b.孫子兵法 (兵勢篇第五) (Chapter 5 - 4) (Part 28)

The last part is here:   孫子兵法 (兵勢篇第五) (Chapter 5 - 3) (Part 27)

兵勢篇

孫子曰：   凡治眾如治寡，分數是也﹔鬥眾如鬥寡，形名是也﹔三軍之 眾，可使必受敵而無敗，奇正是也﹔兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虛實是也。
          凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。故善出奇者，無窮如天地，不竭如江河。 終而復始，日月是也。死而復生，四時是也。聲不過五，五聲之變， 不可勝聽也。色不過五，五色之變，不可勝觀也。味不過五，五味之 變，不可勝嘗也。戰勢不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮之也。奇正相生，如環之無端，孰能窮之？
          激水之疾，至于漂石者，勢也﹔鷙鳥之疾，至于毀折者，節也。是故 善戰者，其勢險，其節短。勢如張弩，節如發機。
          紛紛紜紜，鬥亂而不可亂也。渾渾沌沌，形圓而不可敗也。
          亂生于治，怯生于勇，弱生于強。治亂，數也﹔勇怯，勢也﹔強弱，形也。
          故善動敵者，形之，敵必從之﹔予之，敵必取之。以利動之，以卒動之。
          故善戰者，求之于勢，不責于人，故能擇人而任勢。任勢者，其戰人也，如轉木石。木石之性，安則靜，危則動，方則止，圓則行。故善 戰人之勢，如轉圓石于千仞之山者，勢也。

Let's continue ...

          故善動敵者，形之，敵必從之﹔予之，敵必取之。以利動之，以卒動之。
          故善戰者，求之于勢，不責于人，故能擇人而任勢。任勢者，其戰人也，如轉木石。木石之性，安則靜，危則動，方則止，圓則行。故善 戰人之勢，如轉圓石于千仞之山者，勢也。

Some translation suggested: 
Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something, that the enemy may snatch at it. By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march; then with a body of picked men he lies in wait for him. The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy. When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down. Thus the energy developed by good fighting men is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height. So much on the subject of energy. 
Moran:   Truly, those who are good at moving their adversaries around do so by giving a form to things such that the enemy must follows those structures. 【PEM: The enemy army is a source of energy in itself. Originally that energy is being directed in ways intended to be hurtful to the defender. The defender, however, can create structures (sometimes little more than illusions) that channel the enemy's energy the way dikes and dams channel the energy of a river.】
If I offer something, the enemy must take it. That is using benefit to move him. But one has soldiers in wait for him. 【PEM: The Zhuang Zi mentions a general Daoist strategy called 兩行. Literally those words mean "two displacements," i.e., going by two different ways. At a deeper level it means doing something that will have two potential outcomes. Both outcomes depend on what one's counterpart does. Consider two different examples. (1) A house is discovered to have been booby-trapped by installing bomb triggers in random places in the cellar. After discovery, the bombs are secretly removed, but the police would like to know which of several aides to the owner of the house has planned the assassination. Questioning anyone would reveal that the plot has been discovered. So the owner of the house is instructed to invite each of the aides to come to dinner with his wife and children on a particular night. Each time, the family dog is in an adjacent room. It has been taught to bark incessantly as soon as people come into the dining room. So soon after dinner starts the host calls out to the housekeeper, "Martha, please put Fido down in the basement." (2) In an unprovoked fight the defender notices that the attacker has a pattern of using a left jab as a feint and following with a solid right. Defender therefore throws a left jab. The opponent then has a choice of treating it as a feint and immediately going in for the kill, or defending. If the left jab is indeed blocked, defender has lost nothing. If, however, the jab is not blocked (perhaps defender made it appear to be a half-hearted attempt), following through will strike the attacker. One does not have to have mastered a three inch knockout blow to create enough damage to permit escape from the whole situation, or at least set one's opponent up for a strong counter attack with the opposite hand.】
So those who are good at warfare seek it through power configurations and do not put the onus on individuals. They are therefore able to select individuals to take charge of those power configurations. 【PEM: — Like the man whose finger pulls the crossbow trigger.】
【PEM: One example of what Sun Tzu is talking about in this section might be optical illusions. If objects are used, they may be real objects. If lines are drawn they will be real lines. However, the conclusions that eyes draw from optical illusions are incorrect. The arrangement of components forces the eyes to see what is not really there.】
Those who are given responsibility for operating a power configuration are warriors, and they are like rotating wood or stone (in the trigger mechanism of the crossbow). The natures of wood and stone are to be still if things are at peace, but to move if they are under duress. If they are square, then they will not turn, but if they are round then they will move. 【PEM: The trigger mechanism of a crossbow is formed of rectangular elements that are designed to retain their positions in resistance to considerable force, and curved elements that are designed to move without having to be subjected to much force.】 
Therefore those who are good at the power configurations of war are like those who can set a round stone that is poised on the top of a thousand rod mountain to rolling — it is a matter of power configurations. 【PEM: The stone must be round if it is to be easily rolled off its stable perch, but the lever and the fulcrum need to be "square" so that they will hold their positions as force is applied.】

