Summary
Do you ever feel like you’re in over your head, that you’re outnumbered, outmatched, or overwhelmed? Do you ever feel like you’re running on empty, that something is missing from your life, or that you just aren’t making any progress? Do you ever feel like you are missing out on opportunities, are always a day late and a dollar short, or constantly suffer from burn out?
In Episode 11 of “Warrior: The Art of War for Life ~ A Podcast on Winning” we discuss “Sunzi’s (Sun Tzu’s) Three Tactics for Effective Execution or the Art of Getting Stuff Done!” They are:
1. Do Your Due Diligence: Know What is at Stake and What You are Up Against
2. Secure Sufficient Supplies: Get What You Need to Get Started
3. Be Opportunistic: Find What You Can Along the Way
With insights and quotes from Richie Norton, Abigail G. Manning, Ayn Rand, and Jameela Jamil, this episode provides pragmatic principles and concise concepts for increasing our effectiveness and execution and mastering the art of getting stuff done!
Podcast Intro
Welcome to Warrior: The Art of War for Life – A Podcast for Those Who Want to Win! Leadership Lessons, Motivational Mindsets, Empowering Principles, Success Strategies, and Transformational Tactics from Sunzi, the Master of Victory
I am your guide on the side, David Boyd, award-winning educator, transformational speaker, and Certified Life Coach.
It’s time to start winning at life!
Episode Introduction
Hey! Hey! Hey! Welcome everyone! Thanks for joining us! I am so glad you are here listening! Last week, we discussed “Sunzi’s Five Full-Send Commitment Tactics for When You Hit the Wall.” What has worked for you when you’ve hit your wall? I’d love to hear! So please shoot me an email at artofwarforlife@gmail.com or send me a DM on Instagram @artofwarforlife, and please join the Art of War for Life Facebook page. Next week, we’re going to hear from my mentor and friend USAF Brigadier General Paul Pirog in our second Warrior Mindset Unplugged! He was a “Cold-War” B-52 navigator, Air Force JAG, and Head of the Law Department at USAFA during his 36 years of dedicated service, so don’t miss it! If you haven’t listened to the first interview with international keynote speaker, powerful story-teller, changemaker, and Marine Mom, Abigail G. Manning, what are you waiting for? Go back and listen to it or watch the video on Youtube! Her teachings on recognizing our “Purple Threads” those personal limiting thoughts physiologically tied to what we think, say, and do was amazing! Her practical advice for eliminating the finger pointing language of blame, shame, and judgment, and giving ourselves grace and space were transformative. This week, we are talking about “Sunzi’s Three Tactics for Effective Execution or the Art of Getting Things Done!” So let’s go!
Sunzi’s Three Tactics for Effective Execution or the Art of Getting Stuff Done!
In Chapter 2.3 of Sunzi’s Art of War, we read:
Therefore, those who don’t fully understand the inherent dangers of deploying troops are incapable of fully understanding the potential benefits of deploying the troops. Those who excel in deploying the military don’t draft conscripts again and again, and don’t have to ship provisions a third time (because the first two shipments were insufficient). Procure gear from the state and seize provisions from the enemy. Then, the military’s rations will be sufficient.
故不盡知用兵之害者，則不能盡知用兵之利也。善用兵者, 役不再籍, 糧不三載, 取用于國, 因糧于敵, 故軍食可足也。
From this passage I have identified three tactics for effective execution essential to the art of getting stuff done! They are:
1. Do Your Due Diligence: Know What is at Stake and What You are Up Against
2. Secure Sufficient Supplies: Get What You Need to Get Started
3. Be Opportunistic: Find What You Can Along the Way
1. 盡知 Do Your Due Diligence Know What is at Stake and What You are Up Against
Sunzi noted that those who don’t fully understand the inherent dangers cannot fully comprehend the potential benefits. In others, we need to know what is at stake and what we’re up against. The Chinese term here is jin4zhi1 盡知. Jin4 盡 means completely, thoroughly, fully, or exhaustively. The character depicts a hand holding a brush 聿 above four dots of fire 灬 over a ritual vessel 皿 (min3). Taken together, the association is of thoroughly scrubbing, brushing out, and cleansing a ritual vessel with fire. After ritual use, the vessel had to be thoroughly cleansed and cleaned – nothing could be left behind. The first of “Sunzi’s Five Essential Attributes for General Leadership” discussed in Episode 4 is wisdom and we discussed the relationship between knowledge and wisdom, which I defined as applied knowledge. In Chinese, knowledge, or zhi1 知, is the arrow of the mouth. So, in terms of doing our due diligence, the Chinese phrase means to completely, exhaustively, and thoroughly gain knowledge. We must not miss anything because a vital piece of intel could cost lives! In the same way, as we pursue our “Big Deals” and fight our daily battles, we must thoroughly amass all of the arrows of knowledge that we can and put them in our quiver of preparation. No stone can be left unturned, because knowledge is potential and applied knowledge is power, and a crucial piece of information can mean the difference between success and disappointment.
