Mental preparation is key when facing Adversity. In this episode I’m breaking down why “The Art of War” is a critical guide for military and business leaders. I’m sharing why recent guest Janice Bryant Howroyd “kept her enemies closer” by purchasing stock in her competitor’s businesses and how she used that insider knowledge to push her own business further.
Episode Transcript:
00:32
I’m Marcus Aurelius Anderson, and this is the first installment of Acta Non Verba Warrior Wisdom. In these shorter coaching lessons, I’ll highlight the wisdom from warriors past and present in all kinds of settings, from the battlefields of Italy, Greece, Japan, and the Middle East, to more modern day warfare, including battles in business.
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culture, and society. The reality is this. The world is a battlefield. And to not master these lessons leads you grossly unprepared for the adversity that you will inevitably face in the future. The source of this episode’s material is The Art of War by Xuan Zhu, and the lesson we’ll be exploring is to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The Chinese military strategist Xuan Zhu wrote the masterpiece The Art of War.
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in the 5th century BC. The first recorded English translation of the Art of War was in 1910. Because Sun Tzu has long been considered to be one of history’s finest military tacticians and analysts, his teachings and strategies formed the basis of advanced military training for millennia to come. In Eastern Asia, the Art of War is part of every syllabi for potential candidates of all military service examinations.
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was studied and widely used by the KGB. The quote most often cited from that text for them, quote, I will force my enemy to take our strength for weakness and our weakness for strength, and thus will turn my enemy’s strength into weakness, end quote. The art of war is even used as part of the instructional material and the military strategy course taught in the US Military Academy at West Point.
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I also quote the principles and concepts of the art of war in my book, The Gift of Adversity, Overcoming Paralysis and Pain to Find Purpose. The Art of War remains the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare and has influenced Western military thinking, business strategies and tactics, professional sports, and beyond. It’s easy to find a copy of the Art of War in the library of today’s modern warriors, leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs. Now.
02:56
I’ve read the Art of War many, many times, but Janice Bryant-Howroyd has read the Art of War over 100 times. JBH has said repeatedly that the lessons that she learned and diligently applied from this text helped her become the first African American woman to build and own a billion-dollar company, the Act One Group. And I said billion with a B. At the time of this recording,
03:23
JBH has a personal net worth approaching three quarters of a billion dollars. Again, be as in Bravo. One of the lessons that made a tremendous impact on her was the notion of keeping your friends close and your enemy closer. This concept means that by keeping a close and watchful eye on your enemies, be it in battle or in business, you can not only anticipate their next move. You may actually learn something in the process.
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By being aware of a foe’s actions, you may see them operate in a more efficient manner. Perhaps you’ll recognize them using a more effective standard operating procedure, or SOP, that you can potentially adopt. You may see them using a new tool or technology that you can employ in the future. By keeping your enemy’s movements in view, you may also learn the pitfalls to avoid on a similar path. The concept of connection without attachment, in order to sense an enemy’s actions and intentions,
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can be found in numerous martial arts and is inspired by this Xuan Tzu lesson. So, how did JBH Janice Bryant-Howroyd apply this in her business? She kept her enemies close by buying shares in their company on the stock market. And while this may sound counterintuitive, when you look at it deeply, it is truly a stroke of genius. By making a small investment in her competition, her enemies, if you will, and-
04:49
Again, this was not enough of an investment to have a negative impact on her company. By doing so, she was able to get raw data on her competitors in real time, irrespective of what an article or a journalist may be saying in the media. If the company was proclaiming a huge triumph, JBH knew that the intel as an investor in the company would truly tell the tale. For example, if her competitor was claiming to grow by leaps and bounds in a certain quarter, but the information that she got as an investor is saying something different.
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then she knew the truth. But she not only knew the truth of the situation, she was also able to see how her competitor was trying to leverage disinformation to influence public opinion. And all of these things are incredibly valuable intel. Now she can see where patterns evolved. Maybe they’ve done this in the past. Maybe she can anticipate them doing that in the future. She took this principle of keeping her enemies closer a step further. And it’s a powerful reason why her company, the Act One Group,
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has had such tremendous success over the years, with over 17,000 clients, having 2,600 full-time employees, and operating in 19 countries worldwide. To learn the rest of that master lesson, listen to my Octa Non-Verba interview with JBH as we cover all these things and more, including her upbringing in the segregated South, her experience of being one of the first classes in American history to go to a non-segregated school during her junior year.
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and how the philosophy taught to her by her parents helped her overcome these obstacles and more to become the business woman, the entrepreneur, educator, ambassador, author, mentor, and presidential special appointee that she is today. Your immediate action items from this lesson. How can you learn from your enemies? What tactic or strategy can you adopt from your competitor, be it in business or physical competition? Where are you letting your ego get in the way
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of learning from your enemy. How can you do a better job of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer right now? Thus endeth the lesson. If this episode resonated with you, share this lesson with others who need to hear it and can learn from it. And until next time, live a life of actions and not words. Live a life of Acta Non Verba. Thank you for listening to this episode of Acta Non Verba.