Let's discuss:

故善動敵者，形之，敵必從之﹔   Therefore, those who are good at moving their enemy around do so by giving him a military shape such that the enemy must follow this shape.
予之，敵必取之。以利動之，以卒待之。:   If bait is given, the enemy would take it. Hence, use bait to move the enemy, use ambush in wait for him.
故善戰者，求之於勢，不責於人，故能擇人任勢。 Therefore, a good general seeks result from employment of strategic influence and not lay blame on individuals, hence, he chooses the individuals to take charge of these strategic influence.
任勢者，其戰人也，如轉木石。:   Those selected to take charge of strategic influence are called warriors, they rotate like rounded wood or stone.
木石之性，安則靜，危則動，方則止，圓則行。:   The nature of wood and stone is still when rested and move when stressed. Square items resist motion, round items move in the direction of stress.
故善戰人之勢，如轉圓石於千仞之山者，勢也。:   Therefore, a good general adopts influence liken to setting free a rounded large rock down a tall mountain — strategic influence.

Again the translation was not well done.

Sun Tzu basically said here that a good general engages by adopting strategic influence, and not by any other means. Strategic influence if used correctly is like letting a huge rounded rock roll down a tall mountain, its momentum and hence, its outcome is never stoppable. To do that, he suggested luring the enemy to a particular spot by baiting and attack in absoluteness by ambush.

In business, attack must be conducted using absoluteness by overwhelming strategic influence. After the attack there is always retaliation from the fallen enemy. If the defeat is not absolute, its retaliation would be strong and potentially fatal. If the defeat is absolute, its retaliation would be feeble and of no consequence.  Therefore, what Sun Tzu said had great value. Never defeat an enemy feebly. Its retaliation would be so strong that you might lose the subsequent battles and ultimately end in defeat yourself. Hence, assume absoluteness in strategic influence, only then can you be assured of a complete victory.

b.孫子兵法 (兵勢篇第五) (Chapter 5 - 3) (Part 27)

The last part is here:   孫子兵法 (兵勢篇第五) (Chapter 5 - 2) (Part 26)

兵勢篇

孫子曰：   凡治眾如治寡，分數是也﹔鬥眾如鬥寡，形名是也﹔三軍之 眾，可使必受敵而無敗，奇正是也﹔兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虛實是也。
          凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。故善出奇者，無窮如天地，不竭如江河。 終而復始，日月是也。死而復生，四時是也。聲不過五，五聲之變， 不可勝聽也。色不過五，五色之變，不可勝觀也。味不過五，五味之 變，不可勝嘗也。戰勢不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮之也。奇正相生，如環之無端，孰能窮之？
          激水之疾，至于漂石者，勢也﹔鷙鳥之疾，至于毀折者，節也。是故 善戰者，其勢險，其節短。勢如張弩，節如發機。
          紛紛紜紜，鬥亂而不可亂也。渾渾沌沌，形圓而不可敗也。
          亂生于治，怯生于勇，弱生于強。治亂，數也﹔勇怯，勢也﹔強弱，形也。
          故善動敵者，形之，敵必從之﹔予之，敵必取之。以利動之，以卒動之。
          故善戰者，求之于勢，不責于人，故能擇人而任勢。任勢者，其戰人也，如轉木石。木石之性，安則靜，危則動，方則止，圓則行。故善 戰人之勢，如轉圓石于千仞之山者，勢也。

Let's continue ...

