Deception. Intrigue. Sacrificing friend and foe for victory. Such infamy defined what we now call China’s Warring States Era. Today, we don’t take ‘making a killing’ so literally, but ruthlessness is still the cardinal virtue for success, and outmaneuvering the most critical skill. Whereas today’s rap impresarios and other models of .45 caliber entrepreneurialism look to Hollywood for guidance (“First joo get da money. Den joo get da powah. Den joo get da women.”), ancient generals had The Thirty-Six Strategies.

Some of these strategies have evolved into tactics familiar enough to be cliché. The exotic “Toss a Brick to Attract Jade” is more recognizable when called “the old bait n’ switch”. Yet a few are less familiar to artless foreigners, who come guilelessly to China to exploit cheap labor for an honest buck, and find themselves in the midst of meeting-room mayhem that resembles one of those ‘Flying Dagger’ movies, except no one can kick above the waist.

Here is one of the wilier strategies, its historical precedent and how to use it in today’s trenches of trade and commerce. If you’ve been in China battling for some time, you might just have seen it executed by a master.

Point to the Mulberry Only to Curse the Locust

The story-

Duke Huan, realizing the work involved in subjugating the eight states surrounding his, invited their leaders to talk of forming an alliance. Duke Lu blew the meeting off, so Duke Huan made a bullet point of ganging up on him first, then dividing his state among the newly allied.

Duke Song didn’t want any part of it and walked out. What a dilemma. Who had caused Duke Huan greater loss of face? Who deserved to die more slowly? “Easy there, chief,” advised his most trusted minister. “Lu’s far away; Song is still in town. Crush Song’s puny little vassal state of Sui and watch the plan come together.”

Sui was close by, and ill-equipped to fight off a cold, let alone Duke Huan and his mighty army. Regardless, Huan made a point of going pre-medieval on soldier and citizen alike, knowing he had a point to make.

Point made, Song apologized to Huan and almost asked how he could help the alliance, before smartening up and offering his surviving forces against Lu. When he heard all the other dukes were set against him, Lu suddenly realized the benefit of alliance and quickly tendered his membership application, along with an engraved apology to Huan for missing the meeting.

The Moral –

Playing the bully is a lot easier than playing the diplomat, much less the hero.

Application –

The meeting will never be over, because no one will shut their traps and recognize you already gave the best idea/ proposal/ solution, being the only truly clever person there.

Sit near the door, with a folder full of loose papers. When someone’s assistant walks in, make sure there is a bump and spill of all your ‘carefully arranged’ documents. Take advantage of the momentary attention and begin furiously berating the assistant, comparing him to bathing-suited parts of the body. Don’t desist until your victim’s face is as red with shame as yours is with feigned anger. Send the assistant packing, then turn a grim face back to the meeting. "Now! Where were we!" If the meeting goes over two minutes longer, you did it wrong.