ArtofChange MoisesAguilar

The Art of Change
A Management Strategy Book
Moises Aguilar
Edited by
Dan Mulvihill
All Rights Reserved, including those of translation to foreign languages.

No part of this book may be reproduced without the written permission from the author. Brief
quotes or reviewed sections by a reviewer are allowed as long as full credit is given to the author.
It’s about giving
The Art of Change
Introduction
How this book came about
I had long been fascinated with Sun Tzu’s ancient masterpiece, the
Art of War. I was in consulting and as I read and reread the various
translations of his work I began to see his wisdom providing solutions for
my own modern day job. I awoke to the realization that the principles and
the players conducting operations in this military classic were exactly the
same as those involved in the initiatives of the contemporary corporation.
My consulting engagement was indeed a War. The more I applied his
principles, the more excited I became as I saw Sun Tzu’s world perfectly
replicated thousands of years later in front of my eyes.
Unfortunately, I was not seeing Wars being won. What I kept noticing
was that simple projects were completed successfully while large initiatives
kept running into problems time and time again. These problems were not
coming from the initiatives themselves, but from the people in charge of
them. It seemed the larger the initiative the more unwise the decisions. In
Sun Tzu’s time, these people would have lost their entire army. What I saw
was large amounts of money being wasted due to the careless and risky
moves of those in charge. Many people knew about the Art of War but
nobody seemed to understand what it said, as I could not find a single person
who made decisions along the guidelines laid down by Sun Tzu.
Sun Tzu’s approach is, in one word, merciless. Things are what they
are and you better learn what you are dealing with so you can act
accordingly. He was dealing with War and a critical wrong decision could
lose him a Kingdom. People around me were acting as if their own wrong
decisions had no negative implications. No consequences. Unfortunately,
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The Art of Change
firing them for that reason would have been as useless as beating a dog.
These people did not realize the danger of their behavior. Projects were
happening in spite of them, not thanks to them.
Every manager I ran into was lacking one or more of the essential
attributes Sun Tzu deemed crucial. It may have been courage, or foresight,
or humanity, or strictness, but nobody was whole. At the same time, I could
find absolutely no training in these important attributes and strategies. When
creating managers, every training program focused on logic, experience,
methodology and structured approaches. As Sun Tzu pointed out, ‘In all
fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect
methods will be needed in order to secure victory’. The world focused on
direct methods and was missing indirect ones. So people were being trained
to kick off projects but not to complete them. Their poor results were proof
of this realization.
I started writing The Art of Change with the intention of translating
Sun Tzu’s precise and insightful concepts into today’s corporate world and
enable high level managers to make better strategic decisions. The first task
was to find what Sun Tzu’s concepts represented in today’s world. An easy
one at first. The Ruler of the Kingdom sponsoring War became the
Executive Sponsor in charge of the corporate initiative. The General of the
armies became the Program Manager in charge of executing the initiative.
The Army became the project team. War campaigns became projects.
Supply lines became budgets. I could easily find a direct correlation between
almost all of Sun Tzu’s concepts and mine in the corporate world, except for
one ‘minor’ exception. Where was the War? What was it? And who was the
enemy? Sun Tzu’s War was clear. You either invade a country or you
defend yours from invasion. But what did it represent in today’s world?
What is truly today’s corporate War?
I struggled with this concept for some time trying to find not only the
War but also the true enemy in today's corporate world. And then one day it
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The Art of Change
came to me, not as a logical conclusion, but as a sudden epiphany. Today’s

War is Change. The Enemy is Resistance to Change.
It all made sense. Any large initiative represents a major Change from
the current situation and every large initiative has significant problems. It
was not the challenges in the initiative, but the resistance to the Change the
initiative implied that was creating the problems. Change is what it’s all
about.
I understood Change well. During my entire consulting career I had
worked in projects that changed the life of my clients. The favorite part of
my job was seeing how their life improved while dealing with the challenges
of Change. Even when their life would clearly get better, Change required
special and careful attention for it to happen.
Change has always been there, but before it was slow and on a small
scale. As a result, the consequences of victory or defeat were not so
enormous. In today's corporate multi national world, Change has a large
impact with many variables. It brings deeper transformation than before and
above all, must happen faster. Much faster. This is no longer the time for
amateurs. Effective and positive corporate Change has become a matter of
survival. We can no longer continue being our own worst enemy and expect
things to go well for us. The environment is simply too dangerous. If we do
not make the right decisions and at the right time, it will take us down.
This book is about Change. It discusses the corporate implications of
Change in our current world and explains what it is all about so you can
identify whom you are fighting. Who is your foe? And who is your friend? It
tells you how to kick off the war, how to plan it, how to execute it, and
above all, how to close it successfully.
The Art of Change encourages you to take charge. When your
corporation needs Change, you simply cannot appoint a committee as our
political leaders have always done. You must do it yourself. The Art of
Change will tell you how to accomplish all this with only two key players.
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The Art of Change
Two outstanding individuals playing two key roles and you shall begin to
see mountains move.
I hope you enjoy it.
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The Art of Change
INDEX
PREFACE .............................................................................................................. 1
PART ONE. FOR THE EXECUTIVE SPONSOR ........................................... 7
INTRODUCTION TO PART ONE .............................................................................. 9
TRANSLATION KEY FOR PART ONE .................................................................... 11
CHAPTER I. WAR ............................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER II. WHEN TO WAGE WAR ................................................................... 17
CHAPTER III. THE KICK-OFF .............................................................................. 22
CHAPTER IV. THE GENERAL .............................................................................. 27
PART TWO. FOR THE PROGRAM MANAGER......................................... 33
INTRODUCTION TO PART TWO ........................................................................... 35
TRANSLATION KEY FOR PART TWO ................................................................... 37
CHAPTER V. THE FIVE FACTORS OF WAR .......................................................... 39
CHAPTER VI. GOING TO BATTLE ....................................................................... 44
CHAPTER VII. BASIC STRATEGY ........................................................................ 50
CHAPTER VIII. FIGHTING AN ENTRENCHED ENEMY .......................................... 57
CHAPTER IX. DECEPTION................................................................................... 62
CHAPTER X. SETTING UP THE ARMY .................................................................. 68
CHAPTER XI. PLANNING VS. FIGHTING .............................................................. 75
CHAPTER XII. THE ARMY ON THE MOVE ........................................................... 79
CHAPTER XIII. BEST PRACTICES ....................................................................... 86
CHAPTER XIV. THE GREAT GENERAL ............................................................... 90
PART THREE. FOR THE STUDENT OF LIFE ............................................ 95
INTRODUCTION TO PART THREE ........................................................................ 97
TRANSLATION KEY FOR PART THREE ................................................................ 99
CHAPTER XV. RISK ANALYSIS ........................................................................ 101
CHAPTER XVI. CRITICISM ............................................................................... 104
CHAPTER XVII. DEALING WITH A ROTTEN CORE ............................................ 110
CHAPTER XVIII. USING SPIES ......................................................................... 116
CHAPTER XIX. CHOOSING YOUR BATTLES ...................................................... 121
CHAPTER XX. CULTIVATING THE TAO ............................................................ 125
CHAPTER XXI. READING THE ENVIRONMENT.................................................. 129
CHAPTER XXII. NEXT STEPS ........................................................................... 133
AN AFTERWORD ........................................................................................... 141
APPENDIX........................................................................................................ 147
TRANSLATION KEY .......................................................................................... 149
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................ 151
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................... 153
The Art of Change
Preface
The end justifies the means only when the means are the end
When circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.

Sun Tzu. The Art of War.
I cannot make you change. I can only see that you can change and act
on that insight. Neither can I help you. I can only see that you can be helped
and act on that insight. This book is for those who are ready to change.
This is a book about Change. Change affecting you as an individual
and an employee. As a by product, it affects corporations and the market, but
all must start with you. Your mindset, your performance as a professional,
and the performance of your company are all connected. If you have a high
ranking position, the influence of your mindset on the performance of your
company will be larger. If you have a low ranking position, the influence
will be less.
The kind of change we have experienced during these past decades
has allowed humankind to take a quantum leap and we have created a
society we could not have dreamed of a few hundred years ago. It is
important that we learn to deal with this new environment because it is not
going away. This is merely the beginning. We can ignore the signs and
continue with business as usual or we can start getting ready.
But, what is this change and where did it come from?
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The Art of Change
A veil has been lifted from our eyes in these past decades as we have
come to demystify power. Never more than in the past century has power
been challenged in a stronger way as the common people have grown
accustomed to pass judgment on those previously thought all powerful.
Nowadays, very few people relate to their employers the way our
grandparents did. The obedient and dutiful corporate man is an almost
extinct race. Maybe people have changed and are not looking at power from
the same perspective. Maybe circumstances just got too difficult to control.
Maybe the powerful themselves have become overwhelmed and react
instead of directing. Maybe all of the above.
As society has increased its capacity to generate wealth, more and
more ordinary people have had access to positions of power. Unfortunately
they did not become powerful people. They remained ordinary people, with
power. Instead of adapting to the new situation, they usually made use of
their power to remain the way they were.
As technology has evolved we have enjoyed an exponentially
increased capacity to share information. This area has been victim of
uninspired direction as evidenced by the mediocrity of the media today.
However, power and the powerful have stopped being a mystery as we
gained access to information unavailable before. It is extraordinarily harder
to keep a secret today than it was a hundred years ago, and this detail may
present some enlightening opportunities.
As society has been changing, corporations have found difficulty

adapting to the new ways. Society’s turmoil has been seen as little more than
an opportunity for profit. Those in control of corporations have acted as if
things could stay the same internally while the corporation redefined the way
it did business outwardly. The mindset of those in charge has evolved very
little in comparison with how society has changed as a whole.
The strongest disconnect between reality and the way things are is in
the relationship between employers and employees. The general discontent
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The Art of Change
is the evidence that our jobs no longer fulfill a physical need but an
emotional necessity. Putting food on the table and a roof over our heads is
not enough any more. If it were, any good paying job would be satisfying.
But such is not the case.
Nowadays, we do not feel fulfilled if we have to do something just
because we are told. It matters not whether it is the market, a customer or
our boss telling us. There has to be a reason for what we do and that reason
better be associated with our own growth. It can be personal or professional
growth but nowadays the process is more important than the result. As soon
as we complete something we are eager for the next assignment and our
achievements become meaningless the instant we attain them. Focus has
shifted to the process while the result has lost its previous importance. What
we value today is feeling appreciated while doing our jobs, or that the work
we do helps others, or that we can perform our job in a satisfying
environment. Only then can we feel fulfilled when doing our jobs. Only then
can we feel that the pain we go through is actually worth the effort. Only
then can we feel a sense of accomplishment.
In the meantime, the professional environment has remained stuck in
the old ways and is not fulfilling our new needs. Lacking a meaningful
purpose in our jobs (and usually our lives) we live them as a continuous
battle for the capture of attention. We compete and compete and get very
little meaning out of it. Those with talent use it in their own battle for
attention as if envious admiration could replace meaningful relationships.
The rest of the time we spend vindicating meaningless offenses that we
brought about ourselves in the first place. While we like to think that we deal
with important matters we still need to make an effort to convince ourselves
of that.
The first step out of this situation is to accept how we got here. We
have a job, a house, and a family but underneath we have no idea what is
going on. We want to do something with our lives but we doubt whether we
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The Art of Change
have the maturity or the intelligence or the work ethic necessary to achieve
our dreams. We criticize those corrupted by their positions of power but
were we in the same position, it is not certain we would do much better.
Worst of all, we have not made the investment to get an answer to any of
these questions.
The solution is not outside however. The answer lies in the mirror. We
have never had access to more resources than we have today. Power has
been trickling down the social structure and has started to permeate the
whole. Anybody today has access to more education, information and tools
than any king a hundred years ago. The power put in our hands is going to
force us to reevaluate the way we approach our lives, particularly in the
professional arena.
The professional environment has a built in feedback mechanism with
a short cycle. The results of our actions come back to us in a year at most
when our job is reviewed either by a board or by a manager. Performance
can be measured by objective metrics which make crystal clear whether we
met our goals or not. As the ability to capture information increases, we
should expect everyone’s job performance to be measured with absolute
objectivity much sooner than later. As the ability to share information
increases, we should expect our performance to be shared with a much wider
audience than we may like.
In an environment with no secrets only those who are really strong
can survive. It is not a question of having no flaws, but of being able to deal
with the ones we have. This kind of environment will provide a clear reading
on how things really are and how we are doing. It will be the most dynamic
society ever experienced. Our actions will produce results in an environment
that will be able to deliver unequivocal feedback on the wisdom of our
decisions. It will be up to us then to do something about it.
This environment is one of continuous change and evolution. A much
faster evolution than the one we have experienced in past years. And it is
just a question of time before we get there. The winds of change are coming.
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The Art of Change
You can stand in the way and be taken down or you can set your sails to the
highest position and be taken to places you could not have gone by yourself.
It is up to you.
5
6
Part One. For the Executive Sponsor
7
8
Introduction to Part One
Part One is intended for the Executive Sponsor. While other people in
the company can derive benefit from this section, the activities described in
Part One are the sole responsibility of someone playing an Executive role.
The Executive Sponsor works among the Executive Ranks of the

company and is responsible for an area of the company. The area can be a
function like Marketing, Sales or Engineering, or it can be aligned to a
territory like the East or the West coast, or for very large corporations it can
be a function in one of the subsidiary companies.
In simple terms, the Executives referred to in this book can be

Directors, Partners, Vice Presidents or Executive Officers. The Executive
Sponsor (the first key player) is the Ruler responsible for the War discussed
in this book.
9
10
Translation Key for Part One
War = Change
Enemy = those supporting the old ways who oppose Change
Ruler = Executive Sponsor
General = Program Manager
Feudal Lords = Executives
Feudal Kingdom = Company as represented by the organizational chart
Royal Court = Executive Ranks
King = Area of the company in control of the direction of the corporation
11
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The Art of Change
Chapter I. War
The Name of the Game
War is vital to the nation. It is the basis of life and death, the path to
survival and destruction. It can on no account be neglected.
Change is the most important aspect of today’s corporate war. Not

competition, not margins, not sales. Adapt or die. In order to survive in
today’s world, corporations need to change skins on a regular basis to adapt
to the pressures of the market and the new technology that makes their
business models obsolete. But just talking about change will not do. Change
absolutely has to happen.
While history has shown that change is the only constant in life,
humans still have a hard time coming to terms with it. While we are not so
different from the people of thousands of years ago, what took generations to
change in the past needs to be effected in a single lifetime today. And in the
corporate world, in just a few years. Companies need to change their habits
and priorities as they evolve. Employees must be continually re-educated to
the most effective way of approaching their jobs.
As resistance to change is so deeply entrenched, we must become
aware that the enemy is inside, walking the hallways. Outward change is the
red herring, the meaningless but comforting distraction that progress towards
a goal is being accomplished, when in actuality the achievement of that goal
can be found only through inward change. Companies need to change the
way they operate internally, the way they behave inside their walls. This
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The Art of Change
necessary change in behavior entails a crucial challenge to the current

philosophical structure of the company. What was King before cannot be
King for much longer or the Kingdom will disappear. And we are not talking
about changing the CEO. We are talking about challenging the entire status
quo within the company.
The necessary change will vary by company. The Marketing
department may take over from the Engineering department, or the Services
department from Sales, or Sales from Research. Those who have status
today will be followers tomorrow and those who are followers today will be
asked to lead. While we should expect the former not to give up their throne
willingly, we must acknowledge the real possibility that they can take the
entire company down if they do not let go. At the same time, we should
expect the latter not to be prepared for the responsibility required by their
new position, and unless we prepare them, change will be disastrous. The
poor attitude from both parties comes from their disregard of the effort of
those that came before them. No company started being large, structured,
and successful. All this was obtained with hard work and as the company
grew, everybody had to survive in a constantly changing and evolving
environment. As change got us where we are today, can we expect the
absence of change to keep us here?
This day and age is bound to bring on the ultimate test. The question
is not who can change once and survive another day. The question is who
can learn to accept change as a way of life and survive indefinitely. Security
no longer comes from standing on solid ground but by being able to ride the
wave. Businesses cannot endure solely by knowing how to make something
and how to sell it. The day to day of a business may be likened to the trials
of a traveling caravan moving through an unknown territory, making a living
by discovering where and when to exchange what.
As society evolves and speeds up, choices and needs become more
sophisticated and diverse. To keep up with this trend, business exchanges
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The Art of Change
become impersonal. The importance of whom we deal with diminishes to

give way to how transactions occur. Old values like honesty and
accountability come back as an essential business attribute but with an
additional twist. While old reputations were built slowly by a few people at a
time, tomorrow’s reputations will be built quickly by large numbers of
people all at once. Sooner or later the ability to exchange information will
overwhelm the ability to control it and when that time comes, things are
really going to change. Whoever is ready for that environment will survive.
Whoever is not will perish.
Corporate longevity in the 21st century will be based on a company’s

ability to change. In the past decades we have seen some companies rise to
the top only to then fade away. This trend is sure to continue and bring down
even the successful companies that have been in business a long time.
Companies need to work not only on projects that will bring change to the
corporation, they must transform their entire culture into one of change.
Change will become the basic tenet of those companies that want to become
leaders in the market. They will have developed the ability to reinvent
themselves every few years, from the inside out.
This is by far the most daunting challenge any company has ever
faced as we are not talking about losing market share, but about disappearing
altogether. To add a level of complexity to the problem, the usual
approaches that got us out of trouble in the past will no longer work and past
success will not guarantee success in the future. Old approaches based on the
whip can only work in stable environments. You can use the whip to get
gold out of the mine once the process to extract the ore is set up. When
extracting gold for the first time however, we need to approach the problem
in a more constructive way. A culture of change implies that we will always
be working on everything as though it were the first time.
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The Art of Change
A culture based on change is still unfamiliar to corporations so

projects involving change are expensive and long. They have many
interdependent components that may seem unconnected but touch diverse
areas of the company from technology, to processes, to employee evaluation
criteria. Since meaningful change will be geared towards having long term
impact, special attention must be given to proving value during the
execution of these projects to keep the initiative alive.
A dynamic culture ready for change links all aspects of the
corporation. Corporations will have to take a long and deep look at
themselves and be honest about what works and what does not. The value of
such a dynamic culture comes from the use of the processes that are put in
place and not from the results of individual initiatives. These processes
demand that the entire company react quickly and as a single unit so any
disconnect between the parts will become obvious. A steady and wise hand
will be needed to successfully take a corporation to this advanced stage.
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The Art of Change
Chapter II. When to Wage War

Look before you leap
There are six kinds of terrain: open terrain, entrapping terrain,

evasive terrain, narrow terrain, steep terrain and great distances.
Change needs a sponsor to occur. While the chances of Change

happening are directly proportional to the power of the Executive Sponsor,
power is not enough. Before putting things in motion, one needs to assess
the chances of coming out victorious and only act when conditions are
favorable. You cannot make a company change. You can only realize that a
company can change and act on that insight. An attitude of achieving
success at any cost will lead you to disaster. If the time is not right, you
should save your strength to fight another day.
Think of the organizational chart as a Feudal Kingdom where the