          激水之疾，至于漂石者，勢也﹔鷙鳥之疾，至于毀折者，節也。是故 善戰者，其勢險，其節短。勢如張弩，節如發機。
          紛紛紜紜，鬥亂而不可亂也。渾渾沌沌，形圓而不可敗也。
          亂生于治，怯生于勇，弱生于強。治亂，數也﹔勇怯，勢也﹔強弱， 形也。

Some translation suggested: 
The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones along in its course. The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision. Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger. Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat. Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength. Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision; concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy; masking strength with weakness is to be effected by tactical dispositions.
Moran:   When sufficiently agitated, water can carry away stones. This is an example of a power configuration (i.e., a configuration that channels power into a target in an effective way). The ferocity of raptors can rise to the point of destruction [of their prey]. This is on account of sections (i.e., inflections). 【PEM: Bamboo has sections. In what sense do raptors have "sections"? Their actions involve sudden changes in directions that are under their control. For instance, the fastest falcons glide in circular patterns until they spot something, dive at terrific speeds, seize their prey at speed, and yet manage not to crash into the ground. The sudden changes in direction are like the changes in density between the hollow part of a section of bamboo and the solid "caps" at each end of a section.】
【PEM: The g-force experienced by a falcon pulling out of a power dive at about 300 mph is about three times that experienced by a fighter pilot executing a similar powered maneuver.】
For this reason, those who are good at warfare keep their power configurations abrupt and cause the inflections of their movements to occur over short periods of time. 【PEM: In other words, changes at least metaphorically involve sharp turns at high speeds. Fighter pilot and (later) military strategist John Boyd (USAF) was the first to recognize that, assuming general speed equivalence, the plane that could turn more sharply and also both decelerate and accelerate more rapidly was superior in a dogfight.】
A power configuration is like a drawn crossbow. An inflection is like the firing of it. (彍 is a variant of 彉 which has the same meaning as 張 .) 【PEM: In drawing a crossbow, energy is added to a mechanical system by slowly pulling, or even cranking, the bowstring back until it engages with the trigger mechanism where it is held in readiness to be released over a very short period of time and in a particular direction. Note that in the beginning force is directed away from the arrow point, and at the inflect ion point force suddenly begins to be directed toward the arrow noch. The crossbow has parts that are arranged to direct power along a definite configuration or path, and a trigger that is a movable lever with no great mechanical advantage or strength of its own but is yet something that touches off a great change of state in a short time.】
In the fog of armed struggle and disorder, one cannot permit oneself to become mentally disordered. One must be indefinite in outline, chaotic in appearance, and yet inherently cohesive, so that one cannot be defeated. 【PEM: Metaphorically, one always wants to be like a crossbow bolt that quickly shoots into action. One does not want to be like a crossbow that shatters and releases its pent up energy futilely in all directions.】
Disorder is produced out of order. Cowardice is produced out of bravery. Weakness is produced out of strength. 【PEM: Is he talking about real or simulated disorder, etc.? Regardless, one cannot have disorder unless there is something that was originally well ordered, and entropy will eventually produce disorder unless repairs are made on a timely basis.】
Bringing order to disorder is a matter of imposing regularity through strength of mind. Producing bravery out of cowardice is a matter of [the proper use of] power configurations. Bringing strength out of weakness is a matter of structuring things. 【PEM: What he means about bravery is that people, even bold people, are not brave in the abstract. A brave act occurs when there is no choice about the danger faced, yet there is a decision as to whether to flee or to act. Troops, fortifications, etc., can be configured just as impounded water can be directed down a flume.】

