to the enemy and always looking out for the enemy's spies.

Doing this allows the army to occupy positions without the enemy being aware, thereby allowing the army to be both protected and ready to attack an unsuspecting enemy. Thus, the principle of concealment is critical in allowing the general set up his army for victory.

In your own life, you may think you do not need to use concealment or deception to achieve success. You are not an army in Ancient China. Truth is, the principle of concealment is as necessary for you as it is a general in Sun Tzu's time.

The world is marked by competition. And not just competition in terms of jobs or business or funding - but in terms of attention. Everything and everyone - from the shows we watch to our friends to our kids to our spouse to videos to books to colleagues, and so on - is competing for our attention, our focus, our affection, our acceptance, our interest.

This has two important consequences for us. First, if we reveal our goals or intentions to do something, someone or something will provide resistance. This is because our intention to do something means we are putting our focus, our attention towards it. And because the people and media around us is constantly clamoring for that very focus, it will try to divert it. Friends, family, partners, or media may tell us that we shouldn't go that route; it's too risky. Or that we should go a different route - to do what other successful people have done.

The biggest point of resistance will likely be ourselves. Our tendencies towards self-doubt or laziness will creep in. At first we may be excited, and then as time goes on, when things get hard or boring, we'll fall off.

The second consequence is that in trying to influence others and achieve big things, we too must compete. And in a world of where so many things are competing for their time and attention, people are resistant to give you attention or focus, especially if they know what you are up to.

Thus, the principle of concealment has two benefits. First, it protects you from the opposition you may receive from others or even yourself in trying to achieve something. Second, it helps avoid the resistance you may get from trying to engage with and influence someone else.

In implementing the principle of concealment in your life, use the following rules to help guide you:

1. Resist the urge to reveal your goals or intentions. Want to change careers? Want to start exercising? Want to start a business or blog? Resist the urge tell any and everyone. People will just divert or distract you with their opinions. Just start and try to get some momentum going. Do your research on the career, do a few minutes of exercise a day, try to get your first client, create a website and publish some posts. See for yourself what it would be like.
2. Resist the urge to persuade or sell. The moment people think you are trying to convince or persuade them to believe or do something, they will get resistant. A wall will go up that will be very difficult to bring down. Never signal you are trying to change someone's mind. The only thing you can do is provide an open and engaging space where people can change their own minds. Start a conversation, listen to people's concerns, understand what they ultimately want, give them different options, and let them decide what to do next.
3. Learn to communicate through actions and results, not words. Which do you think is more effective at making your partner feel loved and appreciated - telling your partner how much you love and appreciate them, or getting them a special gift, sitting down and listening to them as they tell you about their day, complimenting them? Or which do you think is more effective at showing people you are serious about exercising - telling people that you are going to start working out, or showing people how much weight you've lost or the muscles you've developed? Actions and results are infinitely more effective than words, since they communicate facts, not good intentions or opinions.
4. Strive to make appear natural that which takes effort. The essence of concealment is making that which actually took planning and effort look as if it were simple and natural. Everything you say and do should appear as if it comes from your own natural talents and personality, and not from calculated preparation. People are fooled by appearances because they want to be. Having to question everyone's intentions is too big of a burden on people's consciousness. Thus, you have to be skilled at knowing the right actions to take to give the impression that you are naturally someone who takes those actions. Understand who you wish to be and then do what someone like that would do.

CONTROL
"Therefore, the winning army is like using yi to weigh against zhu. A defeated army is like using zhu to weigh against yi."
- Sun Tzu

In this quote, the terms yi and zhu here refer to measurements of weight. Yi outweighs zhu probably by a factor of hundred or so. For Sun Tzu, a winning army is not simply one that defeats its enemy, but one that has attained an overwhelming number of advantages over the enemy. As such, its victory is secure.

Securing victory is not a matter of having the strongest or sharpest or bravest soldiers. Rather, securing victory is a matter of controlling (zhì) the ground. This is known as the principle of control.

For Sun Tzu, the ground is not simply a physical place, but the army's situation in relation to the enemy. It is the context of the engagement and the set of options available to each.

