Hide a Dagger Behind a Smile: Use the 36 Ancient Chinese Strategies to Seize the Competitive Edge

306 Pages·2010·2.992 MB·English

by  Krippendorf, Kaihan

Business is war—fight to win!
H
Hide a
Today’s global economy is a battleground. To survive and
i
thrive, you’ll need every weapon you can get. Microsoft, d
Sony, and Starbucks use business practices based on the
e
dagger
ancient Chinese military text The Thirty-Six Stratagems—
a
now you can, too. Author Kaihan Krippendorff explains

d
how to apply each stratagem to make your business profits
soar, such as: a
g
stratagem #1—Kill with a Borrowed Knife
g
Indirect attacks on your adversaries can
catch them off-guard. e BeHind a
r
stratagem #19—Watch the Fire on

b
the other shore sm le
e
Companies that temper power with patience will be h
more competitive in the long run.
i
n
stratagem #33—Hide a dagger
d
Behind a smile

Threatened adversaries resist—trusting ones do not. a

s
With Hide a Dagger behind a Smile, you can take
m
on your competitors and win—one battle at a time.
i
l
Kaihan Krippendorff is a former consultant with McKinsey & Company and author of e
the forthcoming The Way of Innovation. He is president of the Strategy Learning Center, Use THe 36
a firm that helps companies worldwide—including Microsoft, Ryder, Pfizer, and DHL—
outthink their competition. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. He has
ancienT cHinese
been mentioned in or written for publications such as Inc. magazine, Harvard Business
K
Review, and Harvard Management Update and has appeared on many radio programs, r
including NPR’s Marketplace. ip
p sTr aTegies To seize
e
n
d
Images © istockphoto/choicegraphx, Tony Link Design o THe compeTiTive edge
r
$14.95 (CAN $17.95) Business ff
ISBN-13: 978-1-59869-380-5 www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN-10: 1-59869-380-8
Kaihan Krippendorff
Hide a
dagger
BeHind a
sm le
USe THe 36
ancienT cHineSe
STraTegieS To Seize
THe compeTiTive edge
Kaihan Krippendorff
avon, massachusetts
Copyright 2008 © by Kaihan Krippendorff
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are
made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by
Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN-10: 1-59869-380-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-59869-380-5
Printed in the United States of America.
J I H G F E D C B A
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krippendorff, Kaihan.
Hide a dagger behind a smile / Kaihan Krippendorff.
p. cm.
Based on concepts from the ancient Chinese text, The
Secret art of war : the 36 stratagems.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59869-380-5 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-59869-380-8 (pbk.)
1. Competition—Management—Case studies. 2. San shi
liu ji. 3. Strategy—Case studies. 4. Problem solving—Case
studies. 5. Industrial management—Case studies. I. Title.
HD41.K69 2007
658.4’012—dc22 2007039126
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information
with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding
that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other
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contents
Acknowledgments .....................................vii
Preface .............................................. ix
Introduction .......................................... xi
part i
Yin Yang polarity
1
STrATAGEM ONE
To Catch Something, First Let It Go .......................5
STrATAGEM TWO
Exchange a Brick for a Jade ..............................14
STrATAGEM THrEE
Invite Your Enemy onto the roof, Then remove the Ladder ....20
STrATAGEM FOUr
Lure the Tiger Down from the Mountain ..................26
STrATAGEM FIvE
Befriend the Distant Enemy to Attack One Nearby ...........33
STrATAGEM SIx
Kill with a Borrowed Knife ..............................38
STrATAGEM SEvEN
Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao .............................42
STrATAGEM EIGHT
The Stratagem of Sowing Discord .........................48
STrATAGEM NINE
Trouble the Water to Catch the Fish .......................53
iii
iv Contents
part ii
Wu Wei: go with the Flow
59
STrATAGEM TEN
remove the Firewood from under the Pot .................. 61
STrATAGEM ELEvEN
Shut the Door to Capture the Thief .......................65
STrATAGEM TWELvE
replace the Beams with rotten Timbers ...................70
STrATAGEM THIrTEEN
The Stratagem of the Beautiful Woman ....................75
STrATAGEM FOUrTEEN
Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake ........................79
STrATAGEM FIFTEEN
Loot a Burning House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
STrATAGEM SIxTEEN
Sometimes running Away Is the Best Strategy ..............89
STrATAGEM SEvENTEEN
Seize the Opportunity to Lead the Sheep Away ..............93
STrATAGEM EIGHTEEN
Feign Madness but Keep Your Balance .................... 101
part iii
Wu chang: continuous change
107
STrATAGEM NINETEEN
Watch the Fire on the Other Shore .......................112
STrATAGEM TWENTY
Let the Plum Tree Wither in Place of the Peach ............118
Contents v
STrATAGEM TWENTY-ONE
The Stratagem of the Open City Gates ....................124
STrATAGEM TWENTY-TWO
Await the Exhausted Enemy at Your Ease .................128
STrATAGEM TWENTY-THrEE
Exchange the role of Guest for That of Host ...............135
STrATAGEM TWENTY-FOUr
Borrow the road to Conquer Gao .......................142
STrATAGEM TWENTY-FIvE
Shed Your Skin Like the Golden Cicada ..................148
STrATAGEM TWENTY-SIx
The Stratagem of Injuring Yourself .......................152
STrATAGEM TWENTY-SEvEN
Borrow a Corpse for the Soul’s return .................... 157
part iv
Shang Bing Wu Bing: indirect action
163
STrATAGEM TWENTY-EIGHT
Point at the Mulberry but Curse the Locust ................166
STrATAGEM TWENTY-NINE
Clamor in the East; Attack to the West ...................172
STrATAGEM THIrTY
Openly repair the Walkway, Secretly March to Chen Cang ... 177
STrATAGEM THIrTY-ONE
Fool the Emperor and Cross the Sea ......................184
STrATAGEM THIrTY-TWO
Create Something out of Nothing ........................188
vi Contents
STrATAGEM THIrTY-THrEE
Hide a Dagger Behind a Smile ..........................193
STrATAGEM THIrTY-FOUr
Deck the Tree with Bogus Blossoms ......................200
STrATAGEM THIrTY-FIvE
To Catch the Bandits, Capture Their Leader ...............205
STrATAGEM THIrTY-SIx
The Stratagem of Linking Stratagems .....................210
APPENDIx A
The Thirty-Six Stratagems as Problem-Solving Tools .........219
APPENDIx B
rapid-Cycle Strategy Innovation ........................249
APPENDIx C
research ...........................................253
Notes .............................................. 267
Bibliography ........................................273
Index .............................................. 277
acknowledgments
The book is like a snapshot of a ruedi Müller, verne Harnish,
conversation I have been holding Zaki Mustafa, Stephannie Was-
with many like-minded people serstein, Ned Bowman, Tereza
over the past ten years. I unfor- Sommerfeld, Enrique riquelme,
tunately only have space here to Evan Shelan, and Maritza
thank a portion of this commu- Morales. My former colleagues at
nity. Above all I thank my wife, McKinsey & Company continue
Pilar ramos, and my son, Lucas to serve as mentors and friends,
Somar Krippendorff, for being including David Wenner, Jacques
the purpose of me completing Antebi, Juan-Jose Gonzalez, Brad
this book. Hoover, Tim Lukes, and Joanna
Dr. Kathryn Harrigan, my Popper.
professor at Columbia Business In my attempt to capture
School, first encouraged me with the subtleties of the Thirty-Six
the idea that I could write a book. Stratagems as accurately as I can,
Others who provided academic I depended heavily on a small
support include Dr. Ming-Jer network of generous friends. Qin
Chen, Dr. Costas Markides Chen spent countless hours with
(London Business School), Dr. me explaining and critiquing my
Sumantra Ghoshal (now deceased, interpretation of each stratagem.
London Business School), Dr. I first asked Christina Zhu about
Steve Heine (Florida Interna- the stratagems in 1999. She has
tional University), Dr. Alan continued to answer my questions
Carsud (Florida International energetically. Teresa Chu, Harry
University). I thank my father, Dr. Wang, and Alex Tsui helped keep
Klaus Krippendorff (University of my interpretation of the Chinese
Pennsylvania), for expanding my philosophy behind each stratagem
thinking over countless engaging on target.
conversations. I also thank my mother, Sul-
My colleagues at The Strat- tana Alam, for inspiring me and
egy Learning Center, especially my agent, Laurie Harper, for
AnaMaria rivera, contributed guiding me.
ideas and support the research.
This work is far more power- Kaihan Krippendorff
ful thanks to the case ideas and Miami, Florida
insights shared by Doug Muir, February 2007
vii

