Comments on Sun Tzu’s The Art of
War, edited by Dick Cooledge, Comptche Press, 1927.
Sun Tzu: “By this
simple principle, we can rank strategies. It is best to foil the enemy’s plans
and dishearten them before they have momentum. Next best strategy is to disrupt
the enemy from marshalling their forces. The third best strategy is to engage
the enemy where you can maneuver to your for advantage. The worst strategy is
to attack where the enemy is entrenched and strong,
Raven: “When you walk in a
restaurant, if you know what you want and think you can get it, you can ask for
it. If you know what you want and don’t think you can get it, you can settle
for whatever on the menu that you like. If there is nothing on the menu that
you like, you can still ask the waiter for a recommendation. The problem is you may not like the
recommendation. So before you ask, it is useful to know what you will order if
the recommendation doesn’t sound tasty.”
Poor Richard: “First figure the cash flow requirements, then you can figure
out the terms that allow you to get it. Once you have terms that let you get
the cash flow, you figure out the terms that can keep you from losing it. Once
you have those, you can think about the enforcement mechanisms. It’s always
better if they have to sue you rather than you them if things do not work out.
The plaintiff carries the burden of proof as well and still has to collect even
if they win. If someone is going to get discouraged and quit because it is a
hassle, better it’s them.
© Phyl Speser, January
31, 2013
Comments on Sun Tzu’s The Art of
War, edited by Dick Cooledge, Comptche Press, 1927.
Sun Tzu: “The rule is:
Don’t besiege walled cities if you can possibly avoid it.”
Raven: “Metaphor’s a beautiful part
of speech, but then so is simply stating the truth. If you like low hanging
fruit, just remember to avoid the rotten ones”
Poor Richard: “The merchant worth his salt knows the bottom line is that
there is a bottom line. Only the foolish do deals where they lose money. Better
to give it away for free.”
© Phyl Speser, February
4, 2013