Method notes
This is not a magazine about winning revenue wars. The notes practice one job: is the conflict worth entering, can it end at plan and relationship, where do you stop, and what would make the next cycle better.
The notes cover five jobs: whether to enter, whether force is needed, whether the map is false, how subtraction works, and when to stop the burn. After reading, keep three lines: the judgment, one thing to verify, and when you will review.
Choose by the question, not by the score
Worth entering?
If the five factors are unclear, stay out. Write the burn and the stop date first.
Without force?
Resolving without fighting is the highest good. Change the plan, then the relationship.
Next cycle better?
One judgment, one action, one review. You do not need an enemy to destroy.
Where to start
Already spending? Read Waging War for the stop date. Clash not started? Read Attack by Stratagem. Fact missing? Read the know-yourself note. Five Factors is a stay-out checklist. Subtraction and restraint are in the Tao note.
Clausewitz vs Sun Tzu: refuse decisive battle as the default
Search “Sun Tzu vs Clausewitz” and rooms often crown decisive battle. Attack by Stratagem asks whether the fight is worth it: plan and relationship first; force last. Refuse the default — not East-vs-West scorekeeping.
Sun Tzu vs Machiavelli: 5 Differences in Strategy
Sun Tzu vs Machiavelli is not kindness versus ruthlessness. Compare goal, uncertainty, power, force order, and stop conditions — then protect the whole aim, not the throne.
Nine situations: on dispersive ground, do not force a fight
Different situations demand different commitments. On dispersive ground, do not fight; last-resort ground is last resort. Too deep a pledge locks the next cycle—a judgment essay, not a nine-grounds encyclopedia.
Refuse useless strife (無用な争い): when the fight has no aim
Useless strife — 無用な争い — is a clash empty of aim. Before you spend force, ask whether the fight itself should be refused. Peace technology from 谋攻: judgment, not a war manual.
Terrain: if the ground does not fit, do not fight
The same force changes outcome when the ground changes. If the ground does not fit, do not fight. Name the mismatch before you move—a judgment essay, not a six-terrain encyclopedia.
Variation: if you should refuse the path, refuse it
When conditions change, tactics change. Some roads and some fights should be refused. The aim is preservation, not pride—a judgment essay, not a nine-variations encyclopedia.
Sun Tzu in Chinese: check the original line before you quote it
Sun Tzu, Sun Zi, Sun Wu, 孙子兵法 — one book, many spellings, and a pile of quotes that are not in it. Nine famous lines with the Chinese original, plus the one check to run before you quote him in a room.
The Army on the March: read the signals before you make contact
While moving, read the signals first; if they say stop, stop. Contact is the last step, not the first. A judgment essay—not a recon encyclopedia or ambush SOP.
Maneuvering: preserve the force before you race to be first
When the room races you to be first, ask whether the prize spends you—not whether you look fast. Maneuvering is advantage and danger. Preserve before you race.
谋攻: Attack the Plan First — Do Not Spend Force Before the Relationship
Sun Tzu's Attack by Stratagem (谋攻) ranks 伐谋 and 伐交 above force. Change the plan and the relationship before you spend people, lead time, or goodwill.
兵势: Use Momentum to Spend Fewer People
Sun Tzu's Energy (兵势) is a spend-fewer checklist. Use momentum to shorten conflict. Ordinary force is enough when timing and coordination line up.
军形: Make Yourself Hard to Defeat Before You Attack
Sun Tzu's Tactical Dispositions (军形) is a hard-to-defeat checklist. Make yourself hard to defeat first — not to crush someone, but so you need not rely on a hard fight.
虚实: Solve the Problem at the Empty Place
Sun Tzu's Weak Points and Strong (虚实) is an empty-place checklist. Solve the problem where it is empty; leave the solid alone. Head-on is the expensive road.
Variation in Tactics: one open move from OpenAI or Claude you should refuse to copy
Open-weight posture, rapid release cadence, and safety-narrative escalation are public moves. Variation in Tactics asks which road you refuse — 途有所不由 — not which headline you reproduce.
Attack by Stratagem: refuse “who wins OpenAI vs Claude,” read 伐谋 and 伐交 first
“Who wins” is already siege scorekeeping. Read publicly verifiable 伐交 and 伐谋—distribution partners, product and safety narratives—then write your object, goal, and resistance.
Fire Attack: anger is not a reason, a broken state does not return
When the room escalates on anger, ask whether advantage exists—not whether you feel right. Anger can become gladness; a destroyed state cannot return. Keep a way out.
Use of Spies: name the missing fact before you move
When the deck looks ready and you still want to enter, write the one missing fact first. Foreknowledge comes from people and evidence, not spirits or analogy alone. If the blank remains, stay out.
作战: Write the Stop Date Before You Enjoy the Order
Sun Tzu's Waging War (作战) is a stop-date checklist. Consumption itself is harm. Write what a day burns, then write the day it must stop.
始计: Do Not Enter When Sun Tzu's Five Factors Are Unclear
Sun Tzu's Laying Plans (始计) is a stay-out checklist. If 道, 天, 地, 将 and 法 are unclear, do not enter. A quote sent into fog is already a small war.
Sun Tzu five factors | Stay out
The five factors test whether to enter — not how to press a customer. Terrain, morale, information, timing, and adaptation.
Attack by Stratagem (Sun Tzu) | Without fighting
The highest good is to change the plan and the relationship so a fight never starts — not a clever way to beat a rival.
Know yourself (Sun Tzu) | Once you know
Knowing self and other exists so you start fewer false fights. Acting without knowing is usually more expensive than finding out.
Lao Tzu vs Sun Tzu | Restraint, not more force
Lao Tzu’s subtraction and Sun Tzu’s examination are one job: fewer wasteful moves, and a next cycle that is better than this one.
Lao Tzu vs Sun Tzu: fewer fights, not a softer war
Lao Tzu’s subtraction and Sun Tzu’s examination are one job: stay out of wasteful moves, change the plan before force, and leave the next cycle cheaper. Soft teaching for teams that want fewer fights.
Waging War (Sun Tzu) | Stop date
Chapter 2 is about whether you can afford the burn: what each day costs, when to stop, and how not to eat the next cycle.