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Part - II

The times and seasons signify the ups and downs that an organization passes through. By studying enemy’s attributes, one can position oneself and commit resources appropriately.

Sun Tzu talks about judging the terrain and the capability of one's force before venturing for an attack. According to him, ‘there are some roads not to follow, some troops not to strike; some cities not to assault and some ground which should not be contested.’ This is a matter solely of good judgement skills of a leader and wise judgement comes from experience which grows out of mistakes.

The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. The commander is the embodiment of the Leadership concept. There is a common adage, ‘An army of stags led by a lion is more feared than an army of lions led by a stag’.

Leadership is not a manipulation, power trip or a trick of management. Rather it is a trust owed onto one who undertakes responsibility to steer through the ebbs and turns during a course of action. It is of utmost importance for the leader to be motivated and full of energy and courage to lead the army through unexpected changes. Hence, "Wars may be fought with weapons but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and the man who leads, that gains the victory."

Method and Discipline are understood as the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of expenditure. This all forms part of strategic planning. Strategic planning is a management tool used to help an organization to focus its energy, to ensure that members of the organization are working towards same goals, to assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment.

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* Contributed by: -
Minu Batish,
PGP 2003-05,
TAPMI, Manipal,
Published in Bi-annual Journal of TAPMI - 'Amartya'.