The need for unity (Over the past 12 years, the writer has been lecturing and consulting on the subject of Sun Tzu's Art of War and its
application and relevance to business practices and planning. As of to date, he has provided executive training
, talks and seminars to over 120 large organisations (including 500 companies) and 20 countries. He is thus very
honoured to be able to share with readers, through the columns of Lianhe Zaobao, some of his thinkings on this
subject.)
The need for unity is a well-accepted norm in the conduct
of war. Thus, it is very interesting to note what Sun Tzu
had to say about unity: "If the army is confused and suspicious, the neighbouring
states will surely create trouble.
This is like the saying: "A confused army provides victory
for the enemy".
From the quotation, one can easily learn four simple
lessons.
Firstly, if members of a group are confused, or worse, if
they suspect each other, the seed for disunity has just been
sown. This is true in the case of the army and the
organisation.
For example, when there are no clear lines of
communication and distinctive demarcation of duties and
responsibilities within a company, the employees will become
very confused. To make matters worse, if personnel among the
various departments are suspicious of each other, the
company can never move in one direction!
In the same way, if the people and various decision-making
groups of a country begin to suspect each other instead of
working in cohesion, disunity will set in. If the degree of
suspicion and confusion persist for a long time, it is
likely to lead to other undesirable consequences.
In the extreme cases, it can lead to the disintegration of
countries and organisations, as in the case of the former
Soviet Union and some family-owned businesses that are even
publicly listed.
Secondly, confusion and suspicion will make the
organisation vulnerable to external exploitation. In war,
the enemy is always on the lookout for any weaknesses that
can be exploited. Thus, if the army is in disarray, it
provides the enemy a golden opportunity to exploit the
situation.
This is very true of any organisation. For example, when
employees in a company are busy fighting each other,
competitors can add fuel to the fire. Moreover, when the
employees are disunited, unhappiness is bound to set in.
This allows competitors to sow more seeds of discord, and to
poach the more capable ones to join them.
Interestingly, at the national level, the need to be
united so as to avoid external exploitation is very real.
For example, in the ongoing economic and financial crises
facing many Asian countries, there is a need for citizens to
remain united.
During such times, there would inevitably be opportunists
as well as other external parties who may have different
agendas and motives. It is not far fetched to imagine that
these external forces can even bring down governments and
their economies!
Thirdly, confusion and suspicion which create disunity,
will erode the competitiveness of the organisation. When a
lot of time, effort and resources are spent on internal
fire-fighting, it is only inevitable that the organisation
will suffer. This is because there will be little energy
left to fight any external threat.
It is just like the political situation in India. Many of
its political parties are too preoccupied fighting each
other. As a result, economic policies and development -- no
matter how urgent and important they can be -- tend to be
slowed down.
Thus, despite decades of democracy, India has yet to
achieve the kind of economic progress that it is capable of.
Without doubt, it is a nation with great and many talents.
One only needs to acknowledge the vast number of Indian
scientists, technologists and academics in the United States
to realise the potential of human talents that exist in
India.
Fourthly, and this is something that we tend to forget and
overlook -- in competition, winning and losing can be by
default! This is what Sun Tzu meant when he said that a
confused army provides victory for the enemy! In other
words, it is not that you are good or bad, it is just that
if you are so confused, and you spend time fighting each
other instead of dealing with the external threat, you have
just provided victory for the enemy.
The reality of winning by default can be very well
illustrated by the experience of one of my overseas speaking
engagements. In December 1997, I had the privilege of
addressing the top management of Dell Computers, one of the
fastest growing computer giants in the world. In response to
how the competitors reacted to Dell's business strategy,
Michael Dell, the founding CEO remarked. "Are we really that
good?" Or have they all fouled up!"
It appears that what Dell Computers do is not particularly
earth-shakening. It has not patented any new product nor
technology. Rather, it created a different way of marketing
computers -- through the Internet.
In doing so, it not only eliminates the middlemen, but it
also allows what I call mass customisation. This is because
the consumer can order his computer through the Internet by
indicating his own specifications for the product. It will
then be manufactured and delivered to his home/office within
days!
In the same way, in the early days of Singapore's economic
development, we won in a big way because many other
economies in the region were busy with other priorities. As
a result, we were able to attract a lot of foreign
investment.
However, as more and more Asian economies opened
themselves to the outside world, competition has become very
tough. With the recent economic and financial crisis facing
Asia, the challenges ahead are even more demanding and
difficult.
This is where Singaporeans must remain more united to face
the rougher times ahead. We should rally ourselves around
our government and ensure that our economy can withstand the
turmoils ahead. It is not a time to relax or to blame each
other. Rather, we must learn to trust our leaders and stay
united.
Remember what Sun Tzu said about confusion and suspicion.
They will lead to disunity, cause erosion of our
competitiveness and provide victory to our competitors!
(The writer is Professor of Business Policy; Dean, Faculty
of Business Administration; Director, Graduate School of
Business National University of Singapore & a resource
panellist of SPH's Chinese Newspapers.)
