Winning the Fight Before it Begins - Sun Tzu's Art Of ... Business Part 1

[Music] Hello and welcome back to All You Leaders and Strategy and welcome to another Patreon only episode. So back in season 4 we spoke about Sun Zoo and the Art of War and I gave an overview about the book and why it's relevant to today. We had a lot of comments and feedback that asked if we could do more of a deep dine. So I've decided let's do a mini series especially for Patreon that looks at the book in more detail. We have seven episodes in total and this is the first. Most leaders think strategy is about working harder, selling more or simply outperforming the competition. What have I told you that the best leaders don't win because they do more? They win because they think differently before they act. That's what this book written over two and a half thousand years ago is all about. So let's explore some of those ideas. The book isn't specific about business. It's not even about leadership. Well not exactly anyway but what it's about is something far more fundamental. How to win before the fight even begins. So let's start with the biggest misconception in business today. Most people think that strategy is about winning against competitors, more deals, more growth, more activity, but Sun Zoo saw life differently. He understood that strategy is not about fighting better. It's about creating conditions where fighting is unnecessary or already decided and that's where most businesses go wrong. They chase every opportunity, pitch for everything, reacts instead of plan, mistake, effort for effectiveness. But real strategy asks a different set of questions. Where can we win easily? Where should we not be competing at all? On what must we put in place before we even show up to compete? Because here's the truth. If you're relying on performance alone to win, you're already too late. So let's now just translate the art of war into the art of business. Now whenever people hear about the art of war, they mention conflict, aggression or domination. That's not what we're talking about here. In a business context war is simply competition in your market, decision making under pressure, allocation of limited resources, influencing outcomes and navigating uncertainty. That's it. So instead of thinking in terms of enemies, thinking in terms of competitors, market dynamics, positioning and leadership judgment, because every founder, every managing director, every leadership team is already making strategic decisions every single day. The question is not whether you're operating at a competitive environment. The question is are you doing it consciously or accidentally? So we're now going to look at one of the core principles of the art of war. There's one idea that Sun Zoo that sits at the right at the center of everything we're going to cover in the series. He said every battle is one before it's fault. Now think about that in a business context. Before you walk into a meeting, submit a bid, approach a client, launch a new product or service or expand into a new market. The outcome is already heavily influenced by your reputation, your positioning, your preparation, your clarity and your alignment as a business. But most people ignore this phase. They try to win at the moment of execution. Instead of realising the real leverage exists before that moment ever arrives. Let me give you a simple example. Two businesses go for the same opportunity. One is named for specific niche as strong relationships, has already demonstrated credibility and has tailored their offer perfectly. The other is broadly positioned is reacting to the opportunity and is trying to persuade after the fact. Who wins? Well, almost always it's going to be the first. Not because they tried harder, but because they built that competitive advantage beforehand. So the business reality, if you look at most struggling businesses, they're not fading because of lack of effort. They're fading because of poor positioning, unclear strategy, chasing the wrong opportunities, spreading resources too thin and reacting instead of shaping their environment. They're constantly in the fight, constantly pushing, constantly trying to prove themselves. But the strongest business, they don't operate like that. They choose where to compete, narrow the focus, build credibility and advance and attract the right opportunity, rather than chasing everything. And this leads to a completely different experience of leadership. Less stress, less firefighting, less wasted energy, more clarity, more control and more consistent wins. So here's the strategic mind shift I want you to take from today's episode. Stop asking how do we win this and start asking why are we in the position in the first place? Because that questioning changes everything, enforces you to think upstream, to look at your market, your focus, your messaging, your offering and your long-term positioning, instead of reacting to what's in front of you. And that's where strategy actually lives. So your homework for today and let's make this practical, here's a framework that you can use immediately before your next major decision. Ask yourself this, do we actually want to be in this opportunity? Do we have a genuine advantage here? Have we positioned ourselves to win before engaging or we're just trying to win through effort alone? And if it's the last one, pause, stop because it's where time, energy, and margins are being wasted. So that's it for today. Hope you've enjoyed it and in summary, what we've done today is reframe strategy from action, activity, and competition to clarity, positioning, and preparation. Now for ongoing support, join our new Patreon community. As a member, you'll get discounted rates on one-to-one workshops which has to have your business questions answered and featured in Special Monthly August episodes. Let's strategise and let's execute. Join our Patreon now and become a leader in strategy yourself. tier one, friend of the show. So this is for leaders who want more than just public conversation but perhaps aren't yet ready for the deep strategic work yet. The friends of the show tier is designed for listeners who value better thinking early insight and context behind the episodes without stepping into formal strategy execution. This tier exists because good leadership starts with exposure to better questions. You're paying for proximity to better thinking. It's ideal if you want to sharpen perspective without committing to action yet. tier two, business leaders from insight to execution. This is for leaders who are done collecting ideas and are ready to apply strategy deliberately. The business leading tier is where thinking turns into structured execution. It's not just more content. It's a guided strategic development designed around the decisions business leaders actually face. It's going to give you decision clarity, reduce strategic mistakes, structured thinking that compounds over time and real business coaching. This is where the podcast becomes a working system. It's not just inspiration. This tier is ideal for leaders who want strategy that actually gets used and it's not just hard away. Here three, leaders in strategy, decision confidence at the highest level. This is for serious leaders who want challenge accountability and long term strategic clarity. The leaders in strategy tier exists for one reason to dramatically improve the quality and confidence of your leadership decisions. This tier is not about learning. It's about operating differently. What you will get is access on this challenge, risk reduction and understanding external influences. Board level thinking without board level costs. To additional consulting style retainer. This tier is for leaders who want fewer blind spots and better decisions every day of the week. So come back and join me next time and in the next episode of this mini series we're going to go deep into one of the most powerful ideas in the art of war. Winning before the fight. I'll see you then.