Executives are the Feudal Lords of the estates. The areas of responsibility
represent their estates. Low rank Executives will own a small estate while
chief officers will own countries. In the corporate world, estates and
countries come and go much faster than in world politics.
So just as in the old wars they were not trying to kill people but to rule
them differently, you do not want to replace people but have them work for
the new ways instead. You want them to answer to a different power. The
enemy is pretty much the same as in those old wars: the Feudal Lords in
charge of the lands, represented today by those Executives that refuse to let
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The Art of Change
go. And as in those old wars, your objective is to Capture, Neutralize, Rule
or Kill the Feudal Lords while keeping their people. Capturing entails the
Executives letting go of their old ways; Neutralizing translates into
preventing them from impeding Change; Ruling them translates into having
them work for a person aligned with the desired Change so they can be
controlled; and Killing them entails getting them fired or forcing them to
move on.
Which strategy to follow will depend on the situation in the company,
your negotiation skills, and your ability to understand the points of view of
the parties involved. The position they decide to take will do the rest. Those
who want to live can be captured while those who want to die can be killed.
Some express their desire to live by having a constructive disposition while
others do it by purely aiming to avoid death. Some want to die from
dissatisfaction with the current situation while others want to die by an
undeterred attachment to the old ways.
The nature of the required Change should dictate the group to be

placed in charge. If Change affects the customer approach, select the sales
area; if it affects the corporate image, marketing; and if it will drastically
modify the technical infrastructure, the technology area. Keep in mind that
the situation and not your preferences will dictate the necessary steps you
need to take, but you will be responsible for enabling the selected group to
accomplish its job.
Sun Tzu identifies six terrains which translate into six scenarios in the
corporate world. The nature of the Change, the political situation in the
company, the opportunity presented, and the probability of success play a
part in determining how you should act. Although these scenarios may not
contemplate every situation, it will be to your advantage to modify your
current situation to fit one of these scenarios and then start.
In the first scenario, Change can occur but it can come from more than
one area so the effort to bring it about could be effected by more than one
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The Art of Change
person. It also means that more than one perspective or approach can work.
In this situation the strategy is to secure control of the supply lines, or in
today’s terms, the budget. The importance of the budget cannot be under-
estimated. It is not at all important who gets the title or the recognition.
Whoever can secure the budget will have the advantage of actually dictating
direction.
The second scenario consists of a Change that would be possible to
achieve now, but if missed, would be difficult to attempt for a second time.
In this situation it is necessary to understand the strength of the enemy. If the
organization is generally open to Change you may go ahead and start, but if
the Executive Ranks oppose Change, you will find disaster if you do not
succeed. There will be no middle ground; it will be a battle to the death. You
seized the opportunity to start when the factors were in your favor and they
will not forget your opportunism if you fail.
In the third scenario, it is known that Change must occur, but there is
no sense of urgency associated with it. Those opposed are not concerned,
perhaps because they either see it as distant or they don’t see it as dangerous.
At the same time, those who desire Change are not rallying to support it
either. In this situation, even though the enemy may offer you incentive to
start, one should hold back and allow them to do the work. Offer them what
may look like an easy gain so they take it. If a new initiative comes up and
could be done according to either the old ways or the new ways, let the old
ways take it. Once work is underway, wait until you can point out the flaws
of the old ways and only then make your move. You have effectively given
the opposing Feudal Lords rope to hang themselves and they have obliged.
You have used the initiative to polarize the situation and create tension
which you can later employ to begin Change.
If an unusually complicated opportunity presents itself, you must be
especially cautious, for although succeeding via the new ways will start the
road to Change, the prospect of Change will be lost for a long time should
the initiative fail. To be effective in this fourth scenario, you must over-
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The Art of Change
budget and give yourself extra time. If questions arise as to the high
estimate, cite the complexity of the opportunity and invite those supporting
the old ways to try it themselves. If the old ways want to attempt to do the
work, allow them to do so. If during their implementation the option to take
over the work arises, take advantage of this without hesitation.
In the next situation the path to Change involves losing one’s position
if there is failure. In this case do not try to start unless forced to. If you are
put in a position where there is no alternative but to go ahead, make as much
noise as possible. Make so much noise the entire industry hears about it.
Wait then and see if the enemy decides to create conflict and make things
difficult for you. If they do, respond; if not, do not start a conflict.
And finally, if the Change is a radical deviation from the old ways, a
strategy of creating conflict will be disadvantageous. Present what you are
doing as unrelated to what you plan to replace. Present it as an addition to
what is already there so it is not clear that the Change is going to affect
anyone until it is too late. Keep quiet, keep working and secure the success
of your initiatives.
Executing projects that involve a big component of change requires

special attention since you will likely encounter resistance from those very
people whose assistance you need. The challenge will not only come from
the implementation of the new ways but also from the abandonment of the
old ways. To succeed in this endeavor and make the right choices, it is
essential to understand both sides of the argument (the old and the new).
There will be many situations where you will need to go to the heart of the
matter and half truths simply will not work.
Hanging on to the old ways is like clutching the mast while the ship is
sinking. It looks solid but in reality it is going down. However, embracing
the new ideas will feel like a sacrifice to those attached to the old ways so
you must be both gentle and firm at the same time. Gentleness translates into
waiting for a favorable opportunity to commence Change. Instead of being
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The Art of Change
forceful, your strategy should be based on identifying what the opportunity

requires and act accordingly. Firmness translates into a firm resolve to
abandon the old ways and move to the new ways.
If you want to convince others, you must prove your point with
results, not promises. Once your initiatives start to provide initial results
your job will become easier. Until then, what you are proposing is to replace
the safety of known situations by an intuitive knowledge of what the future
may bring. You cannot expect everyone to support you immediately as their
safety depends on future actions and decisions. Until the new processes are
stable, people will need to work harder to make the new environment
function. Your job will be to ensure people are employing their energies
constructively. Change is not something to be achieved in a day.
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The Art of Change
Chapter III. The Kick-off

Wait for the coin flip, Captain
Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to

the enemy's purpose.
In order to identify the appropriate time to initiate Change, it is

necessary to understand those who can influence the outcome. The most
critical area to evaluate is the Executive Ranks since they are the ones who
are most likely to hinder your initiative. These Executives can be in one of
three states: planning, implementing or reacting. The ones planning want to
do things their way, those implementing want to get the benefits of their
activities, and those reacting want their life to stay as comfortable as
possible. The key is to discover what they personally expect to get from
what they are doing. Those who want something for themselves can be
manipulated. Seek to provide these Executives with what they personally
want in order to influence them.
This is the time to negotiate. The less conflictive your initiative is
perceived, the more easily you will accomplish your goals. Ideally you want
to present your goals as an addition and not a modification to their plans.
They must perceive that they will benefit by allowing you to get your job
done. The main objective is not only to ensure that they do not get in the
way but perhaps even help your initiative succeed. You should not expect
them to make your life easy. Your strategy is to agree to terms that are
beneficial to them and acceptable to you so you may achieve your goals.
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The Art of Change
During the initial conversations it is essential to identify ways to turn

obstacles into stepping stones. Do challenges appear or go away depending
on the area of the company? Can you combine your plans with the plans of
other Executives and collaborate with them? Are your risks someone else’s
risks as well? Do problems affect different Executives in different ways?
Can you change the order of your initiatives to benefit someone? To align
people to your cause, focus on what you share in common.
If someone openly opposes Change you will need to expend the effort
understanding why. Acting as if their concerns are not important or as if the
problem does not exist will backfire sooner rather than later. You are the one
bringing Change to the environment, and while it may be necessary, it is still
you who are creating the turmoil. Spend the necessary time up front ensuring
everyone is comfortable with how you are bringing Change so your way
becomes easier later on.
Those Executives immersed in planning should be initially reluctant
to share their ideas with you. If they are not, be cautious, as sharing their
plans prematurely may be an indication of weakness. Assess whether you
even want them as allies and if so, can it be done? If they can be made allies,
you must share your plans with them first. If they cannot be made allies,
listen to their concerns so you can present your initiative in a way that it is
not conflictive. If you are unsure about their position, start the conversation
with a broader subject to find views you share.
Those implementing will be concerned lest their initiatives are put at
risk by your coming into the picture. Collaboration at this point would be
seen as risk so stay away from them. If you want to collaborate, wait until
they get to their next planning phase.
Those reacting will be hardest to deal with. Their goals are totally
personal so finding a common objective may prove impossible. Talk to them
in order to assess how much of a problem they may be, but do not seek to
turn them into allies unless it occurs naturally.
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The Art of Change
A successful strategy to initiate Change will be the result of

understanding what those around you want. It matters not that the other be
friend or foe. By constantly listening and assessing the needs of all the
players, you should be able to identify the individual steps that must be
taken. Learn to whom you must talk, what concessions you need to make,
and what can be accomplished soonest and what later. Do not become rigid
in specific approaches but stay open to options. Do not let your personal
preferences or past history prevent you from seeing the appropriate path. Let
things happen, find a way to take advantage of circumstances and modify
your plans accordingly. Remember, those who do not covet cannot be
manipulated. Keep the overall goal foremost in your mind and you also can
become incorruptible. While you focus on the goal which is the realization
of Change, always take the most practical steps to get there. Some steps will
be practical short term, others will be for the longer term. Focus on those
steps that facilitate closure and bring something material to the table.
People may react negatively to your proposals, and this can stem from
several reasons. Some may see your cause as egotistical and self serving.
They perceive that your primary motivation is for your own benefit and you
are trying to mask it under the label of ‘good for the company’. If that is the
case, they actually should oppose you since you have no chance of
succeeding anyway. The time will come when you will have to choose
between the initiative and yourself, and if you are acting for egotistical
reasons, you will choose wrong.
If the reason they oppose you is because they want what you have,
chances are that you are not really bringing Change. A new twist on an old
trick does not represent Change. Change requires new thinking and this
alone should make people uncomfortable. Their feeling of discomfort is a
sign that you are dealing with real Change. It is your responsibility to aim
for Change large enough so the effort is meaningful, yet not so large as to be
unmanageable.
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The Art of Change
Those who oppose you because they see flaws in your plan must be
treated as an asset. Every step you take, every initiative you implement, must
deliver something tangible in a rather short amount of time. Flaws in your
plan have the highest potential of derailing your initiative and putting the
entire effort at risk. Take a checkpoint once in a while to ensure that you did
not lose track of where you were heading. This road is difficult and
introspection will help you stay on course as obstacles come up to derange
you.
It is not necessary to get all the Executives on your side before you
start. Select the key ones by identifying who can get things done, either for
you or against you. Pay special attention to those Executives who can
influence others and focus on the leaders not the followers. Those who will
be a problem are best dealt with as enemies through a strictly professional
relationship. Those who can be of assistance are best dealt with as allies
through a personal relationship. However, it is essential that nobody is
antagonized beyond repair and that no one be aware they are considered the
enemy. Meaningful Change is a discovery process and today’s enemy could
be tomorrow’s ally. Do not get too close to anyone nor too far away either.
If you need friends find them through hobbies not work.
Once Executives are understood and agreements have been reached,
Change can start. Once Change starts, negotiations must cease. Anyone who
wants to revisit the terms of a previously accepted agreement should be
considered as a liability from then onwards. A phase has ended and a new
one has started. Conversations are over and it is time for War.
As the Executive Sponsor in charge of bringing Change, you must

thicken your skin now as the time to implement has come. The Executive
Sponsor is the image of the coming Change and must act accordingly. Any
communication to other Executives must be carefully prepared and
delivered. You must project an image of control and command. Embody that
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The Art of Change
which others want. Do your homework before engaging other Executives,

either in the hallway or in the meeting room. Instill passion by describing the
plan to make Change a reality. Enumerate the attractive benefits to entice
followers to your cause. Describe further advantages that Change will
provide for the company. Paint a picture so clear in everyone’s mind that
they begin wishing for what has not yet come.
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The Art of Change
Chapter IV. The General

If you don’t have this person, don’t go
Soldiers must be treated above all with humanity but kept under
control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory.
There are many players in this War to implement Change but the most
important one above all is the General, so special attention must be given to
selecting this person. A good General will bring success while a bad one will
bring disaster. The General commands the armies; takes the money from the
Executive Sponsor, the Ruler, and uses it to make War.
The General in the corporate world is the Program Manager. The
Program Manager takes the money from the Executive Sponsor and uses it
to implement Change. To create that desired Change, a wide program of
projects from the purely business to the highly technical will be necessary.
This program will combine the efforts of these individual projects to create
all the necessary components that will bring success. A good Program
Manager will bring Change, while a bad one will lose the entire team and get
the Executive Sponsor fired.
The General is the link between the conceptual understanding of
Change and its implementation. To perform this role effectively, the
Program Manager must be a person who can take an ambiguous task and
construct it into defined and achievable steps; steps defined as they relate to
the overall goal as well as to each other. In other words, the General must be
able to articulate the War Plan. Besides possessing the capacity for strategy,
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The Art of Change
this person must understand what it takes to get things done. A person that
lives among theories and plans will not do. The Program Manager must be a
doer and a person who needs to be reckoned with. By knowing when to
attack and when to withdraw, this person never gives up. The General must
be able to bring about War, see it through and above all, bring it to closure.
Humanity and Strictness are the essential traits of the successful

Program Manager. Humanity consists of having the ability to feel empathy
for others as well as being able to understand life as seen through someone
else’s eyes. Strictness consists of making sure that the operation is executed
according to certain rules which must be applied in a consistent manner.
Humanity enables one to foresee when the rules will not be followed while
Strictness helps to know what to do when the results deviate from plan.
The General must be able to understand the dynamics of the entire
company. While not being an Executive, the Program Manager must be able
to understand the mindset of the Executive and above all the strategic
approach to take when working in the Executive Ranks. The General must
not only have the ability to speak frankly without antagonizing, but also
inspire others by taking on distressful challenges. At the same time, the
Program Manager must be able to relate to the project team. The ideal
scenario is for a General to have come up through the ranks propelled by
talent alone. When this talent is combined with Humanity, the General will
have no difficulty understanding any player.
This person must possess a natural ability to make correct decisions.
Since there is no intention in this book to discuss the concepts of right and
wrong, we will define a correct decision in general terms as that which will
enable the best for the most for the longest. The General cannot be afflicted
by strong desires, likes or dislikes. The ideal person to play this role should
possess a passionate nature while maintaining emotional control at all times.
However, having these abilities is not enough. You must place the
Program Manager in a position that affords making the right decisions. A
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The Art of Change
position that requires constant struggle to secure authority will not provide
the right foundation to work in the best interest of the project. It matters not
that the struggle comes from the General’s personality, the perception of the
General’s abilities, the area the General reports to or where the General’s
alliances are perceived to be. It is essential that the Executive Sponsor
defends and secures the Program Manager’s position so the Program
Manager is free to act for the good of the project at all times. This defense is
the most important role the Ruler performs for the General.
What makes a project easier than War is that people do not die. What
makes it harder is that we are dealing with both material and immaterial
enemies. While the Program Manager will come up against people who
resist Change, the hardest battle will be against subtler entities, sometimes
embodied in a single person, but often hidden behind more abstract concepts
such as corporate culture, behaviors or habits. Even your own preferences,
habits, behaviors, and personality as the Executive Sponsor, or those of your
Program Manager, should be classified as enemies when not aligned with
the well being of the project. The Program Manager must understand that
one’s own ignorance is the worst enemy. Ears and eyes need to stay open at
all times to understand what works and what doesn’t, what is a correct
decision and what is a bad one, what aligns with the best for the most for the
longest and what doesn’t. When winning the War translates into getting
Change to become a reality, anything that will prevent it from happening
should be considered the enemy.
It is beneficial that the Executive Sponsor and the General develop a
trusting relationship. A coordinated effort by these two key players can
make a difference in any eventuality. The proper application of a strategy
involving these two key people will be achieved by mutual understanding of
each other’s position. Their unconditional support and mutual respect will
allow them to speak frankly when encountering difficulties and act as a
sounding board for each other. Their strategic placement within the
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The Art of Change
organization allows them to address challenges by influencing all levels in

the organization, from the topmost Executives to the project team.
30
31
32
Part Two. For the Program Manager
33
34
Introduction to Part Two
Part Two is intended for the Program Manager. This person is in

charge of commanding the project teams. The Program Manager is the
highest rank below the Executive Sponsor and acts as a link between the
Executive Ranks and the project team.
The Program Manager is responsible for completing the projects on

time, within budget and to the customer’s satisfaction. This person has the
most important role in this book since the Program Manager’s personal
performance can bring success or failure to the entire War. The Program
Manager (the second, but most important, key player) is the General in
charge of the War for Change.
35
36
Translation Key for Part Two
War = Change
Ruler = Executive Sponsor (Key player)
General = Program Manager (Key player)
Officials = Middle management
Army = Project team
War Campaign = Project
Battlefield = Topic
Battle = Discussion
Defenses = arguments to prove one’s point of view
Attacks = arguments to challenge enemy’s point of view
37
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The Art of Change
Chapter V. The Five Factors of War

What buttons to push
The art of war is governed by five constant factors: the Tao, Heaven,
Earth, the Officials, and Method and Discipline.
The five factors of War are:

1) Culture (the Tao)
2) Standards and best practices (Heaven)
3) Peculiarities of the project (Earth)
4) Middle management (the Officials)
5) Rules (Method and Discipline)
Every company has a Culture, a Corporate Culture, whether it is

intended or not. A Culture is a microcosm where certain ideas are given
importance, some seen as good and others as bad. While people are required
to aim for the good and avoid the bad, distinguishing between the two can
frequently become quite arbitrary.
At the same time, Culture is crucial for the success of any project.
Culture, and only a constructive one, will save you when your project runs
into a critical problem. At these times, the team will have to make an effort
for the good of the whole and Culture is that which represents the values of
the whole. Culture should promote teamwork and the best for the most for
the longest.
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The Art of Change
When the situation becomes critical, the team must be clear on what is
important and it is your job to prepare them for this eventuality. You need to
make the investment upfront to ensure they are able to address the problem
immediately as it will be too late afterwards. Your team’s Culture must be
their guidance to know how to behave in any difficulty.
A constructive culture should also make clear what behaviors are not
acceptable in order to prevent the team from inflicting pain upon itself. You
must define unprofessional and unacceptable behavior so everyone has the
same understanding and will know what is both acceptable and unacceptable
for all levels in the organization. Working together every day creates
opportunities for friction totally unrelated to the project. Define rules that
help to avoid conflicting situations from the viewpoint of living in a
community and not so much from the nature of the job at hand.
If the current culture in the company presents a liability that can
prevent the project from getting done, look outside for help. Consulting
companies bring their own culture to the team, so select the one that
possesses the attributes necessary for success in your environment. You can
start working to change the culture of the company but do not make the
project depend on the completion of this activity. Changing the culture is a
long process which needs to start from the top. Your project will be long
completed before the culture of your company has changed.
Above all else, Heaven is an attack mechanism and Earth a defense

mechanism. Heaven stands for that which is immutable regardless of the
project, the environment, or the company. Industry standards and
regulations, standard corporate laws, best practices and even common sense
are part of Heaven. Earth refers to the exact location you occupy and the
implications that carries. Earth depends on the specific nature of the project
you are undertaking, the people that work for the company, whom you have
access to, who your stakeholders are, and even the guy that gets things done
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The Art of Change
without anybody knowing about it. Heaven is immutable and affects all.
Earth looks different depending on your perspective.
Heaven and Earth are especially important when the large and the
small collide. It can be a large consulting firm against a small one, or a large
business department against a small technical department, or a large
technical department against a small consulting firm. Any combination will
apply. The small should focus on defense since defense depends wholly
upon them. The small group can survive by being specialists in a certain
area, having personal relationships with key people or getting things done
swiftly without bureaucracy. This is how a small group hides in the recesses
of Earth.
The large can entertain attack if the opportunity presents itself. If the
large decides to attack, it should do so from the heights of Heaven. They
should use best practices and industry standards, proven standard processes,
defined methodologies, and their market experience. All these factors refer
to Heaven since they will apply regardless of the environment.
Middle Management, or the Officials, includes project managers that

are part of the project, as well as middle management involved in project
activities. The Officials should be a smaller version of the General or
Program Manager, perhaps not yet possessing the same skills, but with the
potential to achieve them. In reality, this layer is the weakest of all, the
toughest to train, and the most easily corrupted.
Middle management is full of people that were hired not for their
management skills but for their ability to perform certain tasks well.
Frequently these people end up in charge of others under the erroneous
assumption they can help improve overall performance. However, these
same people are accustomed to assessing problems and solving them alone.
As managers they must assess why another person is having the problem and
then put a solution to it. The original problem as a technician has nothing to
do with their current problem as a manager.
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The Art of Change
In our current culture we undervalue the skills that make a manager

successful and we catalogue them as ‘soft skills’. In reality, they are much
harder to obtain than the so called ‘hard skills’. Soft skills are based on
maturity and should allow someone to one day become a wise General. This
situation with middle management is so bad that it often becomes necessary
to protect your project team from their own managers. If competent Officials
cannot be found, it is better to train select people from the team to fulfill
those positions.
The Middle Management layer is also the one most easily corrupted.
When looking for information about the enemy, the best place to start is
among their disgruntled managers, always bearing in mind your own
organization carries the same vulnerability. Managers who are unfit for their
jobs will feel stuck and can easily lose their motivation and their loyalty
along with it. You cannot promote them because they are not good at their
current job, and you cannot demote them since they would become more
bitter and result in an even greater risk. To successfully manage this
situation, the Program Manager must possess the very skills the disgruntled
manager needs to develop. According to Sun Tzu, these skills are: wisdom,
sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. Just as you cannot give what
you do not have, you cannot teach what you are not. You must engage in an
intense effort to honestly develop these skills in the middle manager while
always having the best interest of that individual in mind. Though this effort
may not solve the skill problem, it will solve the loyalty one which is equally
important. A half committed effort will not deliver the desired results and
disloyalty will continue. Trying to solve this problem too quickly will bring
ruin as well. Strong adjustments are required for the middle managers to
perform their jobs well, so time is needed.
The fifth and last element, Rules, applies to roles, responsibilities,

processes and methodologies. The Program Manager does not interact with
the project team directly but through Rules. People only see the Rules that
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The Art of Change
govern their project and how those Rules affect them. From the point of
view of the project team, Rules are the General’s personality. Rational Rules
applied in a consistent manner will create a well organized army while
irrational Rules applied in a random manner will create a bunch of
schizophrenics.
Rules can only be understood as seen from the eyes of others, so it is
convenient to assess regularly how Rules are perceived and make the
necessary corrections. Fairness is the most important quality to achieve.
Fairness will ask of everyone to contribute according to their position in the
team. If Rules are fair, the General will be deemed fair. The same applies for
unfair. Defined and fair Rules will promote decisive actions, since people
will know what to expect. Unclear or unfair Rules will create indecisiveness
since people will then fear unfair judgment. When presented with a problem
not covered by the Rules, do not punish the wrongdoers. Explain to them
their mistake and create a Rule from the lesson learned. Let Rules, and not
opinions, be the guide to reward or correct the people in the team. The most
important correction you can make is to the behaviors that prevent Change.
You must never tolerate the enemy in your team.
Do not make one’s victory depend on another’s ruin, always align
rewards for the good of the project, and remember that people will seek the
shortest way to get what they have been promised. Reward people based on
their contributions, not by their relationships, so the reward process is seen
as objective. Reward in public, correct in private.
The Tao and Rules keep the team together as a pack; Heaven and
Earth provide guidance when interacting with the outside world; and the
Officials are the routers of information and activity within the team. These
five components enhance the General’s ability to effectively manage and
maneuver the team in any situation.
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The Art of Change
Chapter VI. Going to Battle