Let's discuss:

激水之疾，至於漂石者，勢也﹔  Water when sped can carry away stones. This is influence.
鷙鳥之疾，至於毀折者，節也。:   A bird of prey when sped can destroy a prey. This is chained action.
是故善戰者，其勢險，其節短；   Therefore, good warrior employs dangerous influence and short chained action.
勢如彍弩，節如發機。:   Influence is like a powerful drawn crossbow. Chained action is like its useful short trigger.
紛紛紜紜鬥亂，而不可亂也。渾渾沌沌形圓，而 不可敗也。:   In the diverse and muddled armed struggle, disorder contends disorder, one cannot be confused. In chaos, formations are round-shaped without start or end, one cannot be overcome. 
亂生於治，怯生於勇，弱生於強。:   Disorder comes from order, cowardice comes from bravery, weakness comes from strength.
治亂，數也﹔ 勇怯，勢也﹔ 強弱，形也。 Bring order to disorder by imposing subdivision; bring bravery to cowardice by imposing strategic influence; bring strength to weakness by imposing military shape.

Again the translation was not well done. They thought they have gotten it right, but not the case at all.

Sun Tzu said even as formless as water when sped can carry stones, i.e., influence. Raptor when employing rapid successive actions can kill, i.e., connected action. A successful attack must therefore employs both heavy influence and short killing actions. Even an ordered army can be disordered, a brave soldier can be cowed and a strong army can be weakened. It is important to see these problems and solve them.

In business, both strengths and weaknesses are interchangeable. For example, size may be viewed as a strength, but, it causes clumsiness in decision-making which is a weakness. There is no such thing as a definite strength and a definite weakness. Every considered factor is both a strength and weakness.

The key lesson learned here is that a strength would not forever remain a strength nor a weakness, solving these weaknesses simply require the correct solution set.

b.孫子兵法 (兵勢篇第五) (Chapter 5 - 2) (Part 26)

The last part is here:   孫子兵法 (兵勢篇第五) (Chapter 5 - 1) (Part 25)

兵勢篇

孫子曰：   凡治眾如治寡，分數是也﹔鬥眾如鬥寡，形名是也﹔三軍之 眾，可使必受敵而無敗，奇正是也﹔兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虛實是也。
          凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。故善出奇者，無窮如天地，不竭如江河。 終而復始，日月是也。死而復生，四時是也。聲不過五，五聲之變， 不可勝聽也。色不過五，五色之變，不可勝觀也。味不過五，五味之 變，不可勝嘗也。戰勢不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮之也。奇正相生，如環之無端，孰能窮之？
          激水之疾，至于漂石者，勢也﹔鷙鳥之疾，至于毀折者，節也。是故 善戰者，其勢險，其節短。勢如張弩，節如發機。
          紛紛紜紜，鬥亂而不可亂也。渾渾沌沌，形圓而不可敗也。
          亂生于治，怯生于勇，弱生于強。治亂，數也﹔勇怯，勢也﹔強弱， 形也。
          故善動敵者，形之，敵必從之﹔予之，敵必取之。以利動之，以卒動 之。
          故善戰者，求之于勢，不責于人，故能擇人而任勢。任勢者，其戰人 也，如轉木石。木石之性，安則靜，危則動，方則止，圓則行。故善 戰人之勢，如轉圓石于千仞之山者，勢也。

Let's continue ...

          凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。故善出奇者，無窮如天地，不竭如江河。 終而復始，日月是也。死而復生，四時是也。聲不過五，五聲之變， 不可勝聽也。色不過五，五色之變，不可勝觀也。味不過五，五味之 變，不可勝嘗也。戰勢不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮之也。奇正相生，如環之無端，孰能窮之？

Some translation suggested: 
In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more. There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack -- the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It is like moving in a circle--you never come to an end. Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination? 
Moran:   In all warfare, engagements occur on the up and up, but it is by deception or misdirection that one wins. So those who are good in the ways of deception are boundless like Heaven and Earth, inexhaustible like the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers. Coming to the end, they begin again, just as do the days and months. Dying, they come to life again, just as do the four seasons. There are no more than five notes in the musical scale, but the changes that can be rung on those five notes are infinite in our hearing. 【PEM: By a kind of analogy to the five visible planets (regarded as gods in China as in the ancient Western world), the Chinese listed fives of other kinds of things that were keyed to the lists of the planets. So Mars and the color red were associated, for instance, and the pentatonic scale was explained as a parallel to the other sets of five.】
There are no more than five colors, yet the changes that can be produced among them exceed our powers of discrimination. There are only five flavors to our palates, yet the changes among them exceed our powers of taste. The power configurations of warfare do not exceed the deceptive and the straightforward, yet the changes that can be rung on these two are inexhaustible. Deception and straightforwardness produce each other, like the endlessness of a circulatory system. Who could terminate such a loop? 

Let's discuss:

凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。:   In battle, use conventional methods to join, use unconventional methods to win.
故善出奇者，無窮如天地，不竭如江河。:   For generals who are good  at deploying unconventional methods, they are as inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, as unending as the flow of rivers and streams;
終而復始，日月是也。: When the ending would start the beginning, as surely as the sun sets and the moon rises next.
死而復生，四時是也。:   When death would bring forth life, as surely as the four flowing seasons of the year.
聲不過五，五聲之變， 不可勝聽也。: There are no more than five primary notes on the musical scale, but its combination is never ending music to the ears.
色不過五，五色之變，不可勝觀也。:   There are no more than five primary colours (blue, yellow, red, white, black), but its combination is never ending hue to the eyes.
味不過五，五味之 變，不可勝嘗也。:   There are no more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), but its combination is never ending flavour to the palate.
戰勢不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮之也。:   There are no more than two methods in warfare formation, unconventional and conventional, but its combination is never ending variation to the battle field.
奇正相生，如環之無端，孰能窮之？:   Hence, unconventional method would bring forth conventional method and vice versa, as perfectly rounded like a smooth ring, how can one exhaust thee.

“孙子兵法，奇正虚实” 中指出：“有正无奇，虽整不烈，无以致胜也；有奇无正，虽锐无恃，难以控御也。” 其大意是：作战只有正兵而无奇兵，阵势虽很严整，但不能给敌方造成突然猛烈的打击，就无法取胜； 只有奇兵而无正兵，攻势虽很锋锐，但无可作依靠的钳制力量，就难以控制住敌人。

This translation is very weak here. The spirit of Sun Tzu was not captured. In this segment, the words were too flowery, mostly not useful. It is sufficed to say that this segment dealt with the most important aspect of the warfare, i.e., creativity.

In business, no two businesses past or present are similar. To attack or to defend, to consume or to dismemberment, to stay or to leave are each unique decision. No two methods can be duplicated. Hence, the only way to success is creativity. Once creativity is sustained, nothing in this world will cause you death. This is most important lesson in life arena.

Let's not talk about IBM or Microsoft, let's deal with Nokia's rise and fall. I am not advocating doing a technology start-up.

Nokia started as a wood cutter in 1865, slowly moved into electronics by 1990s. Her first success was in 1987 where Nokia produced a "large screen" cell phone. After that, it was history. From 1998 to 2012, Nokia became the largest cell phone seller, making tons of money. But, sadly at the same time, Nokia never did innovate beyond the "large screen". She was overtaken by Apple, a nobody in cell phone market by the product known as "smart phone".

From the above story, you would realize that creativity (奇) is key to the success of both Nokia (1987) and Apple (2007).

In 2013, Nokia sold out her cell phone division to Microsoft. She would not die but she has lost her prize.

人無我有，人有我優，人優我廉，人廉我轉，人轉我走。

Very common in chinese business, the above statement rang true to their philosophy. This is indeed the best opportunity to understand and defeat this philosophy.

