You’ve probably heard of Sun Tzu before. His thoughts and ideas are some of the most useful you may come across if you’re in the strategy business. And no, I’m not only talking to businesspeople, consultants, and policymakers. Actually, I’ve mainly used The Art of War when playing board games*.
At the risk of giving away my edge in future game nights, let me introduce my favorite Sun Tzu mental model: undefeatability. To win, you first need to put yourself beyond the possibility of losing. It’s your absolute priority. If you can’t lose, then all you need to do is to patiently look for the right opportunity to win.
It’s quite simple really, but rarely applied.
In the foreign policy world, you avoid overextending your military and economic resources. You avoid unnecessary wars and only partake in warfare when there is no alternative.
In the business world, you prepare yourself for many possible futures, ensuring you will not go broke in any of them.
In the finance world, you follow Warren Buffett’s advice: the first rule of investing is don’t lose money and the second rule is don’t forget the first rule.
*Quite frankly one of the most enjoyable ways I have applied my international relations degree so far.
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