All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. – Sun Tzu
When I first heard news that hordes of over-excited legislators, political bigwigs and other VIPs had descended upon America’s gambling capital of Las Vegas to witness the recent epic boxing bout of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao versus Mexican underdog Erik "El Terrible" Morales, I was disturbed. An athlete like Pacquiao needs undivided focus, overwhelming discipline and single-minded obsession to win, not the distracting loud hosannas that might have lulled him to over-confidence. When I heard that he gambled at the poker table before his big fight, I got worried that his psychological frame of mind might be too relaxed.
Worse, pundits, heavyweight champ Mike Tyson and even the Las Vegas odd-makers were predicting his win, while boastful loudmouths in Pacquiao’s team were broadcasting his strategies and his so-called secret weapon called the Manila Ice. How could it be a secret when they were announcing it to the world media?
I should send Manny Pacquiao or his handlers a copy of the 2,500-year-old Art of War by China’s military strategist Sun Tzu, which explicitly advised that we should never telegraph our strategies to our foes but should use guile to defeat opponents before the actual battle. If I were Pacquiao, I will kick all of these arrogant loudmouths in the butt from Las Vegas to Tijuana, Mexico!
In contrast, the seemingly less fit Erik Morales appeared the underdog since the very start – arriving late in Las Vegas on a delayed flight from Mexico, looking tired and haggard. During the weigh-in, he was a bit overweight and had to be stripped nude to fit the weight requirements. No loud pronouncements were heard from the Morales camp, which to me was eerily too quiet. Pacquiao drumbeaters were already predicting a big knock-out loss for Morales. Unfortunately for the country, the Mexican eventually won that bitter but decisive fight. Did the Mexican camp read the Art of War of Sun Tzu?
On the first day of the match, after endless negotiations, the challenger from Brooklyn, New York came late again – just one minute before the contest was to be cancelled. Everyone thought Bobby Fischer was nervous or confused. Indeed, Fischer lost the lousy first game that some even wondered whether it was a deliberate loss or was Fischer just crazy? After the loss, Fischer kept complaining again about everything and he was so late again for the second game the organizers forfeited it in favor of Spassky. Nobody in world chess history had ever won the top crown from a two-loss beginning.
In the third game, Fischer looked so self-assured and he used unexpected chess moves to checkmate the shocked Boris Spassky. Fischer then jumped up, smashed his fist into his palm and shouted: "I’m crushing him with brute force!" It was downhill for the world champ ever since. Spassky was so unnerved and after losing the sixth game, he even started to cry. After the eighth game, the world champ complained that Fischer was hypnotizing him, he deliberately avoided his eyes, but Boris Spassky still lost.
After game number 14, Spassky publicly complained that his foe was trying to control his mind, that his orange juice was drugged, that there were chemicals in the air and that something was done to their chairs. The Soviet spy agency KGB was alerted that Spassky was embarrassing their country with all these bizarre complaints. When the chairs were taken apart and X-rayed, experts found nothing. Only two dead flies were discovered in a lighting fixture in the hall. Spassky tried to continue, but he was psychologically defeated by Bobby Fischer and abruptly resigned on September 2.
Upstart challenger Bobby Fischer’s unpredictability and psychological cunning struck terror, confused and crushed the former world chess champion. That should have been the best strategy for the Manny Pacquiao team in Las Vegas, so that the Pacman of General Santos City could unleash his great firepower to demolish the Mexican. What a waste of Pacquiao’s talents, what a waste of a rare opportunity for a Philippine win!
Sun Tzu’s strategies are among the priceless gems of China’s 5,000-year-old civilization and have enriched the cultural ethos of East Asia’s dragon economies. His ideas have influenced not only business, diplomacy, politics, but also sports and personal lives. Watch how modern-day Chinese athletes try to psychologically outflank their western foes. When China’s trade negotiators thresh out issues with their western counterparts, are they deploying the 2,500-year-old principles of Sun Tzu?
Former Anvil Business Club president Michael G. Tan of Asia Brewery Inc. once showed me his favorite English translation of Art of War, which he gave to all his top executives. He said that his father, rags-to-riches taipan Lucio Tan, had memorized this book. Is it any wonder his competitors and even the public are often surprised by his many surprise business gambits?
Sun Tzu’s ideas reached the West shortly before the French Revolution, due to a summary translation made by the French Jesuit missionary Fr. J.J.M. Amiot, S.J. Nowadays, bookstores worldwide sell many translations of the works of Sun Tzu, also known as Sun Wu or Sunzi. His ideas have also been studied in America’s elite military and business circles, also quoted by the likes of 1970s top diplomat Henry Kissinger.
Sun Tzu’s most important principle for conducting war was: "All warfare is based on deception." It doesn’t mean that we should deploy unethical strategies or cheatings to win over our competitors in business or sports, but we shouldn’t telegraph all of our punches ahead of the game or to naively reveal too much of our secrets!
In business, in our professions, whether for Philippine government negotiators trying to fend off inequitable western creditor demands or trade emissaries pushing our agriculture exports, or Filipino diplomats trying to safeguard OFW rights, or international athletes like Manny Pacquiao slugging it out in sports arenas, let us heed the wisdom of Sun Tzu, "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."