Winning begins by avoiding losses
Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will
be fresh for the fight.
As a herald of Change, your goal is to transform your organization to

the next state of being while creating the least amount of destruction. Ideally
you would like to make the entire corporation behave in a new way while
keeping the entirety of the company’s business and clients intact. It is
desirable as well to keep as many of your employees as possible. Facing all
your detractors and beating them, forcing employees to adopt the new ways
or leave, and imposing sacrifices on the loyal employees to implement your
vision is not the pinnacle of excellence. The ultimate pinnacle consists of
accomplishing what you want without anyone presenting resistance.
During the execution of a project you will need to discuss plans,

goals, requirements, approaches, designs, assumptions, risks and issues. All
these represent battlefields. Any topic discussed becomes a battlefield. The
discussion is the battle. You win a battle when the resolution of the
discussion translates into implementing the ideas you represent. You lose
when the ideas you represent are not accepted.
The pros and cons of your arguments are the strengths and
weaknesses of your defense. The pros and cons of the enemies’ arguments
are the strengths and weaknesses of theirs. An inconsistency or an illogical
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The Art of Change
way of thinking in your arguments is a weak area in your defenses. An

argument or line of reasoning that helps prove the weakness of the enemy’s
stance is an attack. Bringing up a topic nobody has thought of that hurts the
enemy’s position is like attacking an undefended area. Bringing a topic to
the enemy’s attention is a direct attack while making others react by
bringing it to their attention makes an indirect attack. An argument that
forces the dismissal of the enemy’s position is a mortal blow.
Subtlety is the key to both a successful attack and defense. Talking
too much never helped anyone. After a successful attack the enemy should
be left wondering whether you had something to do with it. After a
successful defense the enemy should be convinced that it was their fault they
failed. A subtle defense or attack is delivered under the stealth cloth of logic.
A logical argument will look as an enunciation of an obvious fact and not as
a defense or an attack. To be able to exercise subtlety you need to
understand the problem, the environment, the people, and how one affects
the other. Only then can a subtle strategy be employed successfully.
You can attack others on their battlefields or have them attack you. A
new view on a known topic is like a new tactic in an existing battlefield
while an idea that generates a new topic represents an entirely new
battlefield. The use of new ideas is the most powerful strategy to place you
ahead of others since everyone must then hasten to catch up. Forcing them to
analyze these ideas is diverting the enemy to a new field of combat where
you are already waiting and hold the winning hand. Having a single good
idea is nice. Knowing how to continually come up with ideas is powerful.
Every situation is made up of interdependent components: the parties
involved, the environment, systems, processes, and the objects or artifacts
exchanged. The easiest way to generate new ideas is by combining existing
components. The more innovative the combination, the more creative the
idea. Only practical and cost effective ideas have a chance to succeed. We so
frequently commit the mistake of falling in love with our own ideas that we
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The Art of Change
forget to assess if they are worthy. Others will judge your ideas more
objectively and maybe even from an accusatory point of view so you must
prepare for battle by learning to criticize yourself. Your self criticism builds
your defenses for the eventual conflict. But remember, effective self
criticism can only be obtained from a detached point of view.
A useful area to evaluate during the consideration of new ideas is the
accepted assumptions. These belong to the category of ‘the way things are’.
Seek assumptions that are misaligned with reality. Identifying these accepted
rules and analyzing their effect on the current environment will allow the
discovery of a special kind of new idea invisible to the enemy. When
challenging the accepted assumptions one is able to move in secret, guarded
by the collective unconscious. Those places where the accepted assumptions
do not benefit the current environment are the open doorways one follows to
deliver the attack. Those places where accepted assumptions are totally
misaligned with reality are always major pain points that must be attacked.
People are the second key area to cover when assessing the
environment as well as when criticizing your own ideas. Committees,
assemblies, departments, divisions or any other kind of group do not really
exist. There are only people, and people, not groups make decisions. The
group is just the medium they use to express themselves. It is people you
need to influence. You can use the group to influence people, but the final
objective is not the group but the individual. An idea must be evaluated as to
how it will affect the key players. It is important to understand how your
ideas will make others feel, since the way they feel will determine the way
they act.
The third area to analyze is other major projects as these may
indirectly affect your initiative via the budget. The budget that is spent in
your initiative will not be available for any other project and vice-versa. It is
useful to evaluate where the company should invest its efforts to predict
what initiatives are likely to gain Executive support. If your initiative has
priority, you can focus on the details on how to implement it. If your
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The Art of Change
initiative is not up in the list, you need to figure out synergies between your
initiative and those with higher priority.
The last key area to analyze is the trade off triangle of quality, speed
and cost since you cannot have all three of them. To have one you must
sacrifice the others. High quality does not come cheap and high speed is not
comfortable. Your idea needs to be measured against the enemy’s proposal
within the context of these three areas. Which one provides a higher quality
solution, which one provides a faster solution and which one provides a
lower cost solution? Analyze first the short term and understand which of
these three factors will tilt the balance your way. If you have a faster
solution but the focus at that moment is on cost, you will lose the battle. If
the short term focus is open and the basis for the decision will be on the long
term view, you need to focus on the best for the most for the longest.
Whichever solution provides more value long term is bound to win.
Projects are the war campaigns you conduct within the overall war.
The execution of a project requires the coordinated implementation of
several activities and the battles you fight determine the specifics of those
implementations. You are going to battle with the Executives to allow the
project to keep going, with the enemy to allow your team to work on project
activities, with your own team to get them to do their job properly, and with
technology to get it to do what you need of it. At the end of the day you will
be continuously negotiating to bring the project to a successful conclusion.
Your objective is to progress as swiftly as possible during the delivery
of the project and the only way to achieve this is to minimize disturbance
from outside influences. You can achieve this in one of three ways: do what
everyone wants you to do, do something nobody wants to be involved with,
or you can simply defend yourself against disturbances.
The first two scenarios are only found under special circumstances.
Terrible stress creates the first scenario where a leader is selected to save the
group. While this is very rare, it is of great value to create the illusion of
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The Art of Change
being in this critical situation since people work harder and more
collaboratively when their well being is threatened.
It is easier to find a situation where nobody wants to be involved.
However, this situation is very unstable. Either you fail and there is no
longer a conflict, or you start to make progress and it turns into the third case
where you need to defend yourself. It is not unusual for critical projects
involving Change to start as an initiative that nobody wants and then become
a prize that many covet. Defending the project against attack is vital to
enable the project team to work at an acceptable pace, undisturbed by
political quarrels.
The only way to ensure that a project can be defended is to design it
so that it cannot be attacked. How the project is structured, from the people
to the plan to the implementation, lies in your hands. Therefore, making sure
that the project cannot be attacked is also in your hands. Any attack you
receive that hurts you is bringing to light a deficiency in your approach. Just
as pain shows you the door to attack, your own pain shows you the areas you
need to improve.
Attack and defense require that the right people have available time. If
you want to prevent the enemy from attacking make them spend their time
on something else. Raise the urgency in their areas of responsibility so their
resources are busy; bring new parties into their environment so they waste
time sharing information; increase the scope of their activities by adding and
removing unrelated areas and assigning additional tasks; make them
interface with unconnected areas of the company. The more artificially
combined their responsibilities are, the busier they will be. Make sure that
this is not happening to you.
Do not let the enemy know the details of your strategy. Who, what,
why, when, where and how should be a secret to the enemy. Do not share
your entire plan even with your own people. As a rule of thumb, stay three
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The Art of Change
steps ahead and share two. If someone in your own camp can consistently
guess the third step, you have found an ally. Someone you can depend upon
and who will be of enormous help.
Keeping your plans secret should be attainable since you are bringing
Change and it is hard to foresee the ultimate implications of your actions.
The situation is fluid and there is still opportunity to revise assumptions and
adjust plans accordingly. At the same time learn as much as you can about
the enemy’s situation. This should be achievable since you are fighting the
established environment in which you work.
Once you understand the environment you can identify the three types
of independent components: Core, Support, and Interface. Those classified
as Core execute the business processes of the company; Support components
feed the Core; and Interface allows all the pieces to talk. It is easier to attack
one individual component at a time than trying to replace everything at once.
Start with the non core components perceived as being in the worst state,
then move to those with the higher return on investment. Only tackle key
Core components when you are confident of success. Pacing yourself and
taking on manageable challenges will enable you to better understand the
enemy. Your goal is to achieve meaningful accomplishment you can actually
touch. Only when you replace or improve Core components can you be
assured you are bringing Change to the company.
When creating your plan to replace each component, do not let the
enemy know what is in your mind. When talking about the future, discuss
various options while knowing what the next step actually is, so to give them
the least amount of time to react. Then use their reaction to select the next
area for attack.
Make your decisions as late as possible but not later. Act as soon as
possible but not sooner. Following this method you will be fluid as water,
driving your army through a natural course always finding the area of least
resistance. Remember that you cannot make the enemy weak. You can only
discover where their weakness lies.
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Chapter VII. Basic Strategy

A master is one who makes the basics look easy
The impossibility of defeat rests on us while the possibility of victory

rests on the enemy.
Your greatest enemy is your ignorance and its weapon is reality.

Reality is completely fair but absolutely unforgiving. Its fairness comes from
always behaving the same way no matter who is involved. Its un-forgiveness
comes from the exact same place. Those enemies who deliver successful
attacks had your ignorance playing on their side. Since we do not know what
we do not know, it is imperative to focus on defense first. Only when
defenses are strong can one entertain the attack.
You will not be able to design an effective attack unless you
understand defense and you will not be able to deliver an effective attack
unless you can implement a good defense. You need the ability to identify
weak points in yourself in order to see the weak points in others. Unless you
start with yourself, you risk misinterpreting what you see in others and
making the wrong moves.
While it is the enemy who provides you the opportunity to attack,
defense rests with us. You cannot make the enemy weak or force them to
make mistakes. You can find their weaknesses or you can put them in a
situation where they can make a mistake. The weakness and the mistake is a
choice they have to make. And the same applies to you. If someone can
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deliver an attack that gets to you, it was not them but you who provided the
vulnerable opening.
The basic strategy for a good defense consists of three steps:

Step 1) Do a Good Job
Step 2) Create Proof
Step 3) Tell Everyone
This three step defense not only applies to multinational marketing

campaigns but to something as simple as giving your superiors status on a
task. We usually work on step number one (Do a Good Job) and forget about
steps two and three. We feel disappointed when others do not see that we
have delivered quality work when it was actually our responsibility to make
them aware in the first place. You cannot expect others to spend time
learning how well you are doing. You must explain how well you did your
job and why everyone involved should be happy about it.
Doing a Good Job (Step 1) is the result of understanding the reality of

the situation you are facing. You need to understand the nature of the
challenge, the players, the risks, the rewards, and especially how the
situation looks from other people’s points of view. However, a full
understanding of the situation can only come from seeing the entire picture.
Once you have understood each piece, you need to infer what the whole
looks like and how all the pieces interact. Once you have an understanding
of that, circle back and revisit your assumptions to verify if they are still
valid. A decision is right only within a given context and within a certain
timing. The whole picture provides the context while the interaction of all
the pieces provides the timing.
Doing a Good Job is an exercise in both Expectation and Risk
Management. The goal is to ensure the team achieves what people expect
them to achieve and as smoothly as possible. To effectively Manage
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Expectations, start by defining the expected goal of every activity and what
realistically can be achieved in each. Identify what each player expects from
the situation and compare that to what they can realistically get. This
analysis will provide you with the areas that need attention so you can work
to set the correct expectations. Your goal is to understand the best that can
be reasonably expected from everyone’s efforts and how this information
affects the key players. Successful expectation management is the result of
this understanding.
To effectively Manage Risk, start by analyzing every planned project
activity and identify their interdependencies. Identify the environment to
work in, how to get permission to do the work, the effort to get the work
done and how to certify the activity is completed. Understand how these
pieces relate to each other in order to identify risks and how to avoid them.
Things you know and that depend on you are low risk while things you do
not know or that depend on others are high risk. Successful Risk
Management is the result of this analysis. Ensuring that the operation goes
smoothly is an exercise in Risk Management. Ensuring that what is done
matches expectations is an exercise in Expectation Management. Every
promise you make is an exercise in both Risk and Expectation Management.
Implementing Step 2 and Creating Proof that you did a good job
should be in line with the audience you are targeting. The activities you
completed in Step 1 will give you the content of the message but the
audience will define everything else. If the audience is happy with what you
are working on, focus on the positive; if they are afraid, calm them down; if
they are nervous, make them comfortable. If they just need to know about it,
create a memo; if they need to be impressed, create a presentation; if they
need to reference what you have done, create a manual. If people have paid
for it, focus on the return on investment; if they are going to use it, focus on
benefits; if they are going to maintain it, focus on operability. People will
not judge you by what you have done but how the proof of what you have
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done is delivered. It is in your best interest to ensure that this documentation

looks professional so you look professional.
Having documentation on the project prepares you to defend it in case
of attack. The day may come when an Executive challenges your project. If
you have invested time creating proof, you can present an effective defense.
If you have not, the chances of your defense being effective will be less. The
way the message is delivered is important, so work on your presentation
skills. The quality of your delivery during the presentation will measure the
quality of the defense. A strong presentation with a strong delivery makes a
strong defense. Always be prepared to defend your work to the Executives
of the company. Being prepared is the key to an effective defense.
The last step is to Tell Everyone and tell them frequently so they do
not forget what it is you are doing. Protect the image of your project by
securing Executive support. Once a quarter ask your sponsor to host a
meeting with all Executives to discuss current accomplishments and future
plans. Keep the purpose of the project alive in everyone’s minds. Large
projects run the risk of eventually forgetting what they were meant to
achieve in the first place.
Create an easily accessible location where people can find information
on your achievements and use it to market your project. Provide
presentations explaining the benefits of your initiative and educate everyone
on what your team is doing. Organize the repository of documents clearly so
people see what you want them to.
Another way to tell everyone is by celebrating accomplishments.
Celebrations provide an opportunity to reward those who did a good job
while at the same time informing the world of your achievements. Do not
celebrate often but celebrate loudly. Invite everyone to listen about your
accomplishments. Do not invite the enemy directly but let someone whom
you invited bring them in.
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Once defenses are in place, you may contemplate attack but always
remember that only a fool tries to attack before having a good defense. All
attack techniques require preparation and dedication so unless your own
house is in order you will not have time to take the attack to completion.
Attack implies believing you are in the right. The only way to know is
by removing your personal preferences from the analysis of the situation.
Change must be judged by what it brings to the company, not by what it
brings to you. Be certain you understand this very clearly before you dare
attack anyone. However, once your purpose is clear, you must avoid any
doubt or hesitation. Certainty and clear intention are essential to deliver an
effective attack.
As discussed in Chapter two, the purpose of an attack is to Capture,
Neutralize, Rule or Kill the enemy. Capturing entails the enemy letting go of
their old ways and embracing Change. This is the most beneficial option
since you would be weakening the enemy ranks while strengthening your
own. However, this option is not under your control as you cannot force
anyone to embrace Change. You can only see that they have the potential to
embrace it and act accordingly. Those who can understand the benefits of
Change and have the motivation to support it can be captured into your
team, but do not give them a position of responsibility until they have
proven their loyalty. Do not accept those into your team who align with
Change motivated only by ambition or by very negative views of their
current situation. The former will never be loyal and the latter will be high
maintenance for the value they will bring.
If the enemy cannot be Captured, the second best choice is to
Neutralize them. The goal is to prevent the enemy from impeding Change.
You can achieve this by arguing with them battle by battle whenever
necessary to move the project forward. Another way is to get them
transferred to an area that does not impede Change, but do not help promote
them, as you will be rewarding the enemy for being against you.
Neutralizing requires more effort than Capturing since continuous arguments
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are time consuming and getting the enemy transferred requires relationships
you have to build. However, Neutralizing is still better than Ruling them.
To Rule the enemy, you need them to work for you or someone in
your team. This course not only requires moving them from their current
position, but also means overseeing a person who is against Change. This
situation is quite unstable so plan to get rid of them as soon as possible;
either by releasing them after the project is completed, or by contemplating
the fourth option.
The fourth course of action is Killing the enemy. Killing translates
into having the enemy leave the company, whether voluntarily or not. This is
the last resort and is to be used only when the previous ones have been
exhausted. At the same time this option is not to be avoided. If pushing the
enemy out of the company is your only available course of action, delaying
will only be to your disadvantage.
Killing the enemy is achieved by attacking their reputation. Taking
away someone’s reputation is analogous to taking their life. To achieve this,
you must first amass accusatory information and then disseminate it among
the appropriate people. Plan to achieve this in at least three blows: the first
brings attention to the matter, the second helps build the case and the third
makes your point crystal clear. Although your purpose is to push the enemy
out of the company, you cannot reveal that. Focus on attacking their
reputation and let the environment take care of the rest.
If it becomes necessary to Kill more than one person, treat them as a
single group and take all of them at the same time. If you complain about
five people, you will be perceived as the problem. If you complain about a
single group of five people, the group will be seen as the problem.
To enable defense and attack, learn to manage in all directions as one

must control the surroundings. Create your own personal organizational
chart where you are at the top and have separate branches for the different
people you interact with. Create a branch for your Superiors, another branch
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for your Equals and separate branches for those who Report to you. Each
group requires inputs and can be utilized to provide outputs. Each branch is
to be managed separately and differently. Ensure that one branch does not
interfere in the affairs of the others, no matter what that branch is.
The Superiors’ branch requires information on the state of the project
and can help remove roadblocks you cannot overcome by yourself. This
branch is managed by proving value. If you can do this, they will come
through for you. If you cannot, they will not.
The Equals’ branch requires your collaboration as well as your own
contacts and they can also provide these back to you. This branch is
managed via personal relationships as they are colleagues neither above nor
below you so there is no formal authority. The better the relationship, the
more value they provide. The more value you provide, the better the
relationship.
The Reports’ branch provides deliverables and requires direction. This
branch is managed via respect. You need to show respect to what is
important to them so they can do the same with what is important to you. It
is best not to have too personal a relationship with Reports but rather an
affiliation based on mutual respect only.
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Chapter VIII. Fighting an Entrenched Enemy