In Episode 9: “Sunzi’s Threefold Questions for Calculating the Cost and Committing to Accomplish,” I walked us through a simple cost-benefit thought exercise. A great next step to do here is to conduct a more thorough SWOT analysis. Though typically used for businesses, it is equally effective in pursuing our “Big Deals,” chasing our dreams, and understanding ourselves and our current situations. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Conducting a thorough SWOT analysis can help us understand the possible risks and weigh them against the potential benefits. It allows us to decide: Is this a hill worth dying on? It also allows us to get to know ourselves a little better as we reflect on what our weaknesses are in a particular situation or circumstance and what our strengths are, which in turn allows us to play to our strengths. As award-winning author, podcaster, and entrepreneur Richie Norton has said: “Strategic entrepreneurs and leaders find the greatest insights hiding behind SWOT.”
One thing I learned from my friend, international motivational speaker, change-maker, and two-time successful entrepreneur Abigail G. Manning is to outsource our weaknesses and those things we just don’t care about but that have to be done as quickly as possible. This frees us up to play to our strengths, which is the second of “Eight Tactics to Transform Your Life” that I discussed in Episode 7.
If I am starting a business and know that I am weak in the marketing area, I can hire a virtual assistant to take that on for me. If I know that finances stress me out, I can hire an accountant.
It’s March Madness right now and the teams that are winning are the ones that are able to dictate the style of play, leverage their strengths, exploit other teams’ weaknesses, and capitalize on mismatches. They are the ones that are delivering career highs on the biggest stage in college basketball and posterizing their opponents!
If you like, I have a great one-pager to help walk you through this. So, shoot me an email at: artofwarforlife@gmail.com and I’ll send you a free downloadable copy.
2. 取用 Secure Supplies – Get What You Need to Get Started
The second of Sunzi’s Three Tactics for Effective Execution is to “Secure Supplies” or in his words, to “get what we need to use” in order to win. This ties back to doing our due diligence because it requires us to thoroughly plan ahead in how we manage our time, energy, and the resources and materials we need to use to succeed, win, or create our “Big Deals.” Remember, in Episode 2: Look in the MIRROR – You Are in Charge!, we talked about the importance of strategic planning to improve our results and outcomes in life. Sunzi devotes the first chapter of the Art of War to “Preliminary Planning.” He was a firm believer in the adage: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” So, we need to put together a plan to secure what we need to use to win!
The Chinese pair used here is qu3yong4 取用. Qu3 取 means to secure, the character depicts a hand 又 (you4) beside an ear 耳 (er3). When we’ve got someone by the ear, we have secured their attention! Yong4 用 is literally a pictogram of a fishing net. It refers to usefulness, utility, application, employment, and deployment. I first introduced this character in Episode 6: Sunzi’s Six Traps of (Self-) Deception and How to Avoid Them when I discussed the “Futility Farce.” One thing I like about the imagery here is that he is not just talking about a fishing hook, he’s talking about a full on net. See, a fishing hook can land a single fish and requires more active attention on our part but a fishing net is a passive tool that works for us all the time, even when we are busy doing other things or even sleeping. So it also links back to “Systematizing Success,” which is one Sunzi’s Five Strategic Success Factors that I discussed in Episode 3.
Whatever our “Big Deal,” whatever that soul yearning is that we long to say “Yesss!” to is, we need to prepare sufficient time, energy, and resources to start seeing it through to its realization.
Be smart, streamline, & secure our supply-chain & our schedules so that we can maximize our efforts and work smarter not just harder. One of the things I learned about myself is that I am a morning person – that’s when I have the most energy, highest creativity, and greatest clarity. I usually record these podcasts between 4am and 6am when the whole world is asleep, and all is quiet. Everyone’s different – my wife is a night owl – so one of the things I realized is that I need to maximize my creative and productive hours with the most important tasks and save some of the more procedural items to later in the day.
One of the reasons Sunzi argued for securing our supply chains is to avoid in-the-moment (wartime) inflation. I recently had an insight into how this is still relevant and applies outside of a military context. My wife and I have renovated four houses and each time, there have been moments when our progress has been halted because we didn’t have all the supplies we needed. Of course, sometimes there are unanticipated problems that have to be resolved. However, I am embarrassed to confess by failing to plan ahead and secure the necessary supplies, that I have been to the same home improvement store three or even four times in the same day for parts and supplies! I began to feel like I knew all the salesclerks and associates on a first name basis and they definitely knew me! What a colossal waste of time! Nothing kills progress on a weekend project quicker than not having the materials prepared ahead of time.
If we don’t plan ahead and secure what we need beforehand we are the mercy of whoever has what we need and whatever price they charge. In the internet age, a little planning and preparation can almost always save us time and money and prevent unnecessary delays & costly setbacks.