团结精神不能少
(怎样在现代商战和打点学中发挥《孙子兵法》里的聪明,是已往
10多年来,黄昭虎传授潜心研究的规模。他出过着作,也曾在20个国
家,为120家大型机构的执行人员就这门课题主持过训练、讲座。
本报特邀这名国大学者,在下来一段日子发表系列文章,和读者
分享他的创见。)
上阵杀敌必需团结,这已是一个遍及被接受的准则。因此看一看
孙子针对团结精神说了些什么,是挺有趣的:
“三军既惑且疑,则诸侯难至矣,是谓乱军引胜。”
(军队既迷惑又疑虑,各诸侯国趁机进攻的灾难就会临头,这就
是所谓本身扰乱本身而导致仇人的胜利。)
从这句引述,很容易就可以得出四点作为借鉴。第一,团队里的
成员如果感想疑惑,或更糟的是各人相互怀疑,即是已播下了分崩离
析的种子。
以军队和企业来说确实是如此。在一家公司里,相同管道紊乱,
职责边界不明确,雇员便感想迷惑。如果差异部分之间还大搞猜忌,
那就更麻烦,公司上下别想朝一致的方针前进!
国家的环境也一样,如果人民和各个决策团体差异心同德,而是
开始你猜疑我、我猜疑你,便会渐渐形成一片散沙。如果让猜忌、迷
惑恒久存在,还可能衍生出其他恶果。最极端的结局是导致国家或企
业解体,比如前苏联这个国家,以及一些甚至已经上市的家族生意。
第二,迷惑、猜忌能够使一个企业变得脆弱,以致让外敌乘虚而
入。在战场上,仇人无时无刻不在寻找弱点下手,一支军队如果本身
先乱了阵脚,无疑是提供黄金时机,替仇人打开方便之门。
任何企业也是这样。例如,公司里员工成天斗来斗去,竞争者就
有可能火上添油。更况且各人都不团结时,不愉快事件频频,竞争者
就能等闲地搬弄长短,以及把有本领的人才挖走。
从国家的层面来看,团结内部,制止被外人鱼肉的火急性更为实
在。举例来说,许多亚洲国家正面临经济和金融危机,它们很必要保
持百姓的团结。因为这个时候,别有居心和动机的时机主义者以及其
他外人不免会呈现。你别说不行思议,这些外部势力甚至可以把当局
和它们的经济搞垮。
第三,导致不团结的迷惑、猜忌,也会削弱企业的竞争力。当许
多的时间、努力、资源,都用来向本身人开火时,身受其害的肯定是
企业。因为它已没有几多余力,可用来应付外在威胁了。
这就比如印度的政局。本地许多政党,最体贴的是怎样把互相斗
倒,功效经济政策和成长——哪怕有多急迫、重要,总是被拖慢下来
。因此尽管实行民主几十年了,它照旧无法在经济上,取得原本能力
所及的进步。毫无疑问,这是小我私家才济济的国家。美国就用了一大批
的印度科学家、科技人员、学者,认识这点,就能了解印度在人力方
面所储藏的潜能。
第四,这是我们常常遗忘和忽略的:在一场对角中,未战可以先
胜或先败。孙子所说的“乱军引胜”便是这个意思。换句话说,要害
不在于你有多好或多差,而是如果你过分迷惑,以及把时间都花在内
斗而不是应付外在威胁,就会把胜利的果实拱手让给了仇人。
我有一次受邀到外洋演讲,从中便获得一个经验,很能说明未战
先胜这个事实。那是1997年的12月,我很荣幸去给戴尔电脑集团
(Dell Computers)的高层主管讲课,戴尔是世界上生长最快的电脑巨
人之一。问到敌手们怎样回应该集团的业务计谋时,开办人兼总裁麦
克戴尔这样复原:“我们真得这样行吗?照旧它们都搞砸了!”
看来,戴尔电脑也没什么出格惊天动地的作为,新产物或科技的
发现专利它一样也没有。集团别出新裁的,是它开创了差异的电脑销
售途径——通过网际网络。这样做,不单排除了中介人,还能提供我
所谓的“量身订做”产物。因为客户可以在网际网络上,直接指明他
所需要的规格,而戴尔在几天内,便能把电脑装配好,然后奉上门/
办公室来。
同样的,在经济成长的起步时期,新加坡能成为大赢家是因为区
域的许多经济体,有其他的“当务之急”要分心。就这样让我们吸引
了大量的外国投资。不外,跟着越来越多亚洲经济体对世界开放,竞
争已经加剧。而近期降临亚洲的经济和金融危机,则使到前方的挑战
更为严酷、艰难。
前路难行,新加坡人这一刻就应该越发团结。我们必需和当局并
肩作战,确保经济在风暴中屹立不倒。这一刻,也不该该松懈或相互
责怪,而是应该学会信任我们的领袖,保持团结。记得孙子所说的:
迷惑、猜忌将导致不团结,削弱竞争力,功效让敌手坐享胜利的果实。
