Sun Tzu and Why Growth is a Function of Momentum

tl;dr: Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is not always accessible, but it is worth the study. On the importance of momentum.

The Art of War, by Sun Tzu, is one of those business books that everyone is supposed to read. It’s cliché.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a ton of value in reading this 5,000 year old treatise. There certainly is and believe me, I have tried.

But all of my previous readings were inherently flawed. I would pick up the book and try to read it like I would read any other book.

It didn’t work.

I felt lost and until recently, I hadn’t found the way to do it.

I happened to be browsing at a local Barnes and Noble when I saw The Art of War Illustrated, translated by James Trapp.

I bought it.

What makes this version so special is two things.

First, it is broken down into very small, consumable chunks. You can read one page at a time and there’s more than enough to reflect on there. The vocabulary is elegant, but not out of reach.

Second, the book is augmented by historical military campaigns to drive home the point.

Some that I have found recently include Alexander at Granicus, the Allied invasion of Sicily, and the Battle of Zama. For each battle, one (or more) of Sun Tzu’s principles are highlighted, so that the learning is reinforced.

One section that I loved was on Momentum.

“The surge of rolling flood-water washes away boulders: this is called momentum. The swoop of a falcon strikes and kills its prey: this is called timing. Thus for a skilled warrior, his momentum must be irresistible and his timing precise. Momentum is the tension in a crossbow arm; timing is the pulling of the trigger.”

That section brought me back to my Sprinklr days.

My CEO, Ragy, was all about “momentum.”

As a relatively young (and immature) marketer, I enjoyed pulling the trigger. I also had limited sense of timing.

But I learned from him that the hard part, the pulling of the crossbow arm back.

Everyone sees the trigger being pulled and is excited about what happens.

This is the “campaign launch.”

But all of the work that goes into that moment, that isn’t so sexy, is what makes the campaign successful.

And knowing when to pull the trigger…ah, that is the art and one I certainly haven’t mastered.

Most of the work of building a world-class growth marketing organization is about momentum.

Momentum is difficult, particularly because it requires sustained efforts over a long period of time.

That’s a function of planning and discipline.

Two skills that most people don’t possess nor do they cultivate.