Comments on Sun Tzu’s The Art of
War, edited by Dick Cooledge, Comptche Press, 1927.
Sun Tzu: “But enough
negative. We want to win, right. There are five essentials for my officers and
NCOs:
-
Know when to fight and when not to fight.
-
Know how to fight both stronger and
weaker opponents
-
Keep the spirit of the troops strong
-
Prepare, Wait, Pounce when the enemy
least expects it
Of course, it helps if His and Her Eminences
would let you win the war after tasking you to do that and not play general
like a child with his tin soldiers.”
Raven: “Wait. Wait. Think about
these five essentials. If there are no salmon to catch, why fish the river.
That’s essential. If there are lots of salmon to catch, why not share. A party
is always fun, Fun. That’s essential too. You Anglos say you catch more bees
with honey than with vinegar. Among we Corvidae, we say, why not have fun with
it?”
Poor Richard: “There are no
absolutes in this, or any other, business. Still we can say some things. The
successful merchant knows that the only way merchants stay in business is by
trading, Si the successful merchant trades. She is like a meteorologist. She
watches the tides of market conditions and investment capital and has models in
her mind to predict where and when to stand with her pot to catch the tail of
the rainbow. He is like farmer who plants and prays, but also has just
installed a drip irrigation system for the grapes. Wonderful food the grape. So
many ways if consuming it. The term sheet is simply a best guess and an offer
you seriously hope they will accept. But you know you are at the high end of
their negotiation range. You just hope you are within that range or you wil
have to backpedal rapidly if you want a deal. Wait, I said that somewhere. An
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
© Phyl Speser, February
10, 2013
Comments on Sun Tzu’s The Art of
War, edited by Dick Cooledge, Comptche Press, 1927.
Sun Tzu: “Ah. A saying.
Yes, I like sayings. History is nice to people with pithy sayings. But I
digress. If you know yourself and your partner in this dance, you need not fear
a war’s worth of battles. If you only know yourself, but not the other, you
will win one and lose one and win one and lose one forever. If you are just
some ignorant fool and know neither, you will slaughter your troops like
truffles before the pig’s snout.”
Raven: “We can talk ourselves into
a lot of foolish things. So it helps to talk to others. Even better if they are
wise. But what is it the Chinese say? True sages are like redwoods. There are
many if you open your eyes and unstop your ears and smell when you breathe.
Like anything, it becomes easier with practice,”
Poor Richard: “Everybody wants a
formula. There are lots of formulas. Pick the one you like. Sooner or later
someone will ask you why you picked it, so be sure you have an answer.”
© Phyl Speser, February
11, 2013