When you really do have to fight City Hall
Aim first at the enemy’s plans. If you cannot, target its alliances. If
necessary, confront its armies. Only as a last resort, attack its fortified
cities.
Companies often find themselves stuck in the old ways and even
though the system is not working, resistance to Change is very high. It is
quite frequent to find an attitude of contempt in those responsible for
keeping the machinery running. Most times these people were not involved
in putting it in place so they are apathetic towards the current situation, but
unwilling to make any efforts to improve it. In this environment, you should
expect to have continuous battles to get your job done.
The biggest weakness of the old ways is the tendency they have to
take their position for granted. Executives who need to get things done see
this attitude as a big risk and you should take advantage of this whenever
possible. An Executive would rather trust the budget to a passionate person
with ideas than an apathetic one with complaints.
When working in such an environment, you should expect conflict so

the possibility of attacking immediately must be considered. To complete the
work, you must devise a strategy encompassing activities beyond
completing the project tasks. When required to plan an attack the most
effective strategy is to target your enemy’s plans. Every new project or
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initiative undertaken presents a fresh opportunity for attack. You want to

identify projects during the initial concept phase before much talking has
been done. At this point all that is necessary is a few people and a few
presentations and you are ready to begin. The battles will take the form of
discussing the plan for the new initiative with the project sponsor. The old
ways will defend their approach and you must defend yours. Victory
translates into being awarded the new project.
It is essential that you understand the old ways since you need to
anticipate their thinking. To gain support, your approach must exploit their
weaknesses. The key for an effective attack during this phase is to present an
alternative which can be defended with something as simple as a few
diagrams. To win in this situation, you must keep it simple. If you catch a
project in this phase, the risk of acting becomes low while the impact
remains high.
If you are unable to influence the project during the concept phase,
focus on the enemy’s alliances: the Executives, business departments, and
technical groups. The Executives are ultimately responsible for the project
results and the budget, the business departments will utilize the new
processes, and the technical groups will provide development skills as well
as support the final product.
The objective here is not to stop the current project but acquire the
contract for the next one. Sabotaging the current project would have
negative effects since you would be perceived as a person not to be trusted.
If the Executive has committed to the old ways, focus on helping the
company waste the least amount of money. Use the current initiative as the
excuse to approach the right people. Executives will listen to dollar talk,
business groups will listen to practical solutions, and technical groups will
listen to ways of making their life easier. Engaging the enemy’s alliances is
more difficult than attacking their plans since you have to win a more
diverse group of people to your cause.
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Sooner or later, you will need to engage the enemy in battle and
implement a project among people who are openly against you. Since the
enemy feels secure in the current environment, you should expect them to
deliver aggressive attacks from day one. These will take the form of
withholding essential information, dragging their feet on tasks, continuously
questioning your ideas or questioning the initiative itself. These attacks will
slow the project’s advance.
You must be sensitive to attacks aimed at discrediting you or your
team. In this case, it is essential that you cultivate your relationship with
your allies. When these attacks affect timeline, budget, or scope, you need to
be able to discuss candidly the real source of the problem. In these
circumstances do not make concessions to the enemy with the purpose of
appeasing them. They will take what you give and give nothing back.
An additional challenge is that the new approach will have to be
implemented on top of the old environment. New processes will need to be
executed by people following old ways, some of whom may even be openly
resistant to Change. New projects will have to be implemented on old
infrastructure and require the use of people with obsolete skills. This is
where the enemy can derive most of its strength if the situation is not
addressed. To have a meaningful chance to win, you must create a setting
where you are least affected by the current environment. Invest the time in
the beginning to create an area where you can work in isolation. Here your
army can play by its own rules and be most secure against attacks.
You must take extra time estimating, assessing, and defining the final
objective. Define the criteria for success clearly and ensure that all your
allies have the same understanding of it. Overload the initial phases of the
project so you can analyze the environment and discover what the enemy is
concealing. Learn the existing processes, systems and data. Do not be overly
ambitious on what can be achieved with the initial effort. Break the project
into smaller initiatives to ensure that something can be delivered. During
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each effort, gather as much information as possible to prepare for the next
round. As soon as the next round is clear and the objective is achievable,
start. Do not lose momentum. Identify the people that were most effective
during the first round and empower them on the second. Diligently identify
where the team lacked skills and supplement with new people. A careful
start and continuous proving of value will increase the chances of success.
If the strength of your team is ten times the enemy’s, offer them a role
in your new project. If it is five times, attack by challenging the current ways
and raise attention to the current problems. If your strength is double the
enemy, divide your team into two independent initiatives so that if one goes
down the other will stay unaffected. If your strength is equal to the enemy’s,
offer battle but do not start unless forced. If your strength is slightly inferior,
start in an area where there will be the least conflict. And finally, if your
strength is much smaller than the enemy’s, run away. The lack of
commitment and support from the Executive levels will bring ruin to the
project.
In this challenging environment, crisis presents an ideal opportunity to

start a project along the new ways. The existing managers are unwilling to
make sacrifices when facing a crisis since they value their comfort over the
environment. In this situation you should be able to rely on help from the old
ways, but most important, you will not have to fight them. This strategy is so
effective that when Change is critical and employees are apathetic, the
Executive Ranks should consider creating a climate of crisis before starting.
Another ideal time to Change is when the company is moving to a
new cycle. Company’s processes cycle back and forth between a centralized
and a decentralized approach. When processes become too centralized, they
become inflexible and the need to decentralize arises. When processes are
decentralized for too long, the individual entities ignore the whole and cause
expenses to rise. Catching the company when the tide is turning is a
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favorable time to introduce Change. People are open to new approaches and
ready to expend effort in making improvements.
The skillful Program Manager will be able to gain support and convert
people from the old ways without making any direct effort. There is no
better argument than clearly displaying strength throughout the entire
implementation. A clever and structured operation, meaningful deliverables
and well executed projects will convert people without having to directly
promote Change.
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Chapter IX. Deception

The Golden Rule
All warfare is based on deception. When able to attack, seem unable;

when using your forces, seem inactive; when near, seem far away;
when far away, seem near.
The greatest deception of all is for your enemies not to know you are
at War with them. Can you correct people’s behaviors without them
realizing they are being corrected? Can you stop someone’s plans without
anyone noticing you are opposing them? Can you get things done leaving
people wondering if it was random luck or deliberate?
The most skilled strategists treat everyone as they would treat their
best friends, with the utmost care while expressing themselves with total
honesty. The most important question to ask oneself when considering a
plan of action is: how will those affected feel about it? People will let their
emotions determine what version of themselves they bring to the table. You
want to ensure that you are bringing forth their best version.
Find out what the key players want and use it as a lure to get them to
behave the way you want. Instead of focusing on the problem and the
correction, focus on the goal and the way to get there. Open the door for
them to express a positive attitude and watch who seizes the opportunity.
Those that respond will be able to adjust again in the future.
It is very time consuming to get people to do something unwillingly.
You either need to spend extra time up front discussing, or you will need
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extra effort in monitoring them. Maybe both. The key to get people to do
what you want willingly is to prove you are both in the same boat. Abandon
the details and focus on a higher level purpose. Do not discuss details with
the intention of challenging specifics. Rather aim to understand how to get
the job done. Let your perspective be the high level timeline or scope. Your
goal is to find a higher purpose that you can share with those you need to
influence. If the higher purpose makes sense, that should convince others to
act in a way that is good for the project.
Detach yourself from your opinions. Search for the best way to get
things done and align to it. Make a strong effort to understand the various
possibilities and select the best one. The best option usually presents itself
and is not something you need to force. When aligning to a particular option,
let logic be your guide. Truth is always logical and requires the least
explanation. The best option will always be the truest option. Truth builds on
itself, coherently and progressively.
Timing is a key factor when identifying the best option. The solution
must fit the situation of the project, the preparedness of the team and the
expectations of the key players. Trying to execute a good idea at the wrong
time is a greater crime than trying to execute a bad idea at a good time. The
bad idea had no chance before it started, but the good idea could have
succeeded had you chosen the correct time for implementation. By not
executing at the right time, the idea is wasted and the opportunity lost.
The best option represents the best opportunity to convince the most
people, although it may not be the quickest path. Assess the soundness of the
option you selected by your success in convincing others. When
encountering resistance in proving your point, determine whether the
problem is the option you chose or the timing. The problem lies in the option
when others can easily argue against it. The problem is the timing when you
lack strong arguments. When the problem is the option, react right away.
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When the problem is timing, you need to wait. Let things happen and look
for the moment when you have stronger arguments.
Our own conditioning, past history and unchallenged assumptions will
be enemies we need to deal with when selecting the best option. Every
situation is different and we cannot base our decisions solely on our own
preferences. Let unproven practical choices overrule ideal scenarios. Your
ideal scenario is a product of your past history so you need to exercise
caution in assessing whether this is the right place and time to implement the
same solution. Practical choices are the result of preparation meeting
opportunity. Since projects involving Change require attention to proving
value, practical choices will provide a good return on the investment.
When people are unable to perform their jobs correctly, they have
been put in a situation beyond their capabilities. This could happen to any of
us. When we start a new job, we cannot know every challenge facing us.
When this occurs, you need to ensure the person responsible is able to
acquire the skills needed to achieve success. At the same time you must
assess the person’s capability and style to adapt.
Some people will be open to advice up front while others would rather
do it their way. Balance is the correct way to handle both situations. Your
goal is to get them to think along the correct lines so both your decisions and
theirs are aligned. If you have to tell everyone how to do the details of their
jobs, you shall never have an effective team. An effective team moves in the
same direction intuitively. The secret is to ensure that everyone makes
decisions based on the same perspective. It is your job to see that the entire
team knows and shares your perspective.
When people would rather do things without asking for advice, you
need to define the rules under which they can operate independently. The
key point is that you must be kept informed of what is going on. When
issues surface you must retain the choice to either provide feedback or allow
them to try on their own. Keep in mind that if you persist in always telling
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them what to do, they will stop coming to you with their issues. These are
the people who like to do things their own way. Your ability to stay
informed will depend on your capacity to balance when to provide advice
and when to say nothing.
There will be those unwilling to make necessary corrections, although
the need to bring a check back home keeps that percentage small. Some of
them can only do things their way while others see no need for negotiation.
In either case, unless you can improve their behavior, these people will need
to be replaced.
Hire good people, with truly good hearts. Nobody you hire will have
all the skills necessary for all situations. You need them to evolve, and
people with good hearts have a much easier time adapting. Those gripped by
fear and insecurity attach to what is familiar, believing that will give them
security. These people have a very tough time dealing with Change.
It is beneficial to allow mistakes so long as they do not put the project

at risk. Learning happens much faster when someone can interact with the
problem. It also builds up their respect for you as you provided them a safe
environment in which to learn. Utilize this technique only when the interval
between problem and solution is very close so you incur little risk of wasting
time. As the issue is fresh in people’s minds, they can absorb the lesson
fully.
When dealing with a long term risk that will impact the project
months down the road, your mitigation strategy will depend on the person
responsible for that risk. If your team is committing a mistake, this is not the
time for lessons and you must be forceful. Discuss the risk and give them the
freedom to correct the problem while ensuring your overall approach is
followed. This exercise will help the team share common goals. Most people
will do what you asked; some will try to learn the underlying reasons; others
will do what you say to get you to stop talking. The latter is the typical
behavior of a high maintenance person.
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When a long term risk is affected by the actions of people that do not
report to you, use cunning instead as being forceful will result in the
opposite behavior from what you are seeking. You would be exerting
authority where you have none and this presumption will be answered with a
challenge. Find their personal objectives that align with the course of action
you need to take. Learn about their timing so you can adapt accordingly.
Communicate with them regularly to monitor their reliability.
When having no chance to mitigate risk, diversify and prepare for the
consequences. When the risk affects the existence of the project, diversify by
working on different initiatives to safeguard your people. When the risk
affects the timeline but not the project’s existence, prepare for different
scenarios within the same initiative. Determine which situation applies but
share your course of action only with those closest to you. Never let the
enemy know, as should the risk not appear, you would have been wasting
effort on what seems like a futile cause. Monitor the risk regularly to
determine if you can stop working on mitigation activities. If the risk
becomes reality, do not disclose that you have been working to mitigate it.
You have effectively been working on activities without permission since
your superiors did not share your assessment of the risk and, if you disclose
that you have spent time working on it, you would be challenging their
authority.
When you do not know the outcome of the conversation, start by

asking questions and listening. The only way to influence others is to have
the last word and the only way to have the last word is to let others talk first.
If the person in front of you can handle the truth, listening will allow you to
strengthen your bond. If they cannot handle the truth, listening will help you
identify the course you must follow. The commonalities between your
purpose and theirs will tell you what arguments to put forth.
When you know the conversation will go badly, talk first and be sure
you know what you want before you begin. Focus on what you have in
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common with your audience, even something as generic as getting up in the

morning. Identify the areas where you are willing to make concessions but
let the conversations lead you into which ones to offer. This process will
help others take the bad news better. Use logic and not emotion to make
your case. Use emotion and not logic to demonstrate sympathy.
When you know the conversation will go well, act as if you did not
know. Because you never do.
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Chapter X. Setting up the Army

Cows cannot fly
Maneuvering an army is advantageous; an undisciplined multitude,

most dangerous.
Just as water adapts to the terrain and flows uninterrupted, the

structure of the team must be determined by the Nature of the Project and
the Environment. The first area, the Nature of the Project, is determined by
two characteristics: its goals and overall complexity. The goals of the project
will determine the necessary skills the team must possess. Skills will provide
a guide to determine everyone’s rank in the group and the set of deliverables
they are responsible for.
However, there are other activities within the group that are necessary
to make a team effective. Work needs to be reviewed; progress needs to be
monitored; risks need to be managed; negotiations need to take place
between teams. Those responsible for these tasks must be selected for their
natural abilities and not just their experience, as these tasks involve the soft
skills of dealing with people and are harder to develop. The personality of
the people in the team should determine who performs these tasks.
When setting up the team initially, assign only the technical tasks and
leave areas like quality, communication and risk management undefined
until you understand the personalities and goals of those involved. Some
people do best in undefined situations while others do well in defined and
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repetitive ones. Some do well working with others and handling tasks that
require a high degree of communication while others do well in activities
where they must work alone. Strive to turn challenges into advantages. Find
the best match for each person in the beginning and you will avoid problems
later on. Good progress and flexibility can only come from a well organized
team where every person is fitted for their job. Only this kind of team can
endure challenges and come out victorious. An ill organized team where
responsibilities and personalities are not in balance will rot from the inside.
Internal problems will start affecting not only their work but their
relationships with other parts of the company. An unbalanced team will
bring disaster if the project is long enough.
Another key area to address up front is career goals. These constitute
the expectations your team has for the project. Just as you manage
expectations externally to ensure the success of the project, you need to
manage expectations internally to motivate the team so work can advance at
a good speed. Managing internal expectations consists in ensuring the team
gets something for their efforts. During your initial conversations, work on
ways to align project objectives to their career objectives. Make only
promises you can keep since if you do not deliver, they will stop being
productive.
If the circumstances of the project require some to make sacrifices and
perform a job which does not provide growth, emphasize the end date for it.
The key is to acknowledge their sacrifices to reassure them. Promises must
be kept and sacrifices rewarded so the next time around they will be
forthcoming. It is important that everyone sees you keep your word. When
setting up the reward, focus rather on the value of the member than on the
task itself. A valuable resource making a small sacrifice is at least equal to a
marginal resource making a large sacrifice.
The complexity of the project, the second characteristic defining the

Nature of the Project, will determine the height of the team organization
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chart. Complex projects need to be broken into smaller manageable parts

that can be addressed individually. As more pieces are created, more
coordination is necessary. Complex projects require an Arbitrator who will
act as a link between the parts. This role, ideally played by the Program
Manager, requires intelligence, tact, and the ability to understand the big
picture. This person must have the ability to gain authority and the respect of
others without a formal title. The purpose of the Arbitrator is to provide
advice and act as an intermediary when conflicts arise. Challenges may be
work related but can also be of a more personal nature. The Arbitrator will
work at all levels, from the management group to the lowest level in the
project team as required.
Not having this person can result in turmoil when a fight among
equals occurs. Those who consider themselves equals may not be willing to
let go since that determines the pecking order. The Arbitrator’s position
above them facilitates the problem being resolved for the good of the whole.
The Arbitrator must hold both parties to the terms but must also ensure that
neither feels hurt in the process. Attention to detail and exquisite diplomacy
are necessary to perform this role properly.
The second area, the Environment, brings in risks and a political

climate, which gives you the remainder of the information necessary to
properly set up the team. Risks will mainly come from the activities of
people over whom you have no direct authority so it is essential to study
them. To determine if they are dependable, assess how dedicated they are to
their jobs. To accomplish this, classify them into these four categories: the
Black-holes, the Clueless, the Wave-riders, and the Dream-chasers.
The Black-holes do things for their own benefit and will always take
more than they give even to the point of not giving anything at all. They are
active and do business expecting to get as much as possible from those with
whom they interface. Often this is done unconsciously.
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The Clueless cannot distinguish right from wrong and their activities
are reduced to going with the flow. They repeat what they are told and have
no judgment on the validity of what they support. They will always attach
themselves to those in other categories.
The Wave-riders know right from wrong but will not expend effort
defending right or fighting wrong. They are able to recognize what is good
for them and seek to ride that wave. While they will enjoy a good
environment they will not naturally fight to protect it from bad influences.
Fortunately, the professional environment forces these people to act in
accordance with their job description.
The Dream-chasers, the last category, do things following their call.
They want to accomplish something in life and thus pursue it. They are
active as the Black-holes, but will try to be evenhanded during their
undertakings. These people will fight to preserve a good environment but
unless it is done with cunning, there is a high probability of failure. It is
necessary they be invisible to the Clueless and manipulative with the Wave-
riders for them to be successful.
Risks will come from the actions of the Black-holes and the Dream-
chasers, the random activities of the Clueless, and the enforced duties of the
Wave-riders. As a rule of thumb, you want to avoid the Black-holes
wherever possible and stay informed of the plans of the rest. Reinforce with
stronger people those areas that must interact with Black-holes as they will
be the most conflictive. Plan to be friendly to the Clueless and the Dream-
Chasers and maintain a professional attitude with the Wave-riders. Set up
your team accordingly.
The final area to assess is the political climate in the company. This
will determine the balance between people skills and technical skills. A
politically charged environment will require strong people skills in the team
and extra effort to defend the project. The political climate is determined by
the personality and behavior of the key players in the environment. They can
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be Executives or high ranking managers, although the latter needs alignment