The army who has control over the ground thereby controls the advantages and options that the ground offers. Thus, for Sun Tzu, the winning army is constantly maneuvering itself into a position of control (zhì quán) before it engages the enemy. The skillful general never focuses on how to destroy or defeat the enemy in battle. Rather, he always has his mind on how to establish a position of control on the battlefield so that the army's victory is not in danger.

As such, he is always calculating the advantages and disadvantages of every move. He mobilizes his troops only when there is an advantage and fights only if there is danger. And he strikes only when and where the enemy is unprepared. He avoids direct confrontation when he can and keeps his army mainly in wait until an opportunity to attack or move presents itself.

In moving only to gain advantages and fighting only when necessary, he slowly builds up a position of control that allows him to secure his victory over the enemy.

In your own life, this same principle holds true. Success in life depends on your ability to increase your sense of control over your situation. What you must strive for is not achieving a benchmark or big achievement, but to secure a position of control within your environment. This ultimately is what will allow you to feel a sense of an - peace, calmness, security - in your life.

In utilizing the principle of control in your own life, use the following rules to guide you:

1. Start with yourself. Controlling your situation means first controlling yourself. Self-control means the ability to be patient and to stop and think about your options before taking action. Before reacting to some event - someone cuts you off, your boss passes you up for a promotion, your kids disobey an order you gave, your spouse complains about something you've done - just take a deep breath. Think about what would happen if you act in the way you want, as opposed to not acting. Consider your options. The greater you're able to control yourself, the better your ability to control the situation. 
2. Avoid ego conflicts. Most events that seem like conflicts - someone cutting you off, your boss passing you up for promotion, your spouse criticizing you, etc. - are really just jabs at our ego. It is very easy to feel attacked in these circumstances. But really the problem is that we are taking these events personally because these things make us feel undervalued. The best way of dealing with ego conflicts is not to take them personally. Someone cuts you off? Let it go. As long as you were not in danger, there is no need to hold on to it. Your boss passed you up for a promotion? Take it as an opportunity to think about your next step - whether it's building your skills, looking for another job, and establishing a stronger relationship with your boss. Your spouse is complaining about something you did or forgot to do? Listen to them! Determine if they may have a point and how to resolve the conflict. Whatever you decide to do, do not take an ego conflict as opportunity to argue or fight. It is not. Rather, it is always an opportunity to learn how someone views you or their relationship with you. View it as valuable information, not an attack.
3. Sharpen your tools. If you understand your purpose (see Cohesion), then you can understand the knowledge, skills, and capabilities you need to achieve it. Sharpen these tools. Build your knowledge, develop your skills, grow your capabilities. If you want to be a good parent, keep reading up and utilizing parenting techniques.  If you want to be a good partner, keep watching those videos on marriage advice. 
4. Find the way forward. Every situation provides you with options. Many of these situations will not provide you with the options you hoped for. Your goal, regardless, is not to get the option you wished for, but to choose the option that allows you to move your purpose forward. With example of your boss passing you up for promotion, you may have a few options available. Perhaps you can have an honest conversation with your boss about why you were passed up and what you can do to prove your worth. Or maybe you can see if there are other opportunities within your company that you can try to capitalize on. Or maybe you can reassess whether moving up in the company you are in is really what you want to do. The best option is the one that aligns with your overall goals. What are you trying to do or achieve, and why? Go with the option that best supports this.
5. Use and build off what is available to you. Just like every situation has options, every situation allows you to use resources, advantages, or opportunities that are available to you. These resources, advantages, and opportunities will not be what you hoped for, but regardless, you must use what you have to move forward and build off it. For example, you may not have the budget you wanted for a project at work, but perhaps you have a team of people with diverse skills to help you. You may not have gotten the promotion you wanted, but perhaps you were able to impress your manager's boss with your achievements over the past year - this may be an important relationship to cultivate. Always look for any upside in your situation and capitalize on it.

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These three principles make up the foundation of the Sun Tzu Way. It is by following them consistently, committing yourself to them, that you will secure success in your life and cultivate a deep sense of an, or peace, in your life.