人無我有，is the start of creativity, i.e., you are able to create something that others don't currently possess. This is correct. Creativity at its best.
人有我優，is also another great point. When others have the same product, we shall improve its quality to differentiate ourselves from our competition. This is also creativity.
人優我廉，is the start of the fall. By cheapening the product sale price, you wouldn't have enough to do R&D. If not enough R&D, you will lose product quality. There is no such thing as no more R&D required. Just look at Nokia at her peak, she could have easily come out with a smart phone concept. It was so easily implementable by her as she was the largest cell phone supplier in the market. The failing is confirmed by cheapening prices. Therefore, never reduce price, instead, increase product quality without increasing or decreasing price.
人廉我轉，is when the product line is now switched to some other product range. This is the most stupid idea. No product can be obsoleted. Every product was produced and succeeded due to a real need. Take for example, lights. Initially, it was candle based. After become the largest supplier of candle wax, when the filament lamps become possible, the rich wax supplier can surely invest in a filament lamp factory to produce light bulbs. His distribution channels were intact and strong as all his customers will still go to the candle stores for candles as lights. If the bulbs are available, they can consume the newer product. Similarly when fluorescent tubes became the new world order. The largest filament bulb manufacturer can surely produce fluorescent tubes as well. What I am saying is the need remained the same, the products answering the need may change. But, everything else such as bankers, distribution channels, suppliers, shippers and customers remained unchanged. If you already have these channels in place, it would be near impossible for newbies such Apple Computer to enter the cell phone arena. It was a fool-mate for Nokia. Eheim till date still produces the best motors for the market, Eheim has produced motors for the Panzer tanks in the world wars. Till now, they are still the best in price and reliability. They only need to continually innovate its product quality.
人轉我走。is the most stupid concept. After investing in the millions and thousand of hours, you walk away to hand the new comer the market. That must be the most stupid idea yet. Nokia did exactly that. The owners of Nokia have no ideas of what they have destroyed.

After writing this essay today, I am very happy. Happy in that the business arena out there is not as clever as I hope them to be. To be my worthy opponent, it really needs power of the mind.

This new year is going to be fun. 黑皮 New Year, everyone ...

b.孫子兵法 (兵勢篇第五) (Chapter 5 - 1) (Part 25)

The last part is here:   孫子兵法 (軍形篇第四) (Chapter 4 - 3) (Part 24)

兵勢篇

孫子曰：   凡治眾如治寡，分數是也﹔鬥眾如鬥寡，形名是也﹔三軍之 眾，可使必受敵而無敗，奇正是也﹔兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虛實是也。
          凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。故善出奇者，無窮如天地，不竭如江河。 終而復始，日月是也。死而復生，四時是也。聲不過五，五聲之變， 不可勝聽也。色不過五，五色之變，不可勝觀也。味不過五，五味之 變，不可勝嘗也。戰勢不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮之也。奇正相 生，如環之無端，孰能窮之？
          激水之疾，至于漂石者，勢也﹔鷙鳥之疾，至于毀折者，節也。是故 善戰者，其勢險，其節短。勢如張弩，節如發機。
          紛紛紜紜，鬥亂而不可亂也。渾渾沌沌，形圓而不可敗也。
          亂生于治，怯生于勇，弱生于強。治亂，數也﹔勇怯，勢也﹔強弱， 形也。
          故善動敵者，形之，敵必從之﹔予之，敵必取之。以利動之，以卒動 之。
          故善戰者，求之于勢，不責于人，故能擇人而任勢。任勢者，其戰人 也，如轉木石。木石之性，安則靜，危則動，方則止，圓則行。故善 戰人之勢，如轉圓石于千仞之山者，勢也。

Let's continue ...

This chapter is about strategic influence.

