What's this?
This sentence comes from "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Planning and Attack". The full text is twelve words, but what Sun Tzu meant, today's vernacular translation is:
> Understand the other party and understand yourself, and there will be no danger in fighting a hundred battles.
Note that Sun Tzu did not say "win in a hundred battles", he said "indestructible in a hundred battles". "Almost" means danger and failure. So the real meaning of this sentence is: You may not win, but you will not lose to the point of breaking your muscles.
This is not a declaration of victory, this is a risk control manual. Two thousand years ago, the most powerful military strategist in the world emphasized not "how to win" but "how not to lose".
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Why is it important?
Most people live in this world and only practice one thing: to make themselves stronger. Fitness, reading, learning skills, and accumulating resources are all "confidants". But Sun Tzu tells you that this is only half. The other half is "knowing the enemy", and many times, knowing the enemy is more important than knowing yourself.
Why? Because your opponent is not a static target, he is alive, changing, and deceptive. You train yourself to be a boxing champion, but when you get on stage you find that your opponent is practicing Jiu-Jitsu - your muscles are useless.
Come, take a look at some amazing examples.
Case 1: Reader at the poker table
Two people playing Texas Hold'em poker. A just stares at his own cards and tries desperately to figure out how he can win. While looking at his cards, B observes A's expression, betting habits, and small movements - when his eyes light up (with good cards), and when he delays deliberately (in bluff, bluffing).
B's cards are not necessarily better than A's, but B knows when A is acting. result? B wins more.
Why? Because B is doing "knowing one another and knowing oneself", while A is only doing "knowing oneself".
In the 25 years since I came to Europe, I have seen too many people prepare their own words at the negotiation table without studying the other party. I prepared a hundred pages of PPT to talk about how awesome I am, but I don’t know what the other person is most concerned about, what they are most afraid of, and when the deadline is. This is called "Knowing oneself but not knowing the enemy" - well prepared, but in the wrong direction.
Case 2: Chasing girls
A boy chases a girl. He studies his outfit, fitness, and friend circle copywriting every day - this is called "confidant". But he never observes what this girl likes, what she hates, how she is feeling recently, or why she broke up with her ex.
result? The harder he tries, the more girls avoid him. Because what he gave her was not what she wanted.
Another boy, first understand the girl's interests, values, and living conditions, and then decide how to appear and what to say. Not everyone will be successful, but at least they won't be "in danger" - they won't mess things up so much that they can't even be friends.
What Sun Tzu said two thousand years ago, "Know your enemy and know yourself", today is: understand people before you chase them.
Case 3: "Circle of Competence" in Investment
Buffett said: "I only invest within my circle of competence." What is a circle of competence? It is a "confidant" - one who knows what he understands and what he does not understand. Buffett didn't buy technology stocks (in his early years), not because he thought technology was bad, but because he didn't understand it. He understands Coca-Cola, insurance, and banking.
But Buffett also "knows his enemy" - he spends a lot of time studying competitors, industry trends, and management integrity. Therefore, he is "invincible in a hundred battles" - not that he will win every battle, but that he will not lose every battle to the point of injury.
The most powerful person is not the one who wins more, but the one who never loses.
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This reminds me of SWOT analysis
There is a classic tool in modern management called SWOT analysis:
- Strengths (strengths) - confidant
- Weaknesses (disadvantages) - confidants
- Oopportunities (opportunities) - know each other
- Tthreats (threats) - know your enemy
Sun Tzu finished with a short sentence "Know your enemy and know yourself". Western management requires four letters, a page of PPT, and a training. The difference is: Sun Tzu knows this truth and writes it on bamboo slips; McKinsey knows this truth and charges you 500,000 in consulting fees.
Even more interesting is the CIA's intelligence philosophy. The CIA has an internal famous saying: "Intelligence is not about knowing everything; it's about knowing what you don't know." This is completely consistent with "knowing your enemy and knowing yourself" - it does not mean that you become omniscient and omnipotent, but that you know your blind spots.
In Las Vegas, Texas Hold'em poker masters are not the most accurate card counters, but the most accurate people readers. They know when their opponents are nervous, when they are confident, and when they are acting. If my grandson was born in Las Vegas, he would definitely be a top poker player - because he understands the art of "knowing the enemy".
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How to do it?
1. Before every major decision, make a list of two sheets of paper
- Left: What do I know (about myself + about the other person)
- Right: What I don’t know (about myself + about the other person)
The piece of paper on the right is more important than the one on the left.
After coming to Europe for 25 years, the first lesson I learned from doing business in Italy is: before signing a contract, ask yourself - "What is the last thing the other party wants me to know?" The answer to this question is often more important than the contract terms themselves.
2. Before negotiating, spend 50% of your time researching the other party
It’s not about how to convince him, it’s about:
- What does he want?
- What is he afraid of?
- What is his deadline?
- Why did he change his last supplier?
Italians are slow to make decisions, but once they make a decision, they execute it quickly. If you don't understand this, you might think they are procrastinating, but actually they are observing. This is "knowing the other person" - knowing the other person's behavior patterns and not rushing to judge.
3. Do "blind spot scanning" regularly
Ask yourself three questions:
- What is the weakness that I am least willing to admit?
- What is the common reason for my last three failures?
- If I were my opponent, how would I attack myself?
The answers to these three questions are the source of "almost".
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when?
"Know your enemy and your friend" is not the patent of military strategists, it is a basic thinking that you can use almost every day in your life:
When you want to negotiate - If you don’t understand the other party’s KPIs, no matter how exciting your proposal is, it’s just self-indulgence. What he cares about is not how good your product is, but what his boss thinks of him.
When you have an interview - Understanding the company culture and interviewer's background is ten times more important than memorizing a resume. The interviewer is also a human being, he has his own preferences and blind spots.
When you want to start a business - Understanding the real needs of the market is more important than knowing what you want to do. Too many entrepreneurs have too many "confidants" and too few "knowing enemies".
When you want to chase someone - It is more important to know whether the other person is the right person than to prove how good you are. What you show is not "how great I am", but "I know what you want".
When you are making investment decisions - It is more important to know what you don't know than to know what you know. Buffett said: "Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing."
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Where?
The rule of this sentence is applicable everywhere.
In the military, before the Allied invasion of Normandy in World War II, they spent three years studying German defenses, tides, weather, and terrain. It’s not about studying how strong you are, but studying where the other party is weakest and when they are most lax. This is the modern version of "know your enemy and know yourself".
In sports, football coaches watch the opponent's video before the game, not to see how strong the opponent is, but to see how the opponent is used to defending, when they will relax, and which player is most likely to lose emotional control. This is not voyeurism, this is "knowing the enemy".
In business, every time Amazon enters a new market, it first spends two years observing local consumer habits. It's not about rushing to sell something, it's about "knowing the enemy" first. When they finally enter the market, they already know things that their opponents don't.
In medicine, a good doctor is not the one who prescribes the most medicine, but the one who makes the most thorough inquiries. Understand the patient's living habits, family history, and psychological state - this is "knowing your enemy and knowing yourself". A doctor who only understands the symptoms but not the patients may treat the right disease, but the wrong person.
In Italian family businesses, the secret of three-generation inheritance is not product innovation, but a clear understanding of the capabilities of family members (knowing oneself) and a keen observation of market changes (knowing one's enemies). In the 25 years since I came to Europe, I have seen too many Italian small businesses fail, not because the products were not good, but because the bosses only understood their own products and did not understand that the market had changed.
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One sentence summary
> Winning is not because you are strong, but because you understand.
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Original article by Coach Liu. Please cite source when sharing.