Regardless of a company’s size, history, or market position, it can always benefit from analyzing how other companies do business. Studying other approaches is a key part of Musashi Miyamoto’s classic work on swordsmanship, The Book of Five Rings. This fourth article in a Special Five-Part Series takes five principles from Musashi’s work and demonstrates how they can be used in business. Earlier articles in this series are found here, here, and here.
Lessons from the Wind Scroll
In this scroll, Musashi discusses other schools of swordsmanship. His key argument is that:
- there is an important difference between swordsmanship technique and martial arts principles
- attachment to technique is not true swordsmanship
- the true path of swordsmanship involves mastering martial arts principles.
Lesson One. Separate the Approach from the Objective
In this scroll, Musashi outlines many other approaches to the martial arts with respect to the choice of sword, ways of holding a weapon, and ways of moving. Musashi discusses these approaches to point out how they deviate from the true way of martial arts.
The first lesson of this scroll is that there are many ways to carry out an activity, and some are more effective than others. While there are many ways to fight with a sword, some ways are much more likely to be effective in actual battle.
It is important to separate approaches from objectives.
The second lesson of this scroll is that to distinguish between approaches, one must constantly ask oneself what the core objective of an activity is. This is not easy because viewed through the lens of the changing mind, what appears to be the core objective of an activity can constantly shift.
For Musashi, there is only one true objective. The core objective of swordsmanship is not to look strong or elegant but to win battles.
The third lesson of this scroll is that analyzing the approaches of others, even if they are not effective, can be a good way to deepen one’s understanding of what is most effective. This can help refine one’s own practice.
The application of this to business is that there are many ways to do everything, including recruiting, marketing, and business development. Particularly if one’s approach does not seem to be working well, there can be a tendency to jump from method to method, hoping that something eventually will work. Musashi advises that, rather than do this, we should concentrate on the core objective and try to define principles that make realizing the objective more likely. This then becomes the method of evaluating approaches, including our own, to see what works best and work toward it.
Lesson Two. Do Not Be Attached to Technique
In this scroll, Musashi discusses the weapon preferences of certain swordfighting schools. One of these is a school that favors long swords based on the reasoning that they have extra reach. The other school favors short swords on the ground that they are easier to maneuver when the battlefield is crowded.
Musashi points out that the supposed advantages of these approaches can quickly turn into disadvantages. A long sword may be hard to wield in close quarters, and a shorter sword can become a disadvantage on an open battlefield. In other words, technique is tied to a particular set of circumstances, and if the circumstances change the technique becomes less useful.
Action should be based on the circumstances, not on habit.
More generally, Musashi mentions that if we become attached to a particular technique and in a battle simply wait until we can put it into practice, we are dramatically reducing the strategic and tactical military options at our disposal. Further, if we only see a battle through the lens of a chosen technique, or worse yet only see battle as an opportunity to apply our technique, we may not accurately see actual battle conditions and not be able to react effectively when situations change. Our own technique can become a trap that can be hard to escape from.
This has application in business because a common approach to any activity is to learn a technique and then repeat it over and over. For example, we may use the same approach every time we contact a potential new customer or the same approach for preparing business strategy. While this is not necessarily bad, acting based on a technique or simply looking for opportunities to put a technique into practice can make it harder to use a different approach when the situation requires it. We have to retain and develop the ability to act beyond the confines of our chosen technique to take the best advantage of a business situation and minimize risk as much as possible.
We have to retain the ability to act beyond the confines of our chosen technique.
Lesson Three. Use Strength of Knowledge to Win
Musashi says, “There should be no such thing as forceful or weak strokes with the sword. The sword handled with a forceful frame of mind is going to be rough, and it is difficult to win with roughness alone.” He then says, “In my style, you do not think about overdoing anything in the least. Be intent on winning in any situation by your strength of knowledge in the martial arts.”
