After crossing a river, get as far away from its bank as possible and move on. When an invading force of the enemy is crossing a river, never engage it in the midst of the river itself. Rather, let half of its force cross the river first, then attack it so that you can gain the advantage. If you are eager to attack an invading enemy, never engage him at the point where he plans to cross a river. For a commanding view and to ensure better chances of survival against the enemy, occupy high grounds. Never move upstream to engage an enemy. These are the principles for deploying troops in marine battles. – Chapter Nine, Sun Tzu Art of War

Above are the principles when engaging enemies in marine battles. Let us look at how these principles can be applied to business.

Business Application

After crossing a river, get as far away from its bank as possible and move on.

The reason why we need to get as far away from the bank after we cross the river is because we do not want to trap ourselves between the body of water and enemy’s troops. If we do, we cannot move forward or backward.

In business, before you venture into overseas market, detailed planning is required, especially in the area of marketing. You have to quickly establish a ‘beachhead’ in the targeted market and try to capture as much market share as possible (analogous to getting away from the bank). If you are not able to capture enough, you might be forced out of business by competitors easily.

When an invading force of the enemy is crossing a river, never engage it in the midst of the river itself. Rather, let half of its force cross the river first, then attack it so that you can gain the advantage. If you are eager to attack an invading enemy, never engage him at the point where he plans to cross a river.

The reason why we engage the enemy when half of its force is crossing the river is because firstly, he would not be able to attack you with his full strength.

Applying the principles above in business, if you are not able to come up with the necessary capital to set up the infrastructures for a new market that is not tapped by competitors, it would be appropriate to wait and see. If there are other competitors who are building or have built certain infrastructure, tap them and try to use it for your own assault on the new market. Do not signal to them that you also want to attack the market (attack him before he crosses the river). This would result in the both of you in a wait and see battle.

Never move upstream to engage an enemy.

Why should we not engage an enemy in the upstream? As we know, water flows from high places to low places. If your enemy has conquered the higher grounds, it is advocated by Sun Tzu, that you do not engage it. (Please see Sun Tzu Art Of War – Three Business Lessons From Deployment Of Troops In Mountainous Region) Because firstly, you are not able to catch him unaware and secondly, the enemy has the help from the terrain to create momentum.

In business, as mentioned before, do not go head on with a rival that has the benefit of the trends that are developing in the environment. You must know which enemy to choose to fight taking into consideration the market, industry, resources and competitive advantage.

So above are the three lessons we can learn from Sun Tzu’s principles of deploying troops in marine battles.