Saturday, May 30, 2026 · 9:41 AM
ok dumb question
is Sun Tzu basically saying “be so scary nobody fights you”
kinda, but scarier is the cheap version
the better read is: arrange the situation so fighting stops making sense
that sounds like consultant judo
lol fair
Sun Tzu’s line is pretty blunt: winning every battle is not the top prize
the top prize is breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting
😮wait winning all your battles is... second place?
yep
because battle is expensive even when you win
people die, weapons get worn down, supplies vanish, tempers take over
so “supreme excellence” is basically avoiding the bill
exactly
think of a negotiation where the other side never storms out because every door except the sane one quietly closes
that feels a little manipulative tho
it can be
Sun Tzu is writing military strategy, not kindergarten ethics
but the useful version is: solve the incentive problem before it becomes a collision
what does he say to do instead of fighting?
he gives a ladder
best: baulk the enemy’s plans
next: keep their forces or allies from joining up
then attack the army in the field
worst: besiege a walled city
because it’s the “fine, smash the problem with your forehead” option
Giles’s translation says siege tools take three months, then mounds take three more
and if the general gets irritated, he throws men at the walls like swarming ants
it gets worse
Sun Tzu says a third of the men can be killed while the town still isn’t taken
so the “decisive” move can be mostly waste
i thought the brave thing was taking the city
that’s the counterintuitive bit
he’s much more impressed by taking the country whole and intact
same with armies: capture them whole if you can, don’t grind them into dust
because intact stuff is still useful after
yes
destroying the thing you wanted is a very expensive way to be right
the clean win leaves people, cities, supplies, and options still standing
🤯so the point is less “crush them” and more “make resistance dumb”
that’s the line
their plan fails, their coalition doesn’t form, their best move gets blocked early
by the time fighting is available, it’s already a bad trade
how do i use this without becoming a tiny warlord in meetings
start boring
1. find the conflict before it hardens
2. ask what each side is trying to protect
3. change the setup so the easiest path is the one you want
4. leave people a clean exit, so they don’t have to lose publicly
“leave them a clean exit” is the part i always forget
same. it’s very annoying and very useful
Sun Tzu would rather win with everyone’s stuff still intact
which is also just a decent way to keep group chats from becoming ruins
ok i’m stealing that for work
steal gently
and if anyone starts building siege mounds in a meeting, go get coffee
Read Sat, May 30 · 9:59 AM