Ancient Tactics for the Modern Business World

"Once you understand the way broadly, you can see it in all things." -- Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi -- a legendary Japanese swordsman and rōnin (masterless samurai) lived in the 16th & 17th centuries, and was widely regarded as one of the, if not the greatest martial artist of all time. Having defeated dozens of opponents in duels of hand-to-hand combat without ever suffering a loss, he was also a skilled calligrapher, painter, and writer, and is best known for his book "The Book of Five Rings," which outlines his philosophy on strategy and tactics for both martial arts, and life.

Musashi's teachings, outlined in "The Book of Five Rings" are still highly regarded today not only for martial artists, but for anyone seeking to achieve mastery in their field. The five rings refer to the five different aspects of strategy that Musashi believed were critical for success in any endeavour, and can be applied to modern business today.

The Book of Earth

The first ring represents the foundation upon which all other aspects of strategy are built. This ring emphasizes the importance of understanding one's own strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of one's opponents. It also highlights the need for a solid understanding of the environment and the resources available.

The Book of Water

The second ring focuses on flexibility and adaptability. In this ring, Musashi stresses the importance of being able to change tactics quickly and respond to changing circumstances. He also emphasizes the importance of maintaining one's composure and remaining calm in the face of adversity.

The Book of Fire

The third ring deals with the power of aggression and the ability to strike at the right moment. Musashi believed that a strategic use of force could be more effective than simply relying on raw power. He also emphasized the importance of being able to maintain one's focus and coposure, even in the heat of battle.

The Book of Wind

The fourth ring focuses on the importance of timing and speed. Musashi believed that the ability to act quickly and decisively was essential to success in any endeavor. He also emphasized the importance of being able to think ahead and anticipate the actions of one's opponents.

The Book of Void

The fifth and final ring represents the ultimate goal of mastery and enlightenment. In this ring, Musashi stressed the importance of transcending the ego and achieving a state of selflessness and inner peace. He believed that by reaching this state, one could achieve true mastery and become one with the universe.

The teachings of Miyamoto Musashi and the Five Rings offer a comprehensive framework for achieving mastery in any field, and emphasize the importance of understanding, flexibility, power, speed, and inner peace. Whether you are a martial artist, a business person, or simply seeking to improve yourself, ancient wisdom still holds true today.

On Theory and Practice in Sales

“Theory and practice sometimes clash. And when that happens, theory loses. Every single time.”

Linus Torvalds -- best know for being the creator of the Linux Kernel for the Linux operating system was quoted stating this, and this observation is absolutely and unequivocally correct.

I would argue that theory and practice always clash, especially when to comes to the sales process in conjunction with the events that unfold during a B2B sales engagement. There are no shortage of books on sales, and one could fill several Olympic sized swimming pools with ease.

These sales books provide a rough guideline of skills that can be implemented throughout the sales process, however when put into practice, the tools need to be tempered with the right level of experience for maximum efficacy. This is why a seasoned, and experienced sales professional with real field experience in his craft is absolutely invaluable to an organization either in a direct staff role, or as a consultant.

The nature of interactions with people engaged in business transactions are as random, chaotic, and unpredictable as ever. There is rarely, if ever the same situation encountered twice. It is only through pattern recognition gained from decades of experience that one could only begin to master the art of sales with any success.

The theory on sales and the sales cases ascribed in many writings online and in books, and used as structure or guidelines for would-be sales professionals fail more often than not to prepare sales professionals for the reality of sales practice in the real world. A battle-hardened sales professional bridges the gap between this theory and practice, as they see how sales techniques are applied, short-circuited, and distorted in practice.

B2B Technology Selling. Unlike Other Selling.

Selling large, complex technology solutions to other organizations to help solve their business challenges requires a completely different strategy and mindset than selling to consumers. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and a realistic B2B sales strategy needs to be implemented and followed to ensure expectations are managed both internally and externally.

Complex B2B sales are rarely, if ever completed in one interaction, and involve multiple people at the buyer's organization due to the complexity of implementing a solution that affects one or more business areas, and being able to understand the politics of an organization and uncovering "the fog of business is essential to ensure that the maximum intel is known to be able to craft an effective strategy.

It's a long game of chess that is more effectively played by experienced players in B2B sales that absolutely cannot be learned from a book. Every single situation is different, which is why leveraging seasoned experts in an advisory capacity will help increases the chances of B2B sales success.