Use The Art of War to Grow Your Business
In business, we are always seeking guidance and direction. The complex nature of business leads us to look for frameworks and philosophies that will inform our decision-making.
We are often asked during our classes, webinars, and presentations, “How did you apply the art of war in your business?”
We’ll discuss exactly this topic here.
The Origins of Strategy
Modern business strategy has its origins in military strategy. The essence of business is to prevail over your competition to win market share and increase profit. Most business transactions are a zero-sum game where one participant wins, while the other loses.
As an example, let’s imagine you sell toasters. Very few customers want or need two toasters. So, once the sale is made, one seller wins, and everyone else loses.
Carl von Clausewitz was a Prussian general and military theorist. His most famous book, On War, focused on the psychological and political aspects of conflict, rather than traditional military strategy.
“War is a clash between major interests….Rather than comparing it to art we could more accurately compare it to commerce, which is also a conflict of human interests and activities.”