孫子曰：   凡治眾如治寡，分數是也﹔鬥眾如鬥寡，形名是也﹔三軍之 眾，可使必受敵而無敗，奇正是也﹔兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虛實是也。

Some translation suggested: 
Sun Tzu said:   The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers. Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one:   it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals. To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken -- this is effected by maneuvers direct and indirect. That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg -- this is effected by the science of weak points and strong.
Moran:   Sun Tzu said:   In all cases, regulating the multitudes is no different from regulating small groups — it is a matter of dividing the numbers of them up. 【PEM: Raw power does not itself determine outcomes. Power can be directed against larger or smaller objectives as one chooses.】
Taking on a multitude in combat is like taking on a small group in combat — it is a matter of giving form to names. 【PEM: The Daoist view is that no divisions exist in nature. All divisions are imposed by minds. One may at one time see a single army, a much larger entity than one's own army. But by an act of mind one can see the one-fourth part of the enemy's army that has crossed the river as one army, the army to be 50 demolished by one's own larger army, and the three-fourth part of the enemy's army effectively isolated by the river as another army to be dealt with at some later time. Asymmetrical warfare often works by s mall and highly mobile forces taking on isolated enemy objectives and then quickly melting away.】
The multitudes composing the three armies can be required to accept enemy [assaults] and yet will suffer no defeats — it is a matter o f deception complementing uprightness. When soldiers pile on, it is [or should be] like throwing a whetstone on eggs — a matter of solids versus voids. 

Let's discuss:

孫子曰：   Master Sun said:
凡治眾如治寡，分數是也﹔  Managing large numbers is similar to managing individuals, it is a matter of dividing up their numbers.
鬥眾如鬥寡，形名是也﹔  Taking on multitude combat is similar to taking on small group combat, it is a matter of giving each form a name.
三軍之眾，可使必受敵而無敗者，奇正是也﹔  For a three armies to withstand the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken, it is effected by an unusual against a usual maneuver.
兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虛實是也。 When soldiers pile on, it is like throwing a whetstone on a egg, creating a solid against a void.

This translation is very weak. I am glad that the translation has been so weak all along. It gives me strength. It is not easy to understand Sun Tzu. His pain. But, if you study too the battle between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, the three kingdoms or any extended war classics, you would have at least a glimmer into the inner thoughts of Sun Tzu.

In life, there are many lucky occasions where one is catapulted to super high heights. Some managed to sustain that height. Many don't. Many ended up in miseries and sadness asking for the rest of their miserable existence why weren't they able to continue with the success story, but ending up to wallow their depths. Luck is just an occasion where the confluence of odds will make you an advancement. But, that advancement is unmerited, i.e., you don't deserve that advancement but yet it is given to you. To be able to sustain it, you need to have innate skills. These skills will need to be accumulated. Just like in the game arena, you would notice that you will always fall back to the level you are used to, after a quick advancement. Your innate skills will always support your rank in the game. Occasionally you will advance to slightly higher ranks but never too much. After a couple of years and skills development, you realized you will slowly progress and advance in your true rank.

Success is never found on luck. It was occasional luck that make your advancement less painful. It is at best a lubricant, but never a gateway to better future.

In business, good internal organisation means each small business group within the organisation can function on their own. Each of these small groups will then link like nodes to form larger structures. Once each node is hardened and the communication to each node is complete, the business organisation would be indefeasible against external threats. When attacking, one must pile on numbers to destroy the smallish enemy.

It is a simple interpretation. Most business organisations nowadays are quite nibble and efficient, not much faults can be defined. Organisationally, it is good to ensure that employees can operate in very small groups to produce a business function. That way, the employees will feel a sense of responsibility and belonging. In the event, one needs to cut functions, the boss can do so in logical units, without losing node integrity.

Up to now, Sun Tzu is still in the numbers game, i.e., he defined each soldier as a digit. Not cleverer nor more stupid than the enemy trooper. To defeat an enemy, it is a matter of piling numbers to the problem. Not wrong. I believed his true feeling was he would train his troops well, but erred on the side of numbers, i.e., on equal strengths, he might and would win, but with superior numbers, he would make no mistake.