3. Act decisively
While gathering intelligence and carefully planning every tactic around your strategic objectives is essential, Sun Tzu believed it was fundamental to move quickly and with conviction when the time was right.
“Instead of just taking advantage of opportunities that may come your way, it’s about evaluating and analysing and saying, is this how we’re really going to grow as an organisation and dominate a market?” says Sheetz-Runkle.
If you’re going to defeat the competition and dominate your market, you must take advantage of every single opportunity and miss no opportunity to defeat the enemy, she says.
4. Make use of the unexpected
Sun Tzu believed it important to keep his adversaries in the dark, so that they would not know what to expect or when. He knew the unexpected was a powerful weapon that keeps adversaries unprepared and on the move, according to Sheetz-Runkle.
Sheetz-Runkle says large organisations are prepared to counter direct competition and have the resources to do so, but they are woefully unprepared to respond to guerrilla insurgencies.
“One of the running things in the Art of War is the ability to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Nobody understands adversity and being able to pull yourself up by your bootstraps better than small businesses.”
Small businesses must attack when and where larger companies are weak. An essential part of this for small business is to “go where the enemy isn’t”, says Sheetz-Runkle. Sun Tzu said to avoid attacking a larger adversary on his terms.
Sheetz-Runkle says social media has now made it possible for small business to spread their message on the same level as big business.
“We have these recourses at the ready, so the idea of leveraging you social networks and leveraging a global network is much easier now than it ever has been.”
You don’t have to find a niche, says Sheetz-Runkle, you can create one. Go where the enemy isn’t and identify needs and wants that aren’t being satisfied.
5. Maximise resources
Sun Tzu said to fight only when necessary, attacking the enemy’s strategy first, followed by disrupting their alliances, according to Sheetz-Runkle.
Sheetz-Runkle says to make the best use of the comparatively limited resources you have and don’t focus so much on acquiring new customers that you forget to maximise your current customers.
It is also important to always work towards unity within your business, presenting a unified, consistent image and brand experience to put yourself ahead of much of the competition.
“That’s quintessential Sun Tzu—show care for your workforce, your soldier base. You’re not doting on them, but you realise their value,” she says.
Sheetz-Runkle says small businesses are uniquely positioned to value their employee base, care for them and to train them with more flexibility than larger businesses. Smaller companies can be less traditional and bureaucratic when creating relationships with employees and can offer more flexible work options, creating greater loyalty with staff.
“Small organisations have to have the entire organisation behind them and be going after uniformed goals. You may have seen this before, one group in a business has this objective and another group in the business has a different objective. That’s just good for the enemy,” says Sheetz-Runkle.
“There enough battles out there, we don’t need to be creating more internally. It’s all about fighting the big guy.”
You can buy Sheetz-Runkle’s The Art of War for Small Business: Defeat the Competition and Dominate the Market with the Masterful Strategies of Sun Tzu here.
Kirsten Robb is a former journalist at SmartCompany. Previously, she worked at News Corp as a property reporter for Leader Newspapers and the Herald Sun, and holds a Masters of Journalism at Melbourne University.
