Standard Terms in Sun Tzu's Strategy
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Action |
1. Generally, the expenditure of resources; 2. The execution of a decision; 4. A single, independent move; |
| Adaptability |
1. The ability to change methods to fit the situation; 2. The ability to move in a new direction at any time; 3. Generally, our flexibility of response. |
| Advance |
1. n. A move to a position in the direction of our mission; 2. v. Improving a position by getting it closer to our goals; 3. the desired result of the progress cycle |
| Area |
1. The breadth and range of territory that a position encompasses; 2. The extent, range, or and capacity within an opportunity, the expanse of the region it covers; 3. The range of potential within our mission, climate, ground, command, or methods. |
| Barricaded Positions |
1. Any position defined by an extreme number of barriers to entry; 2. The benchmark position used to evaluate opportunities defined by a large number of obstacles |
| Barriers |
1. The difficulties in filling the opening presented by given opportunity; 2. Obstacles that block our access to the opportunities; 3. The conditions that prevent others from filling an opportunity before we do. |
| Breadth |
1. The size of the area covered by a mission, an opportunity, or a position. |
| Campaign |
1. A series or group of related actions or moves used to take advantage of an opportunity; 2. The use of a series of short-term positions called field positions to achieve our mission; 3. The orchestrated choice of different methods over time to attain a goal. |
| Chaos |
1. Our inability to see a pattern in components or events; |
| Claim |
1. An outward, visible sign that gains us a benefit or reward from changing our position; 2) the actions taken to get a position recognized by others to gain rewards |
| Clarity |
1. The ease with which a mission, an opportunity, or a position are understood. |
| Climate |
1) generally, the forces driving change in a competitive landscape; 2) objectively, the temporary, changing features of the external competitive environment; 3) subjectively, the combined emotions and attitudes of everyone in the competitive landscape; 4) one of the five key elements that defines the time aspects of a competitive position |
| Command |
1) generally, the authority and responsibility for making decisions to improve a competitive position; 2) the role of the individual conscious mind for making comparative choices; 3) the qualities of leadership that wins followers and supporters; 4) the key element of a strategic position that identifies who makes which decisions |
| Competing Agents |
1) generally, the individuals or groups whose positions are being compared; 2) a actor in the environment with the capacity to make decisions and execute those decision to improve its position; 3) a set consisting of a leader, methods, and a mission; 4) the internal key elements defining a strategic position |
| Competition |
1. Any situation where a comparison is made between alternatives; 2. A contest among people where their relative attributes are compared on the basis of outcome or opinions. |
| Competitive Landscape |
1) the arena in which competitors are compared; 2) the external competitive environment of resources shaped by the interaction among competing agents; 3) the mental map of any competitive area |
| Complementary Opposites |
1. A pair of necessary but seeming opposing sides of the same system that create one another; 2) Two balancing forces of nature that create the stasis of a strategic position, which are leveraged to advance a postion; 3) The contrasting differences between two conditions that defines their essential nature as in how the nature of lightness defines darkness; 4) The many natural forms of emptiness and fullness |
| Complops |
1. SOSI abbreviation for the concept of "complementary opposites. |
| Conflict |
1.n. Actions that seek to create decline in an opponents position in order to improve a position relatively; 2. Situations in which two rivals investing to attempt to damage each others' positions; 2. Battles (meetings) that are costly to all involved parties; 4. The most costly actions in competition. |
| Contentious Situation |
An opportunity that is rewarding enough to attract a group of competing interests. |
| Courage |
1. The ability to accept uncertainty in making decisions. |
| Decline |
1. n. A move to a position that is further from our mission; 2. v. damaging a position by moving it further from our goals; 3. the natural result of costly conflict |
| Depth |
1. The degree of commitment to a mission |
| Desperate Situation |
1. A class of situations that occurs at the very end of a move when time, alternatives, and favorable conditions are all running out. |
| Difficult Situation |
A class of situations where we encounter serious obstacles to success that dramatically slow our progress at the end of a move. |
| Disinformation |
1. Representing a condition or situation as the opposite of what it is; 2. The intentional uses of information to damage the decision-making of others, often the "big lie." 3. Any daring use of false information. |
| Dissipating Situation |
A class of situations that arises when we are targeted for an attack by a large, well-organized opponent. |
| Distance |
1. The differences in space and knowledge separating two positions; 2. That what must be covered get from one position to another; 3. The opposite of proximity and affinity. |
| Division |
1. Any attack on the unity of an opponents; 2. Attempts to win over or defeat small parts of a group one at a time; 3. An action that encourages individuals to put their individual goals above the shared goals of group. |
| Easy Situation |
The easy progress that we make at the beginning of a new move, venture, or campaign. |