Sun Tzu on Competition
Sun Tzu treats competition as a problem of position, information, and timing, not brute force. His advice to generals translates directly to markets and rivals.
Compete on position
Choose where to compete so the fight is already won. Sun Tzu’s positioning insight is that the best contest is the one the opponent cannot set up against you.
Compete on information
The closing chapter on spies is about foreknowledge. In markets that means paying for real intelligence instead of guessing at rival moves.
Sun Tzu lessons on this topic
“All warfare is based on deception.”
Chapter 1: Laying Plans
“When able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
Chapter 1: Laying Plans
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
Chapter 3: Attack by Stratagem
“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
Chapter 3: Attack by Stratagem
“In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.”
Chapter 3: Attack by Stratagem
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Chapter 7: Maneuvering
Related strategy topics
Frequently asked questions
What is Sun Tzu’s view of competition?
He frames competition as position and timing rather than force: strike weakness, avoid strength, and act on real information. The quotations here are drawn from the Giles translation.