Sun Tzu Art of War: Using Direct and Indirect Forces to Gain Competitive Advantage

In battle, use direct forces to equalize the enemy and use indirect forces to win the enemy. Therefore, the person who is an expert in the use of indirect forces, can use it in such infinite ways as the constantly changing forces and elements of nature and the incessant flow of water in rivers and streams. Chapter Five, Sun Tzu The Art of War

In the first sentence, Sun Tzu mentioned using direct force to equalize the enemy and using indirect force to win the enemy. And in the following sentences, he mentioned that the combinations of these two types of forces are infinite and their interactions can produce wonderful results. So how do we apply this wisdom in business?

BUSINESS APPLICATION

The direct forces in war would be analogous to the quality (or price) of your services or products in business. Indirect forces in war would be analogous to intangibles like brand (the feelings you want your consumer to be associated with when using your product or service) or level of service in business. Now, quality and price can be easily imitated, but it is the intangibles that are difficult to replicate, it usually gives a company a sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals and allows differentiation between products and services easily, thus I called it the indirect forces. .

For example, if you want a good meal with a romantic atmosphere, would you go to Burger King or McDonalds? If you want cheap food, would you like to go to a high class restaurant with dedicated waiters? What makes you prefer a certain restaurant to others when what they serve you is basically steaks?

Let’s take the example of the restaurant forward. Imagine there are two restaurants, they serve good sirloin steaks, Kobe beef, extremely good sauce and the same price. But one is dirty and the other is extremely clean, almost free of dust. What restaurant would you go to? Keep in mind that it doesn’t cost much to have a clean bathroom in your restaurant, but do you think of the immense appeal it would have on hygiene-conscious customers? So this is a way to use indirect forces to win over your rivals in business.

With that in mind, you can see that there are infinite areas of direct and indirect force application in your business. Use direct forces to replicate what your rivals have and use indirect forces to differentiate yourself from your rivals.

By having different combinations of use of direct and indirect forces, you can have endless strategies for your business.