Mini strategy series @soerenbax: The #ThirtySixStratagems, a collection of ancient Chinese military thought and experience.

Characters of the sixth of Thirty-Six Stratagems: 声东击西 (聲東擊西) – Shēngdōngjīxī. 声, shēn: sound. 东, dōng: East. 击, jī: strike, attack. 西, xī: West.

Meaning: Making noise in the east and attack from west. Create Diversions.

Business example: Create an distraction or false attack. The opponent will concentrate its defences accordingly on one front, making him vulnerable for your attack where he least anticipates an attack.

For example in sales for insurance policies, the sales person would emphasize the high (predicted, not guaranteed) yield, but not mention the ruinous upfront fees and hidden costs.

Mini strategy series @soerenbax: The #ThirtySixStratagems, a collection of ancient Chinese military thought and experience.

Characters of the Fifth of Thirty-Six Stratagems: 趁火打劫(趁火打劫) – Chènhuǒdǎjié. 趁, Chèn: take advantage of. 火, huǒ: fire. 打, dǎ: fight. 劫, jié: rob. 打劫, dǎjié: plunder.

Meaning: A clever fighter wins with ease by exploiting the weakness of the enemy.

Business example: Be ready to act on your opponent weakness or inaction. In this example a large manufacturer and supplier of ball bearings had a long and close cooperation with a Global manufacturer of forklifts. This supplier started to have quality problems due to poor management that did not recognize weaknesses in some of its raw material.

Only the factory manager of that ball bearing supplier recognized the problem, but decided not to solve or mention it. Instead he told his uncle about these weaknesses who was already copying the manufacturing process. Together they seized the opportunity to offer superior bearings and start a successful relationship with the the large forklift customer. Take advantage of problems to plunder.