Musashi explains here that using physical strength is not the path to victory in swordsmanship. As discussed elsewhere in the Book of Five Rings regarding speed, this seems counterintuitive as it would seem that the strongest person would win. But in actuality, trying to use a lot of strength is an impediment to swordsmanship because it often slows you down. Secondly, if you use a lot of strength, when you finish cutting it takes time to release the energy from the force applied and return to a position where flexible action is possible. In this transition from the use of strength to a return to flexibility, a swordsman is vulnerable to counterattack.
True strength in battle comes not from force but from knowledge.
More generally, Musashi argues that in swordsmanship excessive strength or weaknesses detracts from the simple but difficult principle that the right amount of force should be used at the right time. The right amount of force cannot be determined from strength but rather from knowledge.
This is applicable on multiple levels in business, as in many circumstances sheer force does not lead to the best results. For example, we may work for many hours in a row, which takes a lot of mental and physical energy, but this may lead to a work product which is not good and negatively affect our health. By taking time to reflect on the best work approach, or even if the work is necessary at all, a great deal of unnecessary effort can be avoided.
There are many ways that excessive strength can be directed at others, including speaking over people and using overly aggressive tactics. While these tactics may lead to short-term advantages, they often damage relationships, which can have many negative long-term consequences. Putting Musashi’s advice into practice, the better approach is to focus on deeply understanding the situation and the people involved in it. Once that is done, the appropriate words will be used, and the appropriate steps will be taken to maximize the possibility of a positive outcome.
Lesson Four. See Broadly Rather than Narrowly
Musashi says, “Although those who play kemari do not fix their eye on the ball, they are able to execute the difficult techniques of the game. Because they have become accustomed to it, it is not a matter of a certain place to look. For the techniques of people doing acrobatic tricks, each becomes accustomed to their Way, whether it be balancing a sliding door on the nose or juggling a number of swords. For such things as these though they do not fixe their eyes in one certain place, it looks natural because they have practiced habitually.”
This part of the scroll points out the important difference between seeing and observing. If a juggler were to concentrate on each ball, the rest of the balls would immediately drop. If a driver were to concentrate on each thing around them, they would get into an accident. In order to carry out these activities, a broad view is required where there is sustained awareness of an entire set of objects and their interrelationships, but no one object is isolating attention from the larger whole.
We must train ourselves to see the larger picture rather than only one part of.
This has great application in business for the reason that, like jugglers, we must constantly manage many things at once. Apart from the many things on our own to-do list, we must contend with a constant stream of shifting economic conditions, new firm developments, workplace issues, and client requests. If we focus on one of those things alone, we will lose sight of and not be able to see and effectively manage the larger picture. That is particularly dangerous in a situation where many factors could damage a business.
Lesson Five. Advance Step by Step
In this scroll, Musashi also discusses the difference between “inner” and “outer” approaches to swordsmanship. He says, “In this world, when searching for the interior or depths of a mountain, if you think of going even farther into the interior than you already are, you will go right out of the entrance again. In the Way of any subject at all, there are points fitting for the interior and good things at coming through the entrance.”
The meaning of this teaching is that on any path to learning there are stages along the way. If you are beginner and try to jump ahead to the stage of being an expert, not only will you not advance, but you will go backwards. One must simply go step by step, absorbing what one can from one’s natural level and then, once that is thoroughly learned, advance to the next level. This approach is not quick, but it is ultimately the quickest.
In business, there is constant pressure to jump ahead. Quickly moving ahead means a better position, greater responsibility and perhaps better compensation. There are very few people who elect to advance slowly. Yet in business, like swordsmanship, there is a pathway. Designing strategy, leading a team, working with others, and selling products are all complicated activities that can not be mastered overnight. Musashi’s advice is that by allowing yourself to be a student and eliminating the thought of quick mastery, your chances of going farther are much higher.
Conclusion
This article set forth five principles from The Book of Five Rings and illustrated how to apply them in business. The following article will show how to apply principles from the remaining scroll of the book.
The version of the Book of Five Rings referenced in this article was translated by Matsumoto Michihiro and William Scott Wilson. I have made some changes to the English translation based on my own interpretation of the Japanese text.
The image for this article was taken from here.