謀攻篇
孫子曰：凡用兵之法，全國為上，破國次之﹔全軍為上，破軍次之﹔ 全旅為上，破旅次之﹔全卒為上，破卒次之﹔全伍為上，破伍次之。 是故百戰百勝，非善之善也﹔不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。
故上兵伐謀，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城。攻城之法為不得已。 修櫓轒轀、具器械、三月而後成，距闉，又三月而後已。將不勝其忿 ，而蟻附之，殺士三分之一，而城不拔者，此攻之災也。故善用兵者 ，屈人之兵而非戰也。拔人之城而非攻也，破人之國而非久也，必以 全爭于天下，故兵不頓，而利可全，此謀攻之法也。
故用兵之法，十則圍之，五則攻之，倍則分之，敵則能戰之，少則能逃之，不若則能避之。故小敵之堅，大敵之擒也。
夫將者，國之輔也。輔周則國必強，輔隙則國必弱。
故君之所以患于軍者三：不知軍之不可以進而謂之進，不知軍之不可 以退而謂之退，是為縻軍﹔不知三軍之事，而同三軍之政者，則軍士 惑矣﹔不知三軍之權，而同三軍之任，則軍士疑矣。三軍既惑且疑， 則諸侯之難至矣，是謂亂軍引勝。
故知勝有五：知可以戰與不可以戰者勝，識眾寡之用者勝，上下同欲 者勝，以虞待不虞者勝，將能而君不御者勝。此五者，知勝之道也。
故曰：知己知彼，百戰不貽﹔不知彼而知己，一勝一負﹔不知彼不知 己，每戰必貽。
Let's continue ...
故用兵之法，十則圍之，五則攻之，倍則分之，敵則能戰之，少則能逃之，不若則能避之。故小敵之堅，大敵之擒也。
夫將者，國之輔也。輔周則國必強，輔隙則國必弱。
Some translation suggested:
It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.
Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.
Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.
Moran: So the method for using troops is as follows:
If your strength is ten to their one, then surround them. If your strength is five to their one, then attack them. If your strength is double theirs then divide them.【PEM: Later he says that if you surround an army you should give it a way to escape the blockade — the idea being that you would rather have them go back where they came from, or, if they seem not likely to go home and stay home, then a corridor of flight may be offered to them, and it can be a long killing field through which their troops will continue to flee even as the near end of the corridor is being closed off and as they are being culled from both sides as they flee.】
If one is their worthy opponent, then one can fight them. If one is numerically inferior, then one can (flee them)/(take a completely defensive posture with regard to them). If one is not at all a match for them, then one must strive to become able to avoid them entirely. 【PEM: There are two versions of the text at this point.】
【PEM: To "avoid them entirely," one's intelligence service must be equal to the task of telling your soldiers where to go and where not to go.】
So by obdurateness a minor combatant can become the captive of a major combatant. 【PEM: Continuing the idea above, why would a numerically inferior army willingly meet a superior force on an equal footing? The only way the numerically inferior army can win is by ambush or other stratagems that prevent more than a small portion of the other army from getting at them.】
Now a general is an aide to the nation. If his assistance is well-rounded, then the nation must be strong. But if his assistance has lapses in it, then the nation must be weak.
Let's discuss:
故用兵之法，: Therefore, the method for using troops is as follows:
十則圍之，五則攻之，倍則分之；: If the troops are ten times that of the target, surround the target. If the troops are five times that of the target, attack the target. If the troops are double that of the target, divide the target.
敵則能戰之，少則能逃 / 守之，不若則能避之。: If the troops are comparable to that of the target, stay and fight. If the troops are numerically smaller to that of the target, flee / defend the position. If the troops are no match to that of the target, avoid conflict.
故小敵之堅，大敵之擒也。: Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small hardened force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.
夫將者，國之輔也。輔周則國必強，輔隙則國必弱。: A general is the pillar to the nation. If his advice is well-analyzed, then the nation must be strong. But if his advice has cracks, then the nation must be weak.
SunTzu meant that in business, if the size is 10 to 1, do not engage the target directly, produce full compatible products and surround the target's market place. If the size is 5 to 1, attack the target directly by aggressive marketing and market grabbing. If the size is 2 to 1, concentrate on taking on target's products that have significant market share. If the size is 1 to 1 parity, stand and defend own turf. If one is slightly smaller in size, flee to other suitable market space or defend own turf. If one is truly small in size, avoid direct confrontation with the major business. A small business, no matter how clever, will always be captured / killed by the large business. Therefore, a carefully considered plan and execution by a business steward will strengthen the business, otherwise, the steward shall weakened the business' resources.
Generally, I feel that this is quite common business sense. Frequently, I would say that most businesses one conducts no matter how big is still small compared to major business empires (as in controlled by the state enterprises). Therefore, it is not ideal to fight. It is always about defending one's turf. I don't believe in fleeing. If you flee, you just go into another business-type. In that new business-type, you will meet its head honchos there. The problem set is still the same. If that is the case, why don't you, after so much careful considerations in the current business-type, always stand and fight. Sometimes, the answer lies not in warfare, but in co-operation. Give the large entities the feeling that they are advantageous in the dealings. Grow your strength from there.
In many cases, the mom-and-pop store (I am staring at one right now) in a very small town will do roaring business. The service provided is very friendly and personal, but extremely expensive. The next nearest similar store is 100 km away. But, given time, the town will grow and soon the big-box store will arrive, driving out the very mom-and-pop store out of business. The big-box store is cheaper, bigger range and has more accurate delivery of business ethics. The decades of hard work and build-up of branding of the mom-and-pop store are nullified by its entry.
You are not to be fooled by this approach. Battle-hardened yourself through proper product development.
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