with an Executive to be effective.
To understand the political situation, it is useful to classify the players
into one of these five categories: the Envious, the Selfish, the Naïve, the
Fair, and the Wise. The Envious are driven by the motto: ‘If I can’t benefit,
nobody does’. These people spend time complicating things and this
constitutes the most destructive kind of behavior. They are energetic,
determined, and very difficult to talk to in an honest way. You can find
many among the Executive Ranks due to their capacity to get things done,
but they burn many bridges along the way.
The next category, the Selfish, are lazy and shallow and will only
make an effort for something they like. Their inability to make sacrifices,
makes them rare among the Executive Ranks. They accomplish little and
seem to always be in trouble, which is usually the result of their own
inaction.
The Naïve, our third category, are characterized by a high level of
conditioning. They are the way they are and it is almost impossible to
change them unless they become intuitively attracted to something. They
seem to be dedicated listeners but one wonders if they are really getting what
you are saying. Once people become familiar with them, they usually lose
respect. It is hard to read them at first since they are not always logical, but
you can play them forever once you figure them out.
The main feature of the fourth category, the Fair, is that they are good
people. When intelligent, they make extraordinary Arbitrators. They make
an effort to understand how things look from the eyes of others and are
ready to make compromises. They will inherently have the good of the
group in mind and can make excellent managers. These people respond well
to training and mentorship and should become fine Executives if sufficiently
intelligent and energetic.
Finally, the Wise ones are characterized by being invisible. You must
be wise yourself to recognize wisdom in others. If you are already wise you
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know who they are, and if you are not, you will be oblivious to their value.
These people will often not stay long in the same place and you will realize
that they were special only after you have lost them.
When the political environment is charged, select a person with very
good people skills to manage it. This person must be able to deal with any
type of personality and understand how to treat each one differently.
Politically charged environments will require the investment of time to
ensure that the project is not sabotaged from the outside. The more charged
the environment the larger the investment to protect the project from
political quarrels.
It is the job of the Program Manager to provide an environment where

those in the project can flourish. The environment needs to be well defined,
stable, and set to march towards a clear goal. As everything continuously
changes however, every large project needs to have a set of people whose
job is to manage the flux in the Environment. The purpose of this role,
usually played by the managers in the team, is to defend the project. They
manage the budget, the overall scope, the timeline, expectations and
communication. Their goal is to create a safe environment where the
implementation team can work undeterred by problems that may threaten the
very existence of the project.
Setting up the team carefully will allow you to define clear roles and
responsibilities and associate them with the right individuals. A critical
function of roles and responsibilities is to pinpoint accountability for
achievement or failure. It is important that everyone knows not only their
own responsibilities but those of others also. When an activity is facing a
problem, people should not try to solve it themselves but rather put pressure
on those responsible. If the project goes according to plan, you will know
whom to reward through the initially defined roles and responsibilities. If it
does not, and it becomes necessary to reassign responsibilities, follow a
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formal process and make a note of who did not do their part and who saved
the day. You will then know whom to reward since you followed a formal
process.
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Chapter XI. Planning vs. Fighting
Making opposites balance one another
In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but
indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.
When undertaking a new project, a structured approach is necessary to

begin, but unstructured techniques will be necessary to finish. The project
plan represents the structured approach while the implementation is up to the
creativity of those executing the plan. The closer the plan to reality, the
better the plan and the closer it becomes to implementation. If the plan is not
aligned with reality, the project will encounter problems that will require
additional creativity to overcome.
Direct methods are comprised of the expected, the known, the
structured, or that which is based on experience and the nature of the job.
Indirect methods are comprised of the unexpected, the surprising, the
adaptable, or that which is based on intuition and circumstances. Direct and
Indirect methods can be combined during the planning and implementation
of the project ad infinitum. The flexible and spontaneous bring new ideas to
help get the job done while the known and proven bring stability to reduce
risk.
The plan should be built on proven approaches by utilizing the

experience of those in charge. It should follow the most direct path possible,
taking on challenges in an ordered manner to avoid risk. The approach and
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the environment should determine the selection of tasks and their order.
Planning is a structured exercise based on facts, experience and
probabilities. At the same time, it is also an intuitive exercise. You cannot
plan based on what you would like to happen, but on what you think is going
to happen. At the time of planning, you do not have all the necessary
information so you must trust your instincts. Based on what you know about
the players and the environment, you will make decisions that can only be
verified later during implementation. In order to manage these uncertainties,
build reality checks into the plan, especially before a large chunk of work is
begun.
Building a plan consists of defining the starting point, the end point,
and how to get from one to the other. No matter how large or small the plan,
the initial task is to analyze the situation. Begin by understanding the job
from a high level point of view. Analyze the environment to get an idea of
the territory where the battles will be fought. Study the job and the
idiosyncrasies of the environment until you get a feeling for the sort of
animal you are dealing with. This first step is based on intuition and will
determine the rest of the planning process. Everything starts with a high
level picture and only later, a structured process transforms ambiguous ideas
into a defined plan.
The second step is to define the way out. This activity is as critical as
the first and will define the assumptions necessary for the completion of the
planning. The ‘way out’ is the criteria used to confirm the project is a
success, as well as the process followed to verify these criteria are met. The
objective of each project activity is to ensure you can meet the ‘way out’
criteria and complete the project successfully. You can make assumptions on
the ‘way out’ criteria but it is essential that these assumptions be verified
early on in the project. The first two steps provide the basis in devising your
overall strategy.
With an understanding of the situation and a clear idea of the ‘way
out’, it is time to create a plan of action. Define the steps the project will
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need to finish the job and still meet the ‘way out’ criteria. If the activities are
known and have been done before, take advantage of both your own and
other people’s experience. If you are dealing with something new, gather
information before you make assumptions as to what steps will need to be
taken. The process must take into consideration the nature of the work, the
environment and the ‘way out’. By now you have a list of activities. Next is
to quantify how long each activity will take.
To quantify the length of each activity you must identify their driver
variables. Driver variables are entities that the execution of an activity
depends upon. The key to a driver variable is that it must be a simple
concept, easy to define and understand. The driver variable for the activity
of walking from one place to another is a step. You estimate the time a step
takes and you multiply that by the number of steps you think will need to be
taken. Driver variables may require further refinement to account for all
situations. A step on a flat surface will take a different amount of time than a
step up the stairs. Driver variables transform an ambiguous entity (the high
level activity) into a quantifiable set.
The number and complexity of the driver variables comprising the
high level activity will yield a cost expressed in time. In order to complete
the activity in a lesser time, augment the number of resources that will work
in the activity. Keep in mind that while it takes a woman nine months to
have a baby, nine women cannot produce a baby in one month. Use common
sense to project a reasonable timeframe. A good check is to discuss the
number of resources assigned with the person in charge of the activity. If
this person faints, you may infer it is not a good plan.
Indirect methods may be used during the planning phase as long as
they are used within a structured planning process. If you must plan
activities never before attempted, you will need to identify new variables
and assess the complexity of future tasks without the reference of
experience. Combine the structured and the flexible during planning by
applying creative modifications to known facts.
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While the plan provides structure, managing it is a fluid exercise

requiring constant oversight. Even in times of calm you must stay vigilant to
ensure that everything remains on track. The entire implementation is based
on intuition and a clear sense of timing. The plan becomes a point of
reference, a beacon in the night to guide us towards our ultimate goal. Every
task during implementation should be approached based on the current
situation and using the plan as a reference. While the plan suggests who
should be doing what and when, it is up to the circumstances to determine
that following the plan is still a good idea. During the implementation, it is
necessary to adapt to these circumstances and reassign tasks to the most
appropriate person or group. This is the intuitive art of right timing.
Every time the project deviates from plan, creativity will be needed to
get it back on course. Indirect approaches will be necessary when unforeseen
challenges appear. Problems are unique to each environment, so while it is
valuable to leverage techniques that have worked in other projects, it is
essential to understand why they actually worked in the first place. One
should utilize the principles that made the idea work and then apply them to
one’s own environment. While principles are universal, no two solutions
will be the same. Use experience and known facts to diminish the risk
inherent in attempting new ways.
When the project is nearing completion, pause and plan the closing
steps. Planning the closing of a project is like planning an entire project.
Analyze the situation to understand what has been accomplished so far and
look at the current expectations of those in charge to ensure the ‘way out’
still applies. If expectations have evolved, you will need to find agreement
on a new ‘way out’ you can accomplish with the time and resources
available. All that is left then is to execute the final moves to get there.
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Chapter XII. The Army on the Move

Develop a steady hand if you want to be a juggler
On the field of battle, the spoken word does not carry far enough:
hence the institution of gongs and drums.
Project plans are the signals used by the team to define what needs to
be done and then move as one. Plans must be clear enough to be understood
by the entire team. The project team must be able to look at the plan and
determine the next task without the need of the manager. The plan must help
them determine if they are ahead or behind schedule. Project plans help to
focus attention and effort for a given time on a given activity. The better
defined the task, the more focused the owner can be. Create tasks that take
only a few days to complete so you can keep your project team focused.
Plan to be very involved during the initial phases of Analysis and

Design where you define the overall theme of delivery. During both these
phases include all the team leads, even those who will play a part later.
Analysis is key since it is your opportunity to gather information on what
you are trying to replace but must be time boxed since you cannot uncover
every detail in the environment. The discovery processes in Analysis
typically produce conflicting statements, and should this problem occur,
seek to remove the topic from your scope if at all possible. If it is not
possible, do not focus on people but on the systems only and analyze how
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data flows through them. Reserve this strategy only for critical areas as this
exercise can be very costly.
The purpose of Analysis is to come up with an overall Design that not
only meets requirements but also can be done within your timeframe. Ensure
these two conditions are met before you close the Design phase. By the time
Design is complete, each sub team should be able to define how to
implement their work. A consolidated effort in the initial phases will allow
you to launch several teams all at once while allowing each team to decide
the best method of accomplishing their job.
By now your role becomes one of monitoring. While each team is
working on their piece you must have periodic meetings to ascertain how the
initial design is evolving. Do not let any team make decisions independently
from the whole. Any decision within the scope of a team can only be
deemed right if it is aligned with the other teams. Even simple improvements
on the initial design must be closely monitored. A seemingly harmless
modification made too late in the process could involve unacceptable work
in other areas.
The opportunity may arise when a team realizes they can accomplish
more than was originally planned. In these cases, never act in isolation.
Executive support is essential. To protect yourself, you must reach out
beyond the team. Avoid acting independently and putting the project in
jeopardy. Any alteration that requires the team to drastically modify their
current direction should be dropped since you are incurring the risk of
getting nothing done. Be realistic when you need to make course
adjustments during the project, and only commit to what can be done for
certain.
The time may also come when you cannot get everything
accomplished and something must be abandoned. In this case focus on what
can be finished. Completing 99% of a task is meaningless. Only 100%
counts, all else are excuses. Look at the status of the activities, the resources
available, the time left and decide where to invest your efforts.
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In a related subject, changing the structure of the project team or

changing the people that are playing key roles is also fraught with risk. The
project never accounted for knowledge transfer activities in the middle of
implementation and doing so at this point will undoubtedly result in loss of
time. Make adjustments only when absolutely necessary.
If a restructure is required, you must be sensitive to people’s feelings
above all else. Any modification that can be interpreted as a demotion to
even one member will adversely affect the entire team. The one affected will
spend time discussing the unfair treatment and distract others in the process.
It really does not matter if the treatment was fair or unfair from an overall
team perspective. Any demotion will always be deemed unfair to whomever
receives it. Ideally it is best to transfer the problematic person to an
unrelated area so comparisons can be kept to a minimum. Another option is
to make a horizontal move, maintaining the same amount of responsibility
but in a different area. If none of these options are available, it is best to let
the person go.
People can work either fast, or long, or right; perhaps achieving two
of these aspects but never three. Those that work fast and long eventually
will not get it right. Those that work long and right cannot go very fast.
Those that work right and fast cannot remain focused for too long. In large
projects you have to sacrifice speed until the absolute need for it arises.
Once the need appears, bear in mind that you will not be able to maintain
that rhythm very long. When the team is working fast they need total
flexibility. Give them control over the approach and planning, and allow
them to work on their own schedule. Give them freedom and help them get
their job done and they will be loyal to you even when things become
difficult.
Throughout the entire project, your team expects clear direction from
you. You are responsible for scope and dates. How to get the job done is the
responsibility of the team leads. Ensuring the entire project is completed
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successfully is your only criterion in guiding the team. Telling people what
to do gives them direction and eliminates distractions. Not telling them how
to do it gives them control so they can feel a sense of accomplishment and
stay motivated throughout the project.
Not everyone is equally productive so you need to understand which
task to assign to whom. You will have stars (A players), people with
potential (B players), and people with a clear ceiling (C players). Mix A
players with B’s and C’s. Make the goal of the A’s to help the B’s become A
players. Make the goal of the A’s and B’s to help the C’s become B players.
B players need experience and mentoring in order to grow. While they
will do better in one area than another, they can play different roles and do
well. C players will only do well once they are placed in the right position.
You need to find the job best suited for their aptitudes and then help them
learn it well. Keep an eye on their motivation levels since the difficulty they
find accomplishing their jobs will make them prone to frustration. ‘A’
players must learn to deal with people. They need patience when helping
others work at a slower pace. By developing each person individually, the
team will grow stronger as the project progresses.
You must also understand the nature of small and large groups. Small
groups are nimble, quick and disorganized. They derive their strength from
the individual skills of their team members. Do not give too much structure
to small teams. Create a flat organization where everyone reports directly to
you so you have quick access to anyone. Create a casual atmosphere and
invite everyone to be honest and open when speaking.
To manage small groups make use of frequent informal
communication. Talk to each one individually to gather information on
where the group is and act as a link between them to ensure that each one
does their part. Small teams can be maneuvered very quickly by having a
single driver for the entire team. Bring them together once a week to assess
how they interact and discuss the overall state of affairs with them. When
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dealing with small groups use rewards that are common to the entire team so
they feel they are stronger as a unit.
To further unite your people put them in the face of danger. Create a
common enemy and teach them to guard against it. The biggest threat to
small groups is their very existence. Small teams can be done away with
easily so survival is their main concern. To protect small groups make them
interact with their surroundings as much as possible so others get to know
them. Their survival will depend on personal relationships. A small group
should go with the flow, always adapting to the trends that are flowing in the
organization.
Large groups are powerful, slow and structured. They derive their
strength from structure and the culmination of their specialized tasks. A
large group can work on more than one initiative at the same time but you
should not create entirely independent teams. For the initial and final phases
of the project create common sub teams that span across initiatives. For the
middle phases create independent teams for each initiative. The common
teams are placed in the initial phases in order to have a comprehensive view
of all the work being done. The common teams in charge of the final phases
are responsible for ensuring that all deliverables are consistent. The
independent teams responsible for the middle phases of the project do the
heavy lifting. By being focused on a single initiative they can work faster
and ensure that what they create is sound.
In order to be effective when working with large numbers of people,
divide the group in teams and designate a lead responsible for each one. A
lead can only be directly responsible for a few people to remain effective.
For example, a group of a dozen people can be broken down into two teams
with three distinct levels. The manager is the first level, the team leads are
the second level and the team members are the third. Keep in mind that in
large teams, orders take a day to travel from level to level. With a three level
team, an order given by the manager today will reach the team members
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tomorrow. Project status reports also take a day to move back up each level.
To manage large groups use a formal communication plan describing when
each team is to have required meetings so information is consistently passed
up and down. Information must be disseminated slowly in large groups or
you will create chaos.
If teams are managed with many individual sub teams coordinated
from a central point, one person can move a large team effectively and with
expected results. Managing a team becomes as easy as managing a single
person. The only difference will be speed, but what is lost in speed is amply
regained in impact.
In order to maneuver a large team it is necessary to have clear
communication channels and protocols. Everyone in the team from top to
bottom should understand the correct procedure to access any other level and
this procedure must always be followed. The need to ignore the procedure is
an indication that either the procedure needs revision or someone is creating
confusion. When trying to refine the communication process, keep in mind
that the goal is to create an effective channel where messages can reach the
correct person accurately without skipping levels.
When it becomes necessary for a large team to deviate from the plan,
you must act carefully. A large team is like an ocean liner. It takes a while to
pick up speed but once moving it is very powerful. If you alter the direction
often you will not allow the team to pick up enough speed to be effective
and you will be wasting resources. To protect large groups isolate them from
the environment. Large groups should set the pace and the direction since
they are cumbersome and difficult to maneuver quickly. Their survival will
depend on the perceived value of what they produce.
When dealing with large groups use individual rewards since finding a
common reward for a large group is almost impossible. Even the successful
completion of the project will not be meaningful for the entire team. While
those in charge will be proud of their accomplishment, those on the ground
doing the heavy lifting cannot relate to the success of the whole. People will
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work on very specific areas of the project so they need specific rewards. The
best rewards are to help each person with their own professional and
personal development as long as that does not imply competition. Career
paths within the team must be independent or people will sabotage one
another. Give to each in line with what they are contributing to the team and
do not make concessions based on negative emotions like pity. Expect the
best from your people and be fair in return.
Large groups are harder to disband than small groups since they
represent a significant investment and ending them abruptly would raise
uncomfortable questions. However, regardless of the size of the team, it is
essential that every member work in harmony for the same objective, so just
as in small groups, unite the team by placing it in the face of danger. The
main enemies of large groups are dates, scope and budget. Put these enemies
to work to unite your people but do not overdo it. You want to always have
them think they can win the battle so they work harder instead of freezing
with desperation.
When people covet the same prize they will sabotage one another.
When you set comfortable timelines they will grow dull. When you set
impossible goals they will become demoralized. When they work long hours
they will become prone to errors. When you do not reward them they will
become apathetic. When you do not correct them they will become
uncontrollable. When you give too many orders they will stop thinking for
themselves. But when they fight a common enemy they will fight as one.
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Chapter XIII. Best Practices

Fortune cookie stuff
He who knows these things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into
practice, will win his battles.
There are a few ways of doing things correctly, and even more ways
to do things acceptably, but there are infinite ways to do it wrong. In other
words: there is a small white area, an absolutely colossal black area, and in
between a sizeable grey area. Choosing the correct timing for your actions is
the key to staying in the white area. A badly timed decision is a bad decision
no matter how valid. Fighting a battle too soon or too late causes you to lose
before you begin. Be patient and ready to act at all times. Wait for the
openings and then move decisively.
Understand how the project is seen through the eyes of those

involved. Those sponsoring the project will be concerned with the use of the
funds invested, so be sensitive to the consequences of their investment being
perceived as wasted. Those responsible for making it happen will be
concerned with the project ending successfully, so be aware of the
consequences for them of not delivering on time or delivering something not
deemed satisfactory. Those working on the project will be concerned with
the amount of time allotted to complete their objectives, so ensure you
understand the consequences to them of failing to deliver what is asked. And
finally, those living with the outcome will be concerned with their quality of
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life when the project is completed. You must understand the consequences
that the success or failure of the project brings to all. It is only through the
eyes of others that you can understand what you are doing.
Learn to move at ease among both the privileged and the

underprivileged. Treat people according to their position but talk to them
according to the person they are. Only by talking to whom they are will you
be able to influence them. Influence the privileged so they do not get in the
way; influence the underprivileged so you can keep an ear to the ground.
This way you can stay abreast with little effort. Keep an eye on everyone’s
state of mind both in your own team and that of the enemy’s.
Do not fill your day with things to do. You need to be available for
your people. They may require a decision, or access to a certain person, or
simply help getting the group to agree. You need time to defend both the
project and the team so you cannot be too occupied. If the project dies or the
team is disbanded you have failed. Although you may have periods of low
activity, be ready to go full speed at a moment’s notice. Cultivate your
intuition and spend time each day thinking about the project in general.
Focus on what the project most requires and then act. Do not just do
whatever comes easiest.
You cannot serve two masters. You either work to secure your
position or to get the project done. You can either pretend you know
everything and hope for respect, or concentrate on learning instead and look
for the best way to handle a given situation. Be prepared to make an intense
effort to get your job done. If you cannot make this commitment, perhaps it
is best that you step aside and allow someone else to take over. Otherwise,
stay sane by practicing cooling off activities.
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Aim for the sky, one practical step at a time. Always hold the secret
wish that the project can deliver astounding results. Make practical choices,
but leave the door open for the miraculous. You may come close to it more
often than you think.
Find a sounding board, a qualified person you can use to verify your
thinking. Pick someone as different from you as possible: either someone
who works in a different area or someone with a different personality. Get to
know this person very well so you can accurately judge the feedback you are
seeking.
Build a machine. Invest extra time at the beginning setting up

processes that can be perpetuated so you can manage with little effort. Limit
the number of people you directly manage. Select good people and trust
them. Delegate and let them make decisions. Reward those who implement
something never before attempted since they are the ones making your
processes work. Once the processes are working, ensure they are followed.
Make your project an avenue for promotion and the best people will
want to work for you. Define a career path within your team and ensure that
managers regularly discuss career progression with every employee. It is as
simple as having lunch. These conversations should be spaced throughout
the year so they actually do occur. Make this topic a casual monthly
discussion instead of a burdensome annual process.
Throw the rule book out the window if you want to get to the heart of
the matter. Hold a risk management meeting once a month with those you
trust and who will speak frankly in front of one another. Take notes on their
predictions and keep track of whom is most frequently right. Discuss issues
as candidly as possible; use negative feedback to pinpoint the problems and
let people express their emotions fully. Take notes when someone bursts out
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and loses it. If you have chosen the people well, this emotional feedback will
be the most valuable of all. Use this meeting to create a loyal inner circle
that can keep you informed as the project progresses.
Always act as if you cannot secure additional budget. If you must ask
for more, never ask more than once. If you made the initial mistake of under
budgeting, do not commit a second by asking for too little again. Large
projects in trouble impoverish the entire company. Executives are reluctant
to spend money elsewhere while the threat exists of a large project requiring
extra funds.
Studying this book alone will do nothing for you. Trying to find a
section in the book that relates to the current situation will only slow your
reactions. Learning the book by heart will cause you to become inflexible.
You will be able to use this book to your advantage when you can come to
such an understanding of these concepts that you can write your own
version. Only then can you safely take advantage of the circumstances that
surround you. Only then can you act beyond the stated rules. You are the
steward of the team and the budget and are there to serve them. Do not try to
be brilliant, only practical. It matters not that the sword shines, but that it
cuts.
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Chapter XIV. The Great General