preface
n March 1220 AD, the defenders of Bukhara made a fatal mis-
I
take. This ancient Muslim city in what is now Uzbekistan was
about to fall prey to one of history’s most daring military maneu-
vers. Genghis Khan had appeared as if from thin air.
When he first set his sights on Bukhara, he appeared to pursue
a conventional approach, sending his army to attack cities standing
between his homeland, Mongolia, and his target. But while the
defenders of Bukhara monitored their adversary’s progress, Geng-
his Khan secretly prepared a detachment for a march most thought
impossible. He drove his men farther than any army had ever cov-
ered—across 2,000 miles of mountains, deserts, and plains—and
appeared unexpectedly at Bukhara’s doorstep. Surprised, Bukhara
swiftly joined a long list of cities outwitted by Genghis Khan.
How did Genghis Khan conceive of an option none expected?
History’s greatest military strategists—Alexander the Great,
Napoleon Bonaparte, Sun Tzu—won with creativity rather than
strength. They shared an unnatural ability to see and choose stra-
tegic options others ignored.
I believe we all have the capacity for unlocking such strate-
gic creativity. We can, with the right tools, approximate with a
method that others exercise naturally.
This book offers a toolkit, fashioned by an ancient Chinese text
called The Thirty-Six Stratagems, that is surprisingly effective at
ix