(Over the past 12 years, the writer has been lecturing and
consulting on the subject of Sun Tzu's Art of War and its
application and relevance to business practices and
planning. As of to date, he has provided executive training
, talks and seminars to over 120 large organisations
(including 500 companies) and 20 countries. He is thus very
honoured to be able to share with readers, through the
columns of Lianhe Zaobao, some of his thinkings on this
subject.)

　The need for unity is a well-accepted norm in the conduct
of war. Thus, it is very interesting to note what Sun Tzu
had to say about unity:

　"If the army is confused and suspicious, the neighbouring
states will surely create trouble.

　This is like the saying: "A confused army provides victory
for the enemy".

　From the quotation, one can easily learn four simple
lessons.

　Firstly, if members of a group are confused, or worse, if
they suspect each other, the seed for disunity has just been
sown. This is true in the case of the army and the
organisation.

　For example, when there are no clear lines of
communication and distinctive demarcation of duties and
responsibilities within a company, the employees will become
very confused. To make matters worse, if personnel among the
various departments are suspicious of each other, the
company can never move in one direction!

　In the same way, if the people and various decision-making
groups of a country begin to suspect each other instead of
working in cohesion, disunity will set in. If the degree of
suspicion and confusion persist for a long time, it is
likely to lead to other undesirable consequences.

　In the extreme cases, it can lead to the disintegration of
countries and organisations, as in the case of the former
Soviet Union and some family-owned businesses that are even
publicly listed.

　Secondly, confusion and suspicion will make the
organisation vulnerable to external exploitation. In war,
the enemy is always on the lookout for any weaknesses that
can be exploited. Thus, if the army is in disarray, it
provides the enemy a golden opportunity to exploit the
situation.

　This is very true of any organisation. For example, when
employees in a company are busy fighting each other,
competitors can add fuel to the fire. Moreover, when the
employees are disunited, unhappiness is bound to set in.
This allows competitors to sow more seeds of discord, and to
poach the more capable ones to join them.

　 Interestingly, at the national level, the need to be
united so as to avoid external exploitation is very real.
For example, in the ongoing economic and financial crises
facing many Asian countries, there is a need for citizens to
remain united.

　During such times, there would inevitably be opportunists
as well as other external parties who may have different
agendas and motives. It is not far fetched to imagine that
these external forces can even bring down governments and
their economies!

　Thirdly, confusion and suspicion which create disunity,
will erode the competitiveness of the organisation. When a
lot of time, effort and resources are spent on internal
fire-fighting, it is only inevitable that the organisation
will suffer. This is because there will be little energy
left to fight any external threat.

　It is just like the political situation in India. Many of
its political parties are too preoccupied fighting each
other. As a result, economic policies and development -- no
matter how urgent and important they can be -- tend to be
slowed down.

　Thus, despite decades of democracy, India has yet to
achieve the kind of economic progress that it is capable of.
Without doubt, it is a nation with great and many talents.
One only needs to acknowledge the vast number of Indian
scientists, technologists and academics in the United States
to realise the potential of human talents that exist in
India.

　Fourthly, and this is something that we tend to forget and
overlook -- in competition, winning and losing can be by
default! This is what Sun Tzu meant when he said that a
confused army provides victory for the enemy! In other
words, it is not that you are good or bad, it is just that
if you are so confused, and you spend time fighting each
other instead of dealing with the external threat, you have
just provided victory for the enemy.

　The reality of winning by default can be very well
illustrated by the experience of one of my overseas speaking
engagements. In December 1997, I had the privilege of
addressing the top management of Dell Computers, one of the
fastest growing computer giants in the world. In response to
how the competitors reacted to Dell's business strategy,
Michael Dell, the founding CEO remarked. "Are we really that
good?" Or have they all fouled up!"

　It appears that what Dell Computers do is not particularly
earth-shakening. It has not patented any new product nor
technology. Rather, it created a different way of marketing
computers -- through the Internet.

　In doing so, it not only eliminates the middlemen, but it
also allows what I call mass customisation. This is because
the consumer can order his computer through the Internet by
indicating his own specifications for the product. It will
then be manufactured and delivered to his home/office within
days!

　In the same way, in the early days of Singapore's economic
development, we won in a big way because many other
economies in the region were busy with other priorities. As
a result, we were able to attract a lot of foreign
investment.

　However, as more and more Asian economies opened
themselves to the outside world, competition has become very
tough. With the recent economic and financial crisis facing
Asia, the challenges ahead are even more demanding and
difficult.

　This is where Singaporeans must remain more united to face
the rougher times ahead. We should rally ourselves around
our government and ensure that our economy can withstand the
turmoils ahead. It is not a time to relax or to blame each
other. Rather, we must learn to trust our leaders and stay
united.

　Remember what Sun Tzu said about confusion and suspicion.
They will lead to disunity, cause erosion of our
competitiveness and provide victory to our competitors!

(The writer is Professor of Business Policy; Dean, Faculty
of Business Administration; Director, Graduate School of
Business National University of Singapore & a resource
panellist of SPH's Chinese Newspapers.)

团结精神不能少

　　(怎样在现代商战和管理学中发挥《孙子兵法》里的智慧，是过去
10多年来，黄昭虎教授潜心研究的领域。他出过著作，也曾在20个国
家，为120家大型机构的执行人员就这门课题主持过训练、讲座。
　　本报特邀这名国大学者，在下来一段日子发表系列文章，和读者
分享他的创见。)

　　上阵杀敌必须团结，这已是一个广泛被接受的准则。因此看一看
孙子针对团结精神说了些什么，是挺有趣的：

　　“三军既惑且疑，则诸侯难至矣，是谓乱军引胜。”

　　（军队既迷惑又疑虑，各诸侯国乘隙进攻的灾难就会临头，这就
是所谓自己扰乱自己而导致敌人的胜利。）

　　从这句引述，很容易就可以得出四点作为借鉴。第一，团队里的
成员如果感到疑惑，或更糟的是大家互相猜忌，等于已播下了分崩离
析的种子。

　　以军队和企业来说确实是如此。在一家公司里，沟通管道紊乱，
职责界限不明确，雇员便感到迷惑。如果不同部门之间还大搞猜疑，
那就更麻烦，公司上下别想朝一致的目标前进！