Deception is about Resolving Problems with No War

Sun Tzu in the Art of War followed what Han Feizi said, "In war, there is no limit to deception" and said, "All War is about deception".

Indeed many people view deception as a low level and unscrupulous way to win. They say that only dishonest people will deceive. Is this true?

If you were to read the Art of War carefully, you will realise that Sun Tzu advocates no war, and he preaches that war is expensive, and we should resolve problems through winning with no war. How to win with no war? It is to let the opponent know that he should not fight with you, for you are much stronger. Isn't this deception?

Also, Sun Tzu said in the first chapter that the 5 elements are important. Among the 5 elements, Dao or Purpose is paramount. Our purpose of deception is NOT to deceive the opponent to win over him but to not let him know our true situation. In this way, we can avoid war. There are six common ways to not people know our true situation:

When strong, appear weak; when weak appear strong.
To beat your competitor, you must first deceive them about the true nature of your plans. If they do not know where you will attack next, they will be confused and unable to respond effectively
When capable, feign incapacity; when incapable, pretend strong
When active, feign inactivity; when inactive, act busy
When near, appear far; when far, look near
Offer a bait to lure your enemy, feign disorder and strike while he is weak

Other purposes of deception:

Waste your competitor's resources, so that he cannot fight with you
Buy you time while you are preparing to fight
Gives your team members confidence about your strength. This is important as moral is paramount in war.

In summary, deception gives you the advantage in war. Business is war. Our goal is to defeat the enemy with dignity and integrity, and the best is to win without fighting. We never cheat or go low in our morals, instead of lying, we use deception as stated above. Happy deceiving! Note: Andy Ng is a Trainer Coach in the Art of War Application. His most popular Sun Tzu courses include Sun Tzu Sales, Leadership with Art of War and 36 Stratagems with Sun Tzu.

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