It’s not a job. It’s a way of life
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but
excels in winning with ease.
Humanity and Strictness are the essential traits of the General. In the
case of the Great General, these two qualities are consequences of maturity.
Where maturity is your guide, Humanity and Strictness become the natural
results of the person you are.
While Humanity helps you to identify risks, the test of a Great
General is in knowing which ones are most likely to occur. You must
understand people so well that you can forecast how they will act in
hypothetical situations. If you understand human nature well, you will
recognize trouble while it is still small. If your project keeps running into
problems, you may be confident you do not have a sufficient understanding
of others. That is why the Great General is a student of human nature.
While Strictness helps you when encountering problems, the test of a
Great General is in knowing when to correct, when to excuse, and when to
encourage. Your main objective must be to build an efficient team and create
competent professionals so your view must be long term. Correcting actions
will fix the problem today; correcting behaviors will eliminate tomorrow’s
problem. You must dig until you uncover the intentions of those involved.
Your objective is to change those intentions and behaviors so the problem
does not reoccur. That is why the Great General cultivates the Tao.
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Throughout the Art of War, Sun Tzu encourages you to know both the
enemy and yourself, continuously utilize stratagem, and accommodate
yourself to the enemy's purpose. In short, cultivate subtlety, which is
absolutely essential in becoming a Great General. But subtlety can only be
put into action from an advantageous position. You must acquire a piercing
ability to find the core of the matter and obtain an accurate understanding of
the situation to enable yourself to act from this advantageous point. Seeing
beyond appearances allows you to make decisions based on reality. Only
then can you utilize subtlety.
Sun Tzu also recommends strongly adhering to method and discipline,
decisively attacking when the enemy leaves an opening, and controlling the
forces of victory. In other words, cultivate strength. In order to become a
Great General you must continually work to expand your own limits so you
may grow stronger. While you should help others grow personally and
professionally, you must use the job to strengthen yourself.
The Art of War urges you to carefully ponder before making a move,
advantageously blend the pros and the cons, and continuously reflect on
essential concepts. Sun Tzu in effect is advising you to cultivate wisdom.
Your goal must be to acquire the broadest possible perspective, so every
decision you make once again brings into consideration the best for the most
for the longest. Only now, you are seeking to take that precept to an even
more advanced level. Breadth is the key to wisdom.
You should never lose your temper. There are times to be angry, but
never allow your anger to control you. Remember that the ability to be
unconquerable lies within you so only you can take it away from yourself.
Losing your temper is the signal you are blaming someone else and causing
you to lose control. Always blame yourself for each and every problem. If
things are done improperly, you either did not adequately explain what you
wanted or did not provide the right training to the right people. If things are
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said at the wrong time, you either put the wrong person in the wrong
position or did not properly mentor those responsible. If the project is late,
you either did not estimate accurately or failed to manage issues while they
were small. Exercise this technique and you will retain control at all times.
The Great General cannot value the recognition of the masses. Your
objective is to win with ease and fight problems while they are small,
making your actions invisible to the common person. Use subtle and timely
actions and you shall win by making no mistakes. Only those in the same
path as you will recognize your talent.
Neither can you act to gain glory. Your only goal must be to make
Change a reality. Change is hard so unless you keep your goals simple you
shall be complicating your own life. There are some tough choices ahead
that shall not necessarily make you popular. Only when you understand the
full implications of your choices can you make the right decisions.
This job requires responsible leadership and the ability to accept the
past, consider the present, and define the future. You must take over from
today’s incompetent demagogues who would have nothing done that does
not directly benefit them. You must take over with cunning while trusting
your intuition every step of the way. Continuously challenge yourself while
refusing to take burdens greater than you can carry. Practice, practice,
practice. Become the Great General. Only then can you be of service. Only
then can you take control. Only great people can accomplish great things.
The rest is simply marketing.
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Part Three. For the Student of Life
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Introduction to Part Three
Every time we learn from a mistake means that we made a decision

from a wrong perspective. Wrong perspectives will always lead to wrong
decisions, and right decisions from a wrong perspective can only be made by
mistake.
We cannot make one wrong decision after another and expect nothing
to happen. We have long endured a system manipulated by greed and
ambition and have regarded that as acceptable. The instability we see in
business nowadays is merely the result of past decisions coming to fruition.
If we want to keep the machine running, we better learn what things

are really about. That is why the Student of Life pursues the understanding
of reality.
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Translation Key for Part Three
War = Change
Ruler = Executive Sponsor (Key player)
General = Program Manager (Key player)
Supply lines = Budget
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Chapter XV. Risk Analysis

Even the wise must come up for air
The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple
ere the battle is fought; the general who loses a battle makes but few
calculations beforehand
Overconfidence is one of the more dangerous flaws that can afflict a

General. An overconfident perspective will invariably result in wrong
decisions from day one. Overconfidence will make the General
misunderstand risks, alienate people, lose alliances and create mistrust in the
Executive ranks. A battle is not over until it is over and no enemy should be
underestimated.
When attempting to evaluate the chances of success and the potential
risks involved, analyze the players by assessing the Five Factors of War (the
Tao, Heaven, Earth, the Officials, and the Rules). The players to analyze
include the Ruler (Executive Sponsor), the General (Program Manager), the
team, other Executives, and the environment as a whole.
This first set of questions pertains to The Tao (the Culture of both the
company and the group reporting to the Ruler or Executive Sponsor). The
Ruler may have invested time creating a different Culture within the project
team that may differ from that of the rest of the company. Both the team and
the company’s Cultures will affect the project; the former from inside and
the latter from outside. By virtue of the Tao alone one can win or lose the
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battle, so pay special attention to these questions. These examples assess the
strength of the Tao in the Ruler:
- How noble is the purpose of the Ruler?
- Does the Ruler understand the company dynamics?
- Does the Ruler understand the nature of people?
- Does the Ruler possess an accurate self image?
The second set assesses Heaven, or Standards and Best Practices.

Heaven is an attack mechanism but just possessing a strong Heaven
component does not ensure victory. These questions deal with putting things
into action and the ability to deliver:
- Can the project be done given the current circumstances?
- Are there enough time and resources to complete the project?
- Are there laws and regulations playing for or against the project?
- Is the team trained in best practices?
The next factor is Earth, or the Peculiarities of the Project. Since Earth
is a defense mechanism, it is paramount to assess its strength at the
beginning of the project. In the event of a catastrophic outcome for the
project (it is cancelled for example), the General can save part or most of the
team if the Earth component is strong:
- Should the project be done given the current circumstances?
- What is most important: completion, budget, or declaring success?
- Are resources consistent with expectations?
- Is the team indispensable?
- Are sponsors committed?
The next factor, the Officials, represent the communication channels

within the team. They are responsible for delivering orders from the General
down to the team, as well as providing information and status back up.
These questions assess the strength of the Officials:
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- Do these Officials have natural management abilities?

- Can they protect the team?
- Will they let the team do their job without interference?
- Will they help the team grow personally and professionally?
The last factor is Rules. Rules represent processes, methodologies,

roles and responsibilities, and how they are defined and enforced. These
questions deal with the effectiveness of team operations:
- Does the General apply rewards and corrections consistently?
- How well are communication paths defined and enforced?
- Does the team possess a desirable professional behavior?
- How motivated is the team?
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Chapter XVI. Criticism

To make an omelet…
These are six ways of courting defeat, which must be carefully noted
by the general who has attained a responsible post.
Criticism is meant to be destructive. Its purpose is to destroy the false

image you have of what is going on and allow you to understand where to
make corrections. Corrections allow us to realign with reality so the pain
goes away. Not all have the ability to leverage the inherent power in
criticism and use it to their advantage. Actually, it is a rare quality.
In accepting criticism we are our own worst enemies. The more sense
of security we derive from something, the more difficult to accept criticism
about it. However, when our sense of security comes from illusion, we incur
an even greater risk so it becomes even more important to allow others to
approach us. Unfortunately this is when we often feel most threatened and
close up. The feedback never reaches us, the illusion stays, and our security
remains based on that illusion. Sooner or later reality kicks in and slaps us
on the face.
If we are to give criticism a chance, it is essential to treat the one who
delivers it with the utmost care. Any negative reaction on our part will
prevent us from receiving valuable feedback in the future. If we resent a
comment and express it, we close a door that is difficult to reopen. When
accepting criticism it is essential not to react right away. Let the information
sink in, ponder it and when you can think about it calmly, discuss it again. It
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may take you a day or a month, but with practice you will be able to shorten
the needed time to absorb feedback.
During a project, criticism should be given only when absolutely

necessary since it is very time consuming for all involved. The one
delivering the message must find the right way to deliver it, the best time to
have the conversation, and be able to deal with the aftermath. Those
receiving the criticism must absorb this feedback and adjust while doing
their jobs, so extra time and effort is required.
The key in deciding when to deliver feedback is to proceed only when
it becomes practical. If the project can be completed, do not attempt
corrections mid project. Wait until the project is closed and deliver the
feedback as part of lessons learned. When absolutely necessary to correct
someone’s behavior mid project, consider both the short and long term
perspectives. Short term advice should be specific and aimed at solving the
current difficulty. Long term advice should be directed towards correcting
the perspective on things in general in your larger goal to build a
constructive culture. Begin by defining the acceptable and unacceptable, the
desirable and undesirable; and then be more specific by defining the
behaviors that promote these desired results. Give examples of cases where
other people faced similar problems, but always keep it anonymous. While
you want people to feel they are not alone, you want everyone to know
criticism will be handled with discretion and sensitivity.
If someone requests feedback in an honest manner, always take the
time to respond as thoroughly as possible. People with potential will search
for feedback in order to improve. If someone requests feedback to keep
appearances, do not waste your time.
Throughout the Art of War, Sun Tzu describes the various ways in
which the Ruler or the General can bring ruin. These ways serve as counsel
to these key players, as well as material for their own reflection.
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The Ruler (the Executive Sponsor) can bring ruin to a project in three
ways. The first is to make promises on the project team’s behalf without
discussing them with the team beforehand. The second is to treat the project
team as you would treat permanent employees since people working in
projects need to be motivated differently than those with a permanent
position. The final way to bring ruin is to utilize people without regard to
their skills, preferences or availability. It is important to emphasize here that
the project team does not report directly to the Ruler and should never do so.
The Ruler uses managers to lead the project teams and it is with those
managers that the Ruler must interact.
The General is such an important figure in this War that both this
person’s personality and decisions can affect the outcome. The General must
possess a high degree of introspection to ensure that personal preferences do
not prevent getting the job done. While Sun Tzu describes five fatal flaws
that can inflict the General, seven are identified in this book. Any of these
flaws can lead to ruin.
The first is recklessness, which leads to disaster. The reckless
Program Managers are muscle with no brain. They dream without being in
touch with reality, focusing too much on the prize and not enough on the
details. Recklessness creates misconceptions of reality and the resulting
misjudgment makes them subject to trickery. For the reckless, no cost is too
high when they want something.
The second fatal flaw is cowardice which leads to capture. The
cowardly Program Managers are all talk and no action. They make
superfluous complaints and remain silent on important matters. By never
using their full potential, they allow others to run the project. Sooner or later
the Program Manager becomes a figure head and the team is ready to be
taken over by someone else. If it has not already self destructed.
The third fatal flaw is represented by the always critical Program
Manager who can also be victimized by trickery. They are stuck in
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conventionalities and the ‘appropriate’ way to get things done. Sooner or

later they will be offended and allow this to affect their decisions, bringing
disgrace to the project. Beware the petty as they are the ones most in need of
correction.
Those Program Managers seeking status represent the fourth fatal
flaw. They count on results before they are realized and can be brought to
shame merely with words. They focus on things important to themselves
rather than those of the project and will make decisions based on recovering
their respect rather than resolving the situation.
The next fatal flaw is represented by the isolated Program Managers.
These people believe that they can achieve success by simply ‘Doing a good
job’ and forget about the outside world. They focus on this first step of an
effective defense, and forget the final two of ‘Creating proof’ and ‘Telling
Everyone’. Thus, the inevitable dissatisfaction of the Executive Sponsor will
cause them to lose control of their team.
Despotic Program Managers constitute the next fatal flaw. They
believe their status puts them above the rules and their behavior becomes
erratic. This is disconcerting to the team and has a negative impact on their
loyalty. The project is thus put in a weak situation and can be brought down
or easily taken over.
The motherly Program Managers represent the final fatal flaw. They
care too much about their own employees and see no fault in them regardless
of their performance. Their own people will bring them ruin.
Sun Tzu identifies six disastrous scenarios that can afflict a project.
This next set represents flaws stemming from both the project and the team
which can be remedied by balancing the team and re-defining the goals of
the project. These scenarios may be politically incorrect or simply difficult
to explain. Therefore, the General should not attempt to explain them but
correct them instead. The reason for the adjustment is not important as long
as balance is obtained within the team and in its relation to the project.
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When the challenge of the project is enormous compared to the skill

of the team, two scenarios can occur. Either the team will give up before
work even starts and nothing meaningful will be achieved; or they will be
unrealistic as to their own capabilities and devise a solution that clearly does
not meet the requirements. The first scenario is realized early in the project;
the second, when it is already too late.
When the team possesses the required skills and the General
underestimates the complexity of the project, significantly under staffing and
under budgeting, the project team will riot. The team will consider the
General to be their enemy and will find avenues to save their positions.
When the project team is strong and capable and the project managers
(the Officials) are weak, the result will be insubordination. The team will
drive the direction of the project and overrule management. In this scenario,
the team will be able to put a stop to any effort management wants to pursue.
When the project team is weak and the project managers are strong,
the result will be collapse. Management will ask too much of the capabilities
of the team, causing them to freeze in desperation. Seeing that the team is so
weak, the Officials will lose their motivation and give up on the project. The
conclusion of this scenario will be for the Executive Ranks to eventually
replace the entire team.
When the high ranking Officials (senior project managers) are
motivated solely by personal reasons, they will act on their own account
with little regard for the General’s orders. Managers will adjust their actions
for their own benefit disregarding the whole and eventually creating internal
conflict. However, the project will move in spite of the team’s management
with the Officials becoming the project’s greatest enemy.
When the General is weak and has no authority and orders are not
clear and distinct or when there are no clear definition of roles and
responsibilities and the group is organized by its own whims, the result will
be utter disorganization. Lack of structure or the failure to implement it will
create chaos. The group cannot organize itself without a higher level view.
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If the General is indulgent with the team, lacks authority, is lenient

when enforcing commands or is unable to quell disorder, the team will
behave like a group of children and will be uncontrollable. If the General
corrects those who misbehave before they have grown loyal, they will not be
submissive and will therefore be useless. If the General does not enforce
corrections even when the team is loyal, they will still be useless. Unless
desired behaviors are habitually enforced, the team will not be well
disciplined.
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Chapter XVII. Dealing with a Rotten Core

Give the average person twenty million dollars… and wait
There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not
be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must
not be contested, and commands of the sovereign which must not be
obeyed.
We underestimate the harm that politics bring to the corporate

environment. A politically charged environment is synonym to an
atmosphere of distrust, petty disputes and personal vendettas. This is a place
where people spend time discrediting others and work is used as an excuse
to start fights. A political environment is the indication that key roles are
played by envious personalities driven by the motto: ‘If I can’t benefit,
nobody does’
This environment makes the company weak, particularly if present
among the high Executive Ranks. A politically charged atmosphere
promotes the status quo and makes Change difficult, if not impossible.
Nobody will take risks since those who entertain the idea know they shall
unavoidably encounter resistance. As a result, Change is replaced by the
illusion of Change and survival becomes a game of appearances. This
situation perfectly illustrates that the greatest enemy of Change resides
within the walls of the company.
Any company that effortlessly rose to the top can encounter this
political environment as an easy life eliminates the necessity of going to the
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core of matters. When the need to reinvent oneself arises, the high level
ranks are filled with people who did not expend much effort achieving their
position and the company is unable to adapt. Successful companies that did
Change were able to transform themselves by invoking the same spirit that
took them to the top in the beginning. If the top Executives have lost this
spirit, Change will be impossible.
When dealing with an environment so challenging as this, it is best an
outside consulting company provide the Program Manager. If Executive
Sponsors rotate frequently, this arrangement provides the Program Manager
the ability to move from sponsor to sponsor and still keep the project alive.
The consulting company should also provide the skills for the project until it
is clear that Change has a chance to occur. Only then should the corporation
invest in training and hire permanent employees.
The consulting company chooses neither the Ruler, nor the War, but is
still responsible for ensuring the projects are successful. The Executive
Sponsor, the Ruler, chooses the War, and the ability to manage this person
will be decisive in determining the final outcome.
If the Ruler possesses the necessary skills and personality despite an
adverse environment, the General should fiercely protect this Executive. The
General must focus on how the performance of the Executive Sponsor will
be judged. It is crucial that every decision made in the project aligns to the
Sponsor’s evaluation criteria. Work will be slow and require strong defense.
The General should plan for a long and thin implementation of small teams
with long phases overlapping each other. Attention should be paid to both
the internal and external communication components so to better manage
and control the conflict between players.
If the Executive Sponsor is motivated by personal reasons or unfit to

