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

Characters of the fourth of Thirty-Six Stratagems: 以逸待劳(以逸待勞) – Yǐyìdàiláo. 以, Yǐ: by, with. 逸, yì: relaxed. 待, dài: treat, deal with. 劳, láo: fatigue.

Meaning: Make sure to be well rested and relaxed when awaiting the hungry, tired and weakened opponent.

Business example: Choose a tactic that keeps your team relaxed, rested and well fed, but the opponent’s team exhausted, short in resources and disoriented. In business, a local supplier may give the visitors from afar a hard time, by not picking them up from the airport, choosing a noisy hotel or a meeting room without air-conditioning. Make it tough for them to keep focused on a long negotiation.

Key to use this strategy in business is be to predict the future battleground and prepare for conflict under these new conditions. Set up position and wait for the competitor to approach.

In combat it would mean to stay out of your attackers range and make them expend energy on useless actions.