Thinking method · Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Position before conflict

Improving your position so the contest is easier, rather than fighting harder. Before entering a competition, an argument or a market on strength alone.

Free — no account needed to read

Improving your position so the contest is easier, rather than fighting harder.

The steps

1. Describe the ground honestly: what do you have, what do they have, what does the situation favour?
2. Ask what information each side has, and what each is guessing at.
3. Ask whether the contest is necessary at all, or whether the objective is reachable another way.
4. If it is necessary, change the position or the timing before engaging.

When to use it

Before entering a competition, an argument or a market on strength alone.

What it will not do

Read as a modern manual it becomes cynical quickly. The transferable part is positioning, information and timing — not the war.

Where it comes from: Sun Tzu, The Art of War. Described in our own words.