be the herald of Change, the entire project will suffer. In either case, the
General must identify another sponsor before circumstances select one
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instead. Switching Sponsors is risky and takes a long time but doing nothing
and allowing things to happen organically could be disastrous.
When dealing with the unfit Executive Sponsor, the General must
always be motivated by serving the project as a whole. The main objective
must be to ensure that the project stays alive and to achieve this objective, it
is fundamental that the project is good for the company. This may sound
obvious but it can be more challenging than we think. A wrong Executive
Sponsor will set the wrong goals for the project and may refuse to
compromise. To deal with this situation, the General must work to set up
control bodies within the company, a typical example of which is a Project
Management Office or PMO. Having to deal with these control bodies
makes the project go slower but keeping the unfit Executive Sponsor under
control is critical for survival.
Depending on the nature of the Executive Sponsor it may be difficult
to use reason when having discussions. The Executive Sponsor may need to
be manipulated from day one, so it is indispensable that the General has
excellent people skills. The General must understand this person very well,
or every discussion will take much longer than desired and moving forward
will be difficult. It may often be necessary to make sacrifices and work in
futile activities to get permission for the practical ones. Every conversation
with the Executive Sponsor will be an activity akin to walking in a
minefield. A wrong step and the conversation is over.
A common failing of unfit Executive Sponsors is they set self serving
goals and seek praise for them. That is their fatal weakness and often starts
the project in the wrong direction. To rectify this, the General must inform
the levels above Executive Sponsor of the right path without circumventing
the Sponsor. The appropriate way to approach this task is to get to higher
levels by praising the current Executive Sponsor. Any meaningful
deliverable can provide an excuse to gather key people in a room to discuss
accomplishments. And the future plans of the project.
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This step is also indispensable in identifying the Executive that must

replace the current but unfit one. By gathering different Executives in the
same room, the General can understand their relationships and see who
listens to whom. During these key meetings, it must be made clear that the
General’s loyalties are to the project and not to a single Executive. The
General must facilitate negotiations between the different Executives to
make this point.
When approaching the candidates to replace the current Executive
Sponsor, the General must act via a delegate. At a certain point, the chosen
candidate must take over the budget from the current Executive Sponsor and
if a direct relationship exists, failure of this operation would have very
negative consequences for the General. The delegate must create a personal
relationship with the desired Executive Sponsor so issues can be discussed
candidly but safely. It is ideal that this relationship occurs naturally,
originating from the shared goal of bringing about the best solution.
Swapping Sponsors takes months so the General must select carefully

or valuable time will be wasted. If there are no suitable candidates, it is best
to diversify and wait the situation out. While having the long term goal in
mind, the General should focus on creating relationships in order to have
powerful allies when the right candidate appears. This situation where no
candidate is suitable requires special attention since the General must endure
different Rulers for the survival of the army. Small issues have the potential
to be taken out of proportion and can bring the project to a halt. If the project
is stopped, the chances of being killed are very high.
Describing this in Sun Tzu terms, changing sponsors or looking for
the desired Executive is like marching through enemy territory. Which
sponsor to work for represents the traversed country. The nature of the
project represents the kind of terrain where the army is encamping. A project
with well defined requirements represents firm terrain and a politically
charged project represents tortuous terrain. The project itself represents the
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military campaign and getting it done is the fighting. Sun Tzu provides
ample advice on how to travel with an army, described in the below listed
scenarios.
It is not in the General’s best interest to remain in the spotlight. This
can cause the project team to expend effort defending the project instead of
doing productive work. It makes no difference whether the project is
receiving attention due to achieving success or being in trouble. The team
must stay out of it until the political atmosphere in the company improves.
It is best for the team to work for an Executive who can provide a
steady amount of work and also accept things getting done slowly. The team
can then devote its attention to the project and not be burdened with survival
issues since their supply lines are secure.
When moving from Sponsor to Sponsor, it is critical that the General
leaves the current Sponsor only after the work is completed and all ties can
be severed. Any tie will be an avenue through which the previous Sponsor
may deliver an attack. Given the unstable environment, one should plan for
this eventuality.
If the environment is too relaxed, the General must find something
challenging to accomplish in order to secure the reputation of the team.
Ideally, the team should be seen as the obvious candidate for the selected
work. In case the easy work is attacked and put at risk, the General can
default to the challenging work to keep the team alive.
If the environment is totally unstable, the General should aim to
complete projects quickly by cutting down the scope as much as possible.
Instability may come from any area of the project, from poorly defined
requirements to unmanageable administrative processes.
When working on a project serving multiple business units, the
General should collaborate with the team’s allies. In this situation, whoever
controls the relationship to the business units will have control over the
project so the General should focus on these relationships.
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When working in a project controlled by a business unit that opposes

the current Sponsor, the General should attempt to go with the flow. This is
not the time to prove a point or look for dramatic measures. The General
must avoid all unnecessary conflicts unless the project is at risk. If put into a
position where fighting is unavoidable, the General must begin the fight
immediately.
In a situation where it is difficult to identify the precise requirements
or obtain the necessary information, the General should resort to stratagem.
The project team must find those people who can provide the needed
information without raising suspicion, while at the same time disclosing as
little as possible.
In this environment the Program Manager is alone. No Executive

support will be strong enough to save the day in a dramatic situation.
Success can only be obtained through cunning and deception. At the same
time, this environment is the ultimate test of a Great General. Those who can
make it here can make it anywhere.
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Chapter XVIII. Using Spies

Your friend in the shadows
Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity.

In the Art of War, Sun Tzu utilizes Spies in two ways: first as a scout
observing and reporting on enemy activity, and second as a mole infiltrated
into the enemy group providing information not otherwise available. In
today’s corporate world, the role of Spy better translates into a function and
not necessarily into a specific person. Also, the role of mole may even be
closer to the role of diplomat. The function of Spy (either as scout or
diplomat) is usually of a short term nature and can be acted by a wide variety
of people; often without realizing they are performing the same activities as
Sun Tzu’s Spies. In simple terms, Spies are people who obtain key
information not available using standard or formal channels. It can be
intelligence concerning the plans of key players, the lay of the land, special
relationships, secrets in general, undocumented details, or risks not yet
identified by the general group. Above all, they deal with reality. They are
able to get information about how things really are, as opposed to how
everyone wants to believe they are.
Although the role is temporary, long projects may require someone to

play diplomat for several months, usually in the context of ‘managing a
relationship’. The diplomat’s job is to create rapport with a key player to
ascertain what is in that person’s mind and influence their decisions.
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Managing a relationship does not necessarily make one a Spy, but is an

essential element in the Spy’s role. The diplomat is the most valuable type of
Spy, and especially so when part of your own team. Using diplomats greatly
increases the likelihood of projects becoming successful. When a conflictive
topic is being discussed, the knowledge gained from Spies will tilt the
balance your way. In these situations, the General should never negotiate
during group meetings. This is where Spies come into the picture. They can
provide information on what key players want so the General has the
advantage in negotiating. Agreements must be obtained beforehand so
meetings then become a mere formality to secure public approval.
The diplomat Spies should be put in charge of leading the faction of

the team that will interact with the enemy that must be infiltrated. Their
position will enable them to meet with the necessary people without raising
alarm as their meetings will appear to be part of their job. If you need to
understand the political situation in the company, have the Spy lead the
Business Analysis team. If you need to understand the technical
infrastructure, have the Spy lead the Technical Delivery team.
Playing this role takes a special breed of person. You cannot decide
who becomes a diplomat. Good Spies choose themselves. They must have
excellent people skills, be able to work alone, get things done without
recognition and handle a storm by themselves. There may come a time when
a difficult situation prevents their getting help and they are forced to solve it
on their own. In order to survive in this situation it is essential they be
extremely versatile. These special people understand that there is more going
on than meets the eye and can intuitively play an effective part in the game.
The best Spies are more dangerous than they look and prefer being
perceived that way. They are able to develop personal relationships with
anyone and use that to their benefit. They must be able to skillfully play
multiple roles so they can infiltrate the most varied of situations.
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Those fit to play a diplomat role are the most intelligent and valuable
members of your team and special privileges must be awarded them. They
should be given more range than others to spend their time on whatever they
choose. The General must gain their trust so they feel certain of their
master’s loyalty and have no doubts of their protection in case of trouble. All
their affairs must be treated with the utmost care, seriousness and discretion.
The time may come when the General acquires crucial information
that may jeopardize the diplomat if used. Perhaps a new initiative is coming
up affecting the project and few people know of it. If the information is used
openly, the General will be effectively killing the Spy. As a rule of thumb,
diplomats are more valuable than the information they provide, as it is rare
that an entire War is decided in a single play. This information should be
used discreetly so no one suspects the source.
The most valuable activity the diplomat Spy performs is to turn the
enemy’s people into informers. The enemy’s team members may provide
information but that will not be of great value since they tend to learn things
just before they become common knowledge. However, an enemy’s team
member who has a personal relationship with management is of huge value
to the diplomat, especially if that team member is not discreet.
Information can also be obtained from managers disgruntled with the
current situation. Ideally, their dissatisfaction arises from a desire for
Change. In this case, they should be offered a position on the General’s team
but only after the project has been completed. While the project is being
executed, these managers should remain in their position since they provide
the most value as collaborators from the inside. It is crucial they believe they
will get what was promised and are not negatively impacted by this
collaboration or there is high risk of losing a most valuable asset. The
General must devote time in the beginning and quickly develop a personal
relationship to prevent their having second thoughts, but should be cautious
in trusting them until they have proven their loyalties. Enemy managers can
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provide the most useful information and one should always aim to recruit
them whenever possible.
Other managers will be disgruntled for more personal reasons. These
can be brought to collaborate as long as they get what they want and they
should be helped right away. The General must grant what they ask since
they will help only as long as they think they can benefit from forming the
alliance. This last category is not trustworthy and can be burnt at the first
indication they have turned on you.
Information from Spies should be handled with care. If you are

attempting to use Spies, you must be completely honest about your own
skills, capabilities and shortcomings. A false image of yourself will not only
prevent you from using Spies, but also create problems that later could
overwhelm you. You must have a keen ability to differentiate between truth
and falsehood in order to evaluate the information gained. The key in the
effective use of Spies is to have a correct picture of the relationship you have
with them. If your understanding of that relationship is not aligned with
reality, you incur the risk of merely becoming another informer. You will
become their mark instead of their master.
As you cannot know if Spies are telling you the whole story, it is
necessary to have a second source when dealing with important matters.
This is a reason why Spies should not know one another. Another reason is
for their own protection. Spies will look after themselves in challenging
situations so if one goes down, others can be jeopardized. Spies are
accustomed to handling problems on their own and will leave you hanging if
they see you becoming a liability. If Spies gain information about you, they
will share it only if the news either does not affect them or if they are
affected as much as you. It is wise to bind your Spy’s fate to your own or, as
a second option, to completely separate your fate from that of your Spies.
Spies, and not you, choose what purpose they serve. You must find a
person with potential who shares the same objectives as you. You cannot
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make them do something for what they consider the wrong reasons and
expect to get away with it indefinitely. You must leverage what you both
have in common. You will have no closer relationship than that with your
Spies.
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Chapter XIX. Choosing your Battles

Playing with fire
Draw them in with prospect of gain, take them by confusion. When

they are fulfilled, be prepared against them; when they are strong,
avoid them.
Make pain your friend. The way to get close to someone is through
their pain as they will welcome those who eradicate it. It is not the pursuit of
happiness but the avoidance of pain that will force people to make important
decisions. Neither can you convince the satisfied, nor help the whiny, nor
comfort the complaining. Satiety does away with the need to change,
whining is done for whining itself, and complaining is the display of false
intention to improve. These emotions lack the capacity for movement so you
cannot use them to ignite Change. Pain carries the most information and
therefore the most potential. You can only help those whose pain is real.
Pain is unavoidable and there is a price to pay when dealing with it.
You can handle it on your own terms and choose how to pay, or you can turn
a blind eye and eventually pay on harsher terms. There are those who make a
deliberate effort to confront it, those who consciously ignore it, and those
who just have no clue what is heading their way.
Those who deal with pain on their own terms make continuous efforts
to minimize its negative effects. They understand that trying to keep things
static is a fool’s goal. They see action as a tool in risk mitigation, although
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caution must be exercised so that money is not wasted avoiding what has no
chance of occurring. As this view is not widespread, they are rarely given
enough budget in any case, so they are forced to invest their efforts where it
makes an impact. In order to help these people you must create an
atmosphere of partnership. Treat them as equals and the relationship will be
long lasting and productive. A new endeavor will cause them to become
very involved so a detached and objective point of view will be of great
value to them.
The second way of dealing with pain is to consciously ignore a very

probable risk or act as if something is not there. Ignoring a clear risk is the
result of fear. These people are afraid to confront the situation hoping the
problem will simply go away, and then when the problem surfaces they rely
on others to solve it. They are easy victims of charlatans and even may go so
far as giving a charlatan control of the budget. They pretend that allowing
others to manage the budget is not a problem, which is identical to behaving
as if the problem never existed in the first place. These people need
rectification to abandon their current behaviors and start building positive
ones. The way to help them is to adopt a parental attitude. The goal is not
only to help them overcome difficulties but to help them face fearful
situations in general. If you focus on each battle instead of solving the
underlying problem, you will be fostering a dependence you wish to avoid.
You must choose for them what battles they should fight. Prepare them for
the challenge but let them fight alone. Start with small challenges and move
towards bigger ones as they become stronger.
The clueless ‘deal’ with pain by unconsciously ‘avoiding’ it. They are
facing something new to them, lack an awareness of the inherent risks that
exist and fail to identify them. Unlike those who confront pain on their own
terms, these people are totally unprepared. Those around them are also
unaware, or simply not speaking up. To help these people, act as an advisor
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to them. Provide input and feedback but let them manage the work and
commit the mistakes. Your value will come from staying detached so you
can present an outside viewpoint.
When problems surface in this scenario, it will be critical to manage
the delivery of the information to the environment. The delivery and the
reaction of those impacted will determine the possible courses of action. The
main challenge is to keep the group united and confront the problem
together. If unity can be achieved, a solution can be found much faster than
when the group is divided. Should the blaming game start, the solution will
be a long time coming. As the leader is clueless, your only chance lies in
having everyone believe the team is extraordinary so when problems occur,
it is just assumed that the challenges were unpredictable.
It is well to note that pain can point the way to recovery as well. Some
people are able to act on this simple insight and others are not. Pain
identifies those areas misaligned with reality. There is an imbalance between
what we think is happening and what is actually going on and this creates
pain. When confronted with pain people go into automatic pilot to get
through the experience as fast and unconsciously as possible. This behavior
creates situations where Change is obviously needed but people are not
willing to adjust. In this case, things need to get worse before they can get
better. The situation needs to devolve to a critical point in order to make
people respond. However, this strategy is very dangerous. Not everyone will
be able to deal with the worsening of the overall situation and not everyone
will be able to adjust to the new state once Change actually does occur. This
strategy of allowing things to get worse should only be used when the
current situation does not provide value and collateral damage becomes
acceptable regardless of the ramifications.
If you decide to act, you need to empower those who need Change the
most. Assign them more work, put them in the spotlight, or make them
responsible for a key process. To bring them down, you first need to push
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them up. Empower them to a level where they start acting recklessly.
Raising the stakes will put pressure in an environment designed to inflict
pain. And pain it shall deliver. You need to add pressure until the core
breaks down. A small amount of pain will be taken as a bad streak and
previous bad habits will be perpetuated. People need to be put through
something comparable to a life changing experience in order to act. Once the
core is broken provide a solution and a plan for salvation. To help them, you
must take a savior attitude towards them. You must provide the plan, the
design, and the implementation. You have broken them and they are in no
shape to make decisions. Provide a stable environment where they can
recover at their own pace.
Any crisis presents a unique opportunity to bring about Change since
crises alter the rules. Priorities shift and people listen to ideas they were
closed to before. Business as usual brought the crisis about so it becomes
necessary to evaluate alternative courses of action. This is where Change
comes into play. People tend to behave in a more cooperative way during a
crisis so Change can be brought about even more quickly. The roadblocks
you encounter in a business as usual environment disappear during a crisis.
Decisions are made much faster and obstacles are taken out of the way.
Never dismiss a crisis as it can always be presented as an opportunity to
build a stronger organization.
Never fight someone who has nothing to lose. These people are
impervious to pain. They have no need to win so they are constrained by
fewer rules than you are. Even if they lose they can make you lose as well.
After you win you must be merciful and treat those defeated with respect.
This will teach your next opponent that losing to you does not imply
humiliation and they can go home as if nothing happened. Your next
opponent will know that they have a bearable exit and they will put less
effort into the fight. If you are ruthless, the next adversary may take the
attitude of having nothing to lose and fight to the bitter end.
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Chapter XX. Cultivating the Tao

Wolves hunt in packs
He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all
its ranks.
Corporate culture must become a much more important topic than it is

today. Society has stopped providing a useful starting point on which to
build, so all the work has to be done by the company itself. Fifty years ago
society provided defined rules of how people should behave and these were
mostly followed. The rules and the mindset of the people of those days were
in sync, but that is no longer the case. Today’s standard social rules provide
little value forcing corporations to make a larger effort than before. On the
other hand, companies can find individuals with a lesser amount of social
programming, who are more creative and able to think for themselves. Those
who today have a constructive culture have made conscious choices to
acquire it, and that alone makes them more valuable.
While today’s social rules are of little value, there are inherent
characteristics we can utilize to establish a constructive culture in our team;
the most important being respect for authority and the tendency to follow the
group. If the Executive or the Program Manager emphasizes the need for
building a constructive culture, the team will give it a chance. If the effort
translates into a positive outcome for them, they will embrace it. If many
people embrace it, it will be much harder for the few to ignore it.
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A constructive culture takes skill to define and build. Unless you

make an intense effort and invest time to bring the many to agreement, you
will fail. To attain this agreement, the main principles of your culture must
be anchored in truth and reality. You simply cannot fool them all.
The strategy to institute a constructive culture must be subtle. A
forceful approach will make people feel attacked and they will react by
deflecting new ideas. Instituting a constructive culture is not an intellectual
process but an emotional one. To succeed in this endeavor you cannot fight
and expect to win. Every battle on this subject will be lost before it starts.
You not only need subtlety, but even cunning to accomplish your goal.
Building a culture is a long process and will evolve slowly. Only a constant
application of the principles in the sought after culture will make them
endure, so you must embody these principles at all times. Explain to
everyone the benefits to them from acquiring the principles you propose.
This is a process that takes time. Reward those who follow you; correct
those who do not. Reinforce. Reinforce. Reinforce. With absolute
consistency.
Your objective is to bring out the best in everyone and put it to the
service of the group. This is the key. The most important aspect of a
corporate culture is to save the day as difficulties arise. When the project is
in trouble, people must forsake their personal interests and work to save it.
Those who work for their career, or money, or position, or fame will not put
anything above their own personal interests. Not even when the project is in
trouble. These people so filled with ambition will allow the project to fail
unless they can benefit. You cannot rely on those with ambition, only on
those who would do the right thing above all else. These latter are not
ambitious. They are passionate.
Passionate people must work for a higher cause. This is the critical
point around which to define your culture. The higher cause you choose to
serve will determine the kind of people you attract. A crazy cause will attract
crazy people. A sensible cause will attract sensible people. But you
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absolutely must define a higher cause so you can attract those who are not
motivated by ambition.
Make sure the higher cause you select is within the scope of the
professional environment. Do not attempt to tell people how they should be
living their lives. The higher cause should provide an avenue to contribute
while giving everyone the freedom to choose how to make that contribution.
If you try to dictate how they should live their lives, you will be creating a
cult not a company.
It is essential they have respect for you or you will be unable to
motivate them to accept your higher cause. You must be able to inspire them
with your vision and provide them with avenues to express themselves that
they would be unable to access on their own. Since you personify the higher
cause, people must feel you are worthy of their alliance.
The remainder of the culture must be geared towards delivering

quality work, on time, and to the customer’s satisfaction. The higher cause
must be balanced with practical and down to earth principles that are aimed
towards getting the best work out of everyone. People must be asked to keep
their promises, respect each other, be open to new ideas and have a desire to
learn.
People driven by a constructive culture are more creative and make
stronger teams since creativity is what will save the day. They are easier to
manage and make fewer mistakes than those with a non constructive culture.
They react faster when facing setbacks and when they find themselves in the
middle of a crisis, can devise ways to come out of it that require fewer
sacrifices.
Change is the perfect opportunity to revisit the current culture and

present a new one. The kind of work required to implement Change will
bring up sticky issues and the company should take the opportunity to
discuss them rather than ignore them. These issues will be fresh in
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everyone’s mind and the opportunity for improvement will exist. That is
why the great General continuously works to build the team’s culture,
especially during periods of crisis. Crises provide opportunities to revisit
core ideas in a culture, and are the most valuable times for applying those
core ideas. During crises people are open to look at any situation from a
more mature point of view as they endure the painful consequences of their
wrong decisions.
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Chapter XXI. Reading the Environment