3. 因糧 Be Opportunistic: Find What You Can Along the Way
The third and final tactic for effective execution that Sunzi identified is to be opportunistic and to find what resources we can along the way. The Chinese pair is yin1liang4 因糧. Yin1 因 means cause, reason, and to respond. Liang4 糧 refers to grain and by extension to sustenance, provisions, rations, and supplies. Taken together the two characters refer to responding to the resources that surround us.
In other words, to be resourceful and opportunistic, to use what is at hand, and to seize opportunities that present themselves to get free resources, opportunities, and exposure – even if it means deviating from the plan a little here and there. For example, if we are learning to play a sport and we happen to be out for a walk and come across a pick-up game, jump in, practice our skills, make some friends, and gain some experience! If we are learning an instrument and there is an opportunity to get free tickets to a premier performer, go get them! If we are developing a business and we find ourselves in an elevator with someone who can help us or that we can help, don’t be afraid to open our mouths. Don’t just wait for opportunities, seek them out, make them happen, or create them!
This links back to the third of Sunzi’s Five Strategic Success Factors that I spoke of back in Episode 3, to “Leverage the Landscape” because on our journey from where we are to where we want to be, we have no idea what or who is waiting for us up ahead and part of strategic planning is just putting ourselves in the right place at the right time to give ourselves an opportunity for a chance meeting, a serendipitous encounter, or even a personal miracle – to find that game-changing strategic advantage, like I discussed in Episode 5, “Four Keys to Tip the Balance of Power and Shift the Scales of Life in Our Favor” that will open up new worlds of possibility that we never even knew existed. As Russian American author and philosopher Alice O’Connor, better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (1905-1982) has said: “The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.”
Every day, every hour, every moment is a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning; each second, each breath, each heartbeat is new opportunity to grow, to become a better version of ourselves, and to change our lives. As British activist, actress, screenwriter, and presenter Jameela Jamil has said: “Every twist and turn in life is an opportunity to learn something new about yourself, your interests, your talents, and how to set and then achieve goals.”
Conclusion
Today we have discussed “Sunzi’s Three Tactics for Effective Execution” or as I like to call them “The Art of Getting Stuff Done!” They are:
1. Do Your Due Diligence: Know What is at Stake and What You are Up Against
2. Secure Sufficient Supplies: Get What You Need to Get Started
3. Be Opportunistic: Find What You Can Along the Way
By doing our due diligence, putting in the time to exhaustively learn and gain knowledge and understanding about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, what motivates and drains us, we gain invaluable insights into how to play our own game, play to our own strengths, and set ourselves up for success. As we thoroughly invest time and energy to learn about and understand the infinite potential and limitless possibilities that await us as we pursue our “Big Deals,” our “Grand Endeavors,” or our “Personal Missions” along with the possible dangers and threats, obstacles and opposition – both internally and externally – that might stand in the way and prevent us from reaching our goals and realizing our dreams, we gain strategic insights that we transform into tactical advantages that we can use out there on the battlefields of life to endure and overcome. As I mentioned in Episode 4: Level Up Your Leadership! Five Essential Attributes of Great Leaders and How to Develop Them, knowledge is the arrow and wisdom the ability to use that knowledge to hit the bullseye in our lives and win! The more knowledge we gain, the more arrows we have in our quiver to hit our targets and achieve our goals.
In order to consistently do so, we need to secure sufficient resources and get what we need to get started. As we thoroughly plan ahead and structure our lives so that we can make the best use of our time and energy, we will begin to make steady progress, gain momentum and confidence, and prevent burnout. When we have what we need in our lives, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and socially, we can more effectively manage our MESS and show up in a sustainable and committed manner. So, figure out what you need in your life, out of your life, and for your life and go get it!
Lastly, open ourselves up to the opportunities that are out there every moment of every day. Wherever we are, whatever stage of life we find ourselves, there are always openings and opportunities just waiting for us to discover and discern. Obstacles are just opportunities awaiting an innovative approach. Problems are just possibility awaiting a different perspective. As we begin to master these three tactics, we will discover that we getting more stuff done! More of the things that matter and making more progress in our lives toward what we really want. We will feel less stuck and more empowered, more optimistic and less jaded, and we will find that things are beginning to change. Pieces will start falling into place, opportunities will emerge, and doors are opening, leading us into a whole new realm of promise and possibility! That is the secret to effective execution – the art of getting things done!
Podcast Outro
Thanks so much for listening everybody! If you found this podcast impactful, please like and subscribe, and join us for new episodes every “Warrior Wednesday.“ For more information, tools, and resources to help you in your daily battles, for questions or to work with me, shoot me an email at: artofwarforlife@gmail.com. Most importantly, always remember: “The power to win resides within! There is ALWAYS a Way!”
Soundtrack by Sentius
Warrior: The Art of War for Life - A Podcast on Winning 
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