The way out of conflict is up
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result
of a hundred battles.
The current environment comes from the conflict between two

powerful impersonal forces: fatalistic realism and mindless idealism.
Fatalistic realism has a negative view of the world, a rigid mindset, and
always thinks itself right. Mindless idealism lives in a world of dreams,
which it strives to turn into reality but has difficulty dealing with negative
feedback.
Fatalistic realism is born from fear of change and has as its goal the
preservation of the current environment. Its purpose is to provide structure
and get things done with the least amount of commotion. It can follow
established processes and rules indefinitely as long as they are in place, but
has difficulty coming up with original ideas. It can make things happen once
it is told what to do and will accept the required sacrifices without
complaint. Its fatalistic approach is valuable in identifying risks and also has
merit as a sounding board. Approaches approved by fatalistic realism are the
closest to bulletproof. Unless controlled however, it can become dominant
and deceitful in an effort to impede Change, even to the extent of collapsing
the system.
Mindless idealism is born from discontent with the current situation
and this is where its dreaming mindset originates. It brings to the table the
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utopian view and has as its ideal to define the future. It is full of life and
charm and can exert a powerful influence by its exciting personality. It feels
betrayed when forced to negotiate and define a more viable approach than
the one it dreamed up. It can find a thousand solutions to any given problem,
some viable, some not. However, it has difficulty staying focused on a task
if it lacks passion, and when passionate, can easily work itself to exhaustion.
Mindless idealism is the door through which ideas for the future enter but
has little control over what ideas come through. Unfortunately, its
detachment from reality can result in a loathing for the current situation even
to the extent of desiring to end it all rather than keep it going the way it is.
When mindless idealism devises a new way, a beautiful idea that

could change the world, it cannot articulate how the world will be affected.
It becomes infatuated with what it has come up with and fails to account for
adverse consequences. This is where fatalistic realism comes to help.
Fatalistic realism can devise a watered down adaptation of the original idea
so it may be implemented with little impact on the current environment.
Fatalistic realism puts itself in the worst case scenario and implements
whatever version of the idea can fit in the current structure. However,
although fatalistic realism seeks to avoid change, even this watered down
version has the power to have a wide impact. You will find many examples
of this in history.
When fatalistic realism is in charge, it wants to keep things working
the way they are as though Change is rarely beneficial. But change is
inevitable. Whatever does not go up will go down. A sound structure can
become the victim of its own success as the instability brought by growth
requires constant refinement. On the other hand, a flawed structure needs
improvement immediately. In either situation, ideas and new ways are
required and that is not where fatalistic realism shines, so mindless idealism
comes in to save the day. Mindless idealism provides the means to save the
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rigid structures of fatalistic realism and these negotiations make the world go
round.
This system based upon conflict between two opposites has

significant limitations. If both parties are unable to find agreement, things
cannot move forward and the situation will necessarily deteriorate. Should it
reach a critical point with everything at stake, two opposing views will not
save the day as the negotiating process lacks the virtues of empathy and
foresight. Neither contender is able to understand the implications of Change
so essential preparations cannot be made up front.
In the current system, the two opposing forces take either an active or
a passive role when interacting. The active force pushes and demands while
the passive force retreats and concedes. Which force acts as active or passive
will depend on the situation. The active role drives things forward while the
passive role accommodates so movement can occur. In critical situations
however, if the active demands too much from the passive, the system
reaches an impasse. To effectively execute Change, this polarity must be
abandoned in favor of a more enlightened approach.
A third force becomes necessary in order to enable movement. The
role of this force is to mediate between the two opposites so the passive
force will not be injured beyond repair. With the assistance of this enabler,
the two opposing forces can then move the system forward in safety. The
main difference between the two original forces and the enabling one is that
this latter requires a conscious choice to come to being. This role must be
played discreetly so the other forces do not feel manipulated.
This third enabling force is called Practical Idealism. Practical
Idealism accepts that things need to move forward or stagnation will
collapse the system. It also knows that if too much pressure is applied
prematurely, the system will break down. Change must be brought slowly
but surely. This view takes a responsible attitude towards the past so
everything accomplished to date is protected as a foundation for the future.
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At the same time it also brings the considerable benefit of approaching the
future in a proactive rather than a reactive way. The future will undoubtedly
bring change. We can pay the price up front and have control, or wait and
pay the price later once change has run us over.
Practical Idealism takes a matter of fact approach. It sees no friend or
foe and only discriminates between the rational and irrational. Since its goal
is reality, sugar coating only increases the chance of something ending
badly. While a bad idea can only be implemented poorly, skill and effort are
necessary to implement a good idea properly.
Practical idealism must always take a humble approach to everything.
There are rules that cannot be bent, implications beyond our control, and
consequences beyond our foresight. But you need always to keep an ear to
the ground and know when the train is coming. Society, economies,
countries, and life in general will evolve and there is not much we can do
about it. What we can do is take advantage of the trends and their natural
flow. We should strive to fully understand our environment so to make wise
long term decisions. We can be asked to do no more.
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Chapter XXII. Next Steps

The real deal
The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will
conquer. Let such a one be retained in command.
There are principles core to the study of this strategy that apply in any
situation. These guiding principles must be studied and practiced until they
become a natural way of life.
The first principle is timing. The principle of timing is summarized in
the adage: ‘you cannot make the enemy weak; you can only find where their
weaknesses lie and take advantage of them’. Instead of waiting for the
propitious time to act, we tend to immediately push. We argue and argue,
expecting to obtain what we want. We repeatedly bring up the same issues
and have the same arguments over and over whenever the conversation does
not go the way we desire. We must realize that every argument fought at the
wrong time is an argument lost. And every time you lose an argument you
are making the enemy stronger. You must wait until you can make your case
convincingly and only then attack. This is what is meant by: ‘every battle
must be won before it is fought’.
The second principle is control. While there are forces beyond your
control, your involvement in any situation is always up to you. You cannot
prevent a river from flooding but you can ensure you are not knee deep in
mud when it does. Control will enable you to consciously choose between
staying or leaving, attacking or waiting. The purpose of control is defense
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which affords you the secure position from which to attack. Unless you act
from a safe position, you will be unable to concentrate on the activities that
will make the project successful. But remember that a position may only be
made secure when it can be designed so that it cannot be attacked. Just as
you cannot make an enemy weak, you cannot make just any position secure.
You create a strong defense by securing your position, but you must choose
your position wisely. Find first a position that can be secured and then adopt
it. Control is then achieved by blaming yourself for everything. When you
blame yourself, you are able to identify the course of action necessary to
reclaim control of any situation.
The third principle is foresight. The purpose of foresight is to detect
problems early while they are still small. To do this, it is absolutely essential
to understand people. It is beneficial to create your own classifications
beforehand and evaluate people from multiple angles, such as groups or
individuals, men or women, young or old, active or passive. Use these
classifications when you make decisions and so verify your judgment in
practice. Keep adjusting until you find a method that works. Only if it works
in practice will you know they are good. It is very important that you
become your own best counsel. You can ask for advice and learn as much as
possible from whomever possible, but you must retain control of your
decisions. The power of foresight comes from its not being shared. Foresight
will allow you to stay a step ahead of everyone and enable you to manipulate
them to your advantage.
The last principle is perspective. Your project may not be influenced
by landing a man on Mars, but it could be by current economic conditions.
Perspective enables you to make good and sound decisions. Start from a
perspective as wide as the situation requires and then narrow it to the here
and now. The most important aspect in this process being how those
encompassed by each perspective will feel. The correct decision will be the
result of balancing the goals of the project with the feelings of those being
affected.
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In order to attain these principles and use them effectively, you must
cultivate your sense of reality. Without an accurate reading of a situation,
principles become meaningless. In attaining a sense of reality, your biggest
enemy is yourself. You may call it your personality, character, habits,
principles or behaviors if that makes you feel better. It is the ‘self’ in
yourself that is the problem. The elephant in the living room that everyone
tries to ignore. The reason you cannot get further in life is not background or
connections or skills or education, but yourself. When you misjudge people,
make the wrong decision at the wrong time, speak when you shouldn’t,
blame others for things that are your fault, renege on your promises, or incite
people’s mistrust, you are responsible. Only you can define the perspective
from which you make decisions and if this is wrong, your decisions will be
wrong. During your professional life you ascend the ladder until you
ultimately reach your level of incompetence: a job you simply cannot
perform well. However, the reason is not your skills but yourself. You are
solely responsible for your own poor performance by being unable to accept
criticism. Right now there are only two ways to deal with this situation:
either live with a poor performance or get rid of the problem. The current
system is not equipped to teach you to make wise decisions or overcome
your difficulties once you have reached the ceiling you have created for
yourself.
The most dangerous perspective to which we can cling is a belief in a
free lunch: that we can get something for nothing. In order to get, you must
first give. You simply will not get the candy until you drop the coins into the
machine. It is the same in every other aspect of life. You first make the
effort and then get results. You first study the situation and then make the
right move. You first practice and then act effectively at the right time. In
other words, you first study reality and then recognize it.
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The solution to most of our problems is quite simple, as simple as

listening. Listening does not consist of remaining silent while another talks.
Listening begins by taking the ideas of others and ends by understanding
their perspective. Unless you analyze their words from their viewpoint, you
will never understand anything said to you. Accepting the difference
between their perspective and yours is how you learn.
The problem with Change is its challenging and unavoidable
association with the unknown. When you are bringing Change to your
corporation, you must expect resistance. By bringing Change, you are
implicitly asking for exceptional effort. It is your responsibility to make the
transition as smooth as possible. Your effort up-front represents your
dropping the coins in the slot. Unless you plan to start by making an effort,
your initiative will require a high price to succeed. You must make the effort
to analyze the situation, to understand when to kick off the initiative, to calm
those that are worried, to gain followers to your cause, to select the right
people for the right roles, to see the initiative through until completion and,
above everything else, to listen at all times.
One of your biggest challenges will be to know when to yield and
when to push. You yield when your views need adjustment and push when
adjustment is needed in others. In the give and take path towards Change it
is necessary to keep a spirit of learning. And this helps you adjust without
emotional difficulties.
Another challenge will be to know how to balance personal concerns
with what is good for the whole. Just as it is difficult to see the perfection in
a half finished painting, so it is also difficult to know whether the current
course of action is taking you where you want to go. Sometimes you will
need to adjust a piece to fit the whole and other times adjust the whole to fit
the piece. The key is to always take the path with the highest degree of
reality. Reality always marks the right course.
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You cannot make a company Change. You can only see that it can
Change and act on that insight. But even then you are going to challenge the
status quo, the comfort of the known. You must prepare yourself to face
difficulties. The corporate world is obsolete to the point of irrationality.
Guided solely by a short term view, band-aids are applied until disaster hits.
Change most often must be brought when you are still riding the wave
of past right decisions and it is hard to prove that the current road leads to
disaster. Lacking obvious reasons, you must make use of deception. Bring
Change as if you were not. If you stand alone with your banner ready for
battle, you may be shot down. If you are like the mist, you can surround
them and they will not know whom to fight.
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An Afterword
As the book is receiving its final touches the world is in turmoil. But
crises can be quite interesting and instructive for more than one reason.
During crises you see people’s true colors. One of the most distressing
aspects we can see today is everyone’s perspective on the current situation.
In simple terms it could be summarized by: blame anyone but me. Blame the
financial markets, the deceivers and the corrupt. It is always "they" who did
this. Obviously, we then automatically look outside ourselves for the
solution. We look up to the political spheres demanding answers. Answers
that do not require any adjustment on our part since we want to keep living
our lives just as we were before the crisis hit, as if we were the victims and
someone else was completely to blame.
We spend our lives working for someone else, in a job that probably
we don’t much like, and we keep funding our 401k. Our plan basically
consists of saving a dollar, have someone else grow it to ten and then live on
that. And we wonder why there is speculation in the market. Well, it’s quite
simple. Our current plans require it. We once again put our hopes in
someone else’s hands and when results do not go according to plan, we
blame them. We fund a 401k so we can retire in the future while those
managing it look to get rich today. And we see no red flags in this
arrangement.
This system is based on taking. We take when we put one in and then
expect someone else to give us ten back. Our meager input is not
commensurate with the results we expect and we have no cause
for complaint when the inevitable crisis arises. While we may not have been
directly involved in the crisis happening, we are fully responsible for
allowing it to impact us.
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If we want to take control, we must blame ourselves. Basically, our

trouble comes from expecting to get money from someone else’s work. We
call it: The Market. No surprise it is so popular in a society so used to taking
and so unaccustomed to giving. But once the problem is defined, the
solution comes quite easily. Let’s save money not for a retirement plan but
so one day we can work for ourselves. Let’s also plan to work on something
we love doing so we do not have to obsess about retiring from it. Let the
moment to retire come about naturally when we can depend entirely on our
own resources. I am not talking about building a multi-million dollar
company. A well run company of one can comfortably provide for a family
of three. Were we in this situation, we would not be so worried about the
crisis today, and the solution would not depend on someone else. Once we
blame ourselves the solution comes from us. It is when we work for
someone else and then base our plans on yet another’s work that we get into
trouble.
Another distressing aspect so evident today is how afraid we are of

reality. We truly do not want to know what is happening or what the
consequences of the fixes put in place really are. We prefer to focus on
appearances because they are easier to digest. Just fix those and keep on
going. Do not look too deep because it can get pretty murky down there.
We have two options: look now and deal with the pain on our own
terms, or turn a blind eye and let pain pass the bill to a later time. But sadly,
things will worsen in the future unless we do something now. Unless we
actively work to improve something, it gets worse. And unless we go to the
core of the problem we cannot know what is really going on so our solutions
will always be band-aids.
Of course it takes more courage to go to the core of the problem than
doing what we are doing, but we have no choice. Either we find the strength
to look now, or we will be forced to look one day when the consequences of
a future crisis may be totally outrageous. Unless you correct the behavior of
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The Art of Change
those truly responsible, you are implicitly telling them to keep acting the
same way. And, in case you haven't noticed, the outrageous factor in the
many deceits bombarding us today is going up. Not down.
And the last distressing aspect of the current situation is how

incapable those in charge really are. While they are too incompetent to
occupy their positions, we in turn fail to produce a capable alternative.
Those in charge are not the cause. They are simply the reflection of who we
are. They are as capable or incompetent as we are. As Pogo famously
intones from the Okefenokee Swamp: "We have met the enemy and he is
us."
There is a great imbalance in the world today. This imbalance does
not have to do merely with economic or social conditions. It runs much
deeper. It has to do with the image we have of ourselves. Those who are
talented do not want to admit it and so act as if they were not. On the other
hand, those with no talent whatsoever are in love with themselves and
behave as if they were the eighth wonder of the world. The talented should
ready themselves to lead others but prefer to remain small, afraid and
unnoticed. Those untalented lack fear (and usually common sense) so they
act and are thus placed in charge for a while.
Nobody is born with the knowledge to wisely run a country, but some
do have that potential. The fact that these people are seldom occupying these
positions is a reflection of who we are as a society. The system is not set up
to identify value and put that value to the service of the whole. The system
rewards the ambitious and those who act solely for their own benefit while
disregarding the whole.
If those who actually can help want to get anything done, they have to
fight the system. That same system they want to help is actually their enemy.
They are alone. We live in a system based on taking, not giving, and as long
as we live in this environment, help is going to be a long time in coming. As
long as our sole objective is to have a good life, we are bound to have
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The Art of Change
anything but a good life. When our objective is self gratification we remain
driven by too small a cause to carry us through.
Taking creates a society of incompetence, mistrust, and deceit. This is

what we have created. And as long as we expect more than what we give, we
shall perpetuate that. If we want to live in a better world we must start
making an effort commensurate with what we want in return. Nothing less
will do. There is no magic wand, no financial savior, no miracle that will
come our way. We change, the world changes. We remain the same, the
world does too.
It's all about giving.
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Appendix
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The Art of Change
Translation Key
Attacks = arguments to challenge enemy’s point of view

Battle = Discussion
Battlefield = Topic
Campaign = Project
Defenses = arguments to prove one’s point of view
Earth = Peculiarities of the environment or the project
Feudal Kingdom = Company as represented by it organizational chart
Feudal Lords = Executives
General = Program Manager
Heaven = Standards and best practices
King = Area of the company in control of the direction of the corporation
Officials = Middle management
Royal Court = Executive Ranks
Ruler = Executive Sponsor
Rules = Method and Discipline
Supply lines = Budget
Tao = Corporate Culture
War = Change
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The Art of Change
Bibliography
Art of War, Sun Tzu. Translated by Thomas Cleary

Art of War, Sun Tzu. Translation by Lionel Giles
Art of War, Sun Tzu. Translated by Ralph D. Sawyer
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to Dan Mulvihill for his incorruptible honesty and the long
hours spent reading and editing this book.
Thanks to Carmen for her patience and the enlightening comments

that made the final version of this book what it is.
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The Art of Change

A Management Strategy Book

All Rights Reserved, including those of translation to foreign languages.

came to me, not as a logical conclusion, but as a sudden epiphany. Today’s

I hope you enjoy it.

When circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.

But, what is this change and where did it come from?

As society has been changing, corporations have found difficulty

The Executive Sponsor works among the Executive Ranks of the

In simple terms, the Executives referred to in this book can be

Change is the most important aspect of today’s corporate war. Not

necessary change in behavior entails a crucial challenge to the current

become impersonal. The importance of whom we deal with diminishes to

Corporate longevity in the 21st century will be based on a company’s

A culture based on change is still unfamiliar to corporations so

Chapter II. When to Wage War

There are six kinds of terrain: open terrain, entrapping terrain,

Change needs a sponsor to occur. While the chances of Change

Think of the organizational chart as a Feudal Kingdom where the

The nature of the required Change should dictate the group to be

Executing projects that involve a big component of change requires

forceful, your strategy should be based on identifying what the opportunity

Chapter III. The Kick-off

Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to

In order to identify the appropriate time to initiate Change, it is

During the initial conversations it is essential to identify ways to turn

A successful strategy to initiate Change will be the result of

As the Executive Sponsor in charge of bringing Change, you must

which others want. Do your homework before engaging other Executives,

Chapter IV. The General

Humanity and Strictness are the essential traits of the successful

organization allows them to address challenges by influencing all levels in

Part Two is intended for the Program Manager. This person is in

The Program Manager is responsible for completing the projects on

Chapter V. The Five Factors of War

The five factors of War are:

Every company has a Culture, a Corporate Culture, whether it is

Above all else, Heaven is an attack mechanism and Earth a defense

Middle Management, or the Officials, includes project managers that

In our current culture we undervalue the skills that make a manager

The fifth and last element, Rules, applies to roles, responsibilities,

Chapter VI. Going to Battle

As a herald of Change, your goal is to transform your organization to

During the execution of a project you will need to discuss plans,

way of thinking in your arguments is a weak area in your defenses. An

Chapter VII. Basic Strategy

The impossibility of defeat rests on us while the possibility of victory

Your greatest enemy is your ignorance and its weapon is reality.

The basic strategy for a good defense consists of three steps:

This three step defense not only applies to multinational marketing

Doing a Good Job (Step 1) is the result of understanding the reality of

done is delivered. It is in your best interest to ensure that this documentation

To enable defense and attack, learn to manage in all directions as one

Chapter VIII. Fighting an Entrenched Enemy

When working in such an environment, you should expect conflict so

initiative undertaken presents a fresh opportunity for attack. You want to

In this challenging environment, crisis presents an ideal opportunity to

Chapter IX. Deception

All warfare is based on deception. When able to attack, seem unable;

It is beneficial to allow mistakes so long as they do not put the project

When you do not know the outcome of the conversation, start by

common with your audience, even something as generic as getting up in the