Tag Archives: “Art of War (The)”

A Strategy That Works, vs. a Strategy That Doesn’t

Do Not Fight in “Dispersive Ground”:
Advice from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War: Advice for Authors and Entrepreneurs

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu, 544-496 BCE; Chinese general and military strategist, author of “The Art of War.”

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu identified nine varieties of ground.

How does that help us in our book or product marketing campaign?

Especially, how does that help us when our “campaign ground” is not the physical terrain of mountains, rivers, and plains – but the “infosphere” – all the material available on the internet?

Planning Ahead: A Small Fish Now, a Big Fish Later

Forever a small fish facing the big fish?

Forever a small fish facing the big fish? Sun Tzu’s advice can help you take the right marketing strategy.

I recently came across an ebook written by a fellow author.

Her intent was to advise other authors on how to accomplish what she’d done, which was to sell a few thousand copies of each of her books.

With some eagerness, I downloaded her book and began to read.

Of course, she had some useful and interesting ideas.

And of course, she mentioned some points that are (or at least should be) well-known to all authors.

The more that I read, though, the more I had this sinking feeling.

You know – that Oh, no! feeling that you get when you see something going very much off course.

Or even worse, going down.

What’s Wrong with Selling a Few Thousand Copies?

Now, there’s nothing wrong with selling a few thousand book copies.

Selling thousands of books should indeed happen.

 Linda Weintraub and Heidi Leugers selling books to conference attendees.

Linda Weintraub and Heidi Leugers selling books to conference attendees, and promoting “eco-friendly book publishing.” (Note that these two are NOT the authors of the ebook which is the discussion starting point for this blog – and that I DO recommend their blogpost and publishing avenues.)

Ideally, selling thousands happens on the way to selling tens of thousands – then hundreds of thousands – then millions of copies.

The problem?

The strategy that works to sell a few thousand books is counter-productive for selling tens of thousands and more.

Even when someone knows that a strategy is yields only short-term results, that doesn’t always motivate them to seek out and adopt a productive long-term strategy.

The “e-book strategy” author wrote:

I should update my blog more, I know. The truth is, I’d rather be writing for publication.

She then went on to list – in alphabetical order – about three dozen distinct strategies. Each strategy included multiple tactical steps – sometimes up to two dozen tactical “movements” – connections with distinct organizations that would be “good contacts” for publicity/promotion.

Each, of course, would take time.

A Horrible Lesson

If you can’t be a good example, then be a horrible lesson.

In a certain start-up company, one of the founding partners was a great marketer. He was great for getting visibility, and for advancing the early launch.

The problem came when he actually got some funding. Three years later, the investors had to “pull the plug” on him. They replaced him with a different CEO.

So the question is:

Do you want to be the CEO who launches the company, but is derailed shortly after? Or do you want to be the CEO who rides the waves to success?

Totally different strategies are needed.

A Strategy That Doesn’t Work (for the Long Run)

The author who wrote the e-book on how to “successfully market” books described her “success” as a result of steps such as:

  • Going to book expos, special-interest conventions, and other “meet-the-reader” venues,
  • Participating in online book forums and chat rooms, and
  • Listing her book on e-bay with the “right keywords.”

And of course, she took many, many more actions as well.

Note that this is just a sampling of the strategies and tactics that she’s tried and has listed.

Too many directions at once - divergent marketing - puts you on what Sun Tzu called "dispersive ground."

Too many directions at once – divergent marketing – puts you on what Sun Tzu called “dispersive ground.”

What’s wrong?

Individually, not one.

However, taken together, they are dispersive.

They send the author/marketing team (usually one and the same) in multiple directions.

What’s worse?

These various directions never converge back – they never bring people back to the author in a long-lasting, mutually-beneficial relationship.

In short, they don’t build tribe.

What the ebook author didn’t identify was a strategy based on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

How Would Sun Tzu Describe This Situation?

Sun Tzu, author of "The Art of War."

Sun Tzu, author of the Chinese military strategy classic, “The Art of War.”

Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, wrote (in Chapter XI, on “The Nine Varieties of Ground”):

When a feudal lord fights in his own territory, he is in dispersive ground.

The commentary from Ts’ao Ts’ao was:

Here officers and men long to return to their nearby homes.

We make the analogy:

“Dispersive ground” is a form of terrain (mind-map) in which your troops (your ideas, via your products and platform) are competing with many similar ideas. When your ideas are too close to what is safe, known, and familiar (their “nearby homes”), they will drift due to distracting forces.

An example of “dispersive ground” would be selling your book at a book conference devoted to the same theme as your book topic (gardening, science fiction, business leadership, etc.)

Your ideas become “dispersed” when they are too similar to – and not differentiated from – related ideas and offerings.

So the question becomes:

How do you get off dispersive ground and get into more useful terrain?

Sun Tzu’s Advice: “Do Not Fight in Dispersive Ground”

In The Art of War (Chapter XI), Sun Tzu identifies nine varieties of ground. One of these is “dispersive.”

According to Sun Tzu, it is essential to 'unify the determination of your army.'

According to Sun Tzu, it is essential to ‘unify the determination of your army.’

Sun Tzu advises:

… do not fight in dispersive ground (Sent. 11) … in dispersive ground I would unify the determination of my army. (Sent. 15)

If you’re in a situation in which your ideas are becoming diffuse; if they are starting to “drift” in the minds of your readers – so that your readers are returning to what is safe, known, and familiar (their “nearby homes”), you have to “unify the determination” of your army.

That means: get absolute clarity on your unique selling proposition (USP). Be clear about what you offer that distinguishes your work from others.

Also, begin to control the “drift” of people’s minds.

If they just touch on your work by chance – if they meet you at an expo or conference or networking meeting, or if they just come across your website – then you don’t have enough leverage to keep and focus their attention.

Specific Actions and Desired Outcomes

Start bringing people into alignment with your vision. Sun Tzu would call this "unifying the determination" of your army.

Start bringing people into alignment with your vision. Sun Tzu would call this “unifying the determination” of your army.

To get off “dispersive ground,” you need to bring people into your tribe:

  1. Get people to Opt-In to your website/blog with a uniquely valuable offer.
  2. Follow up with emails and direct them to your blogs, consistently providing them with superior value and educating them.
  3. Encourage people to adopt and apply your language, your concepts, and your uniquely helpful insights – which will happen naturally over time.

How will you know if you’re succeeding? Look for key indicators – people will:

  1. Use your terminology – your “language” – you’ll observe that the terms and metaphors that you’ve coined to help teach others will start showing up in their own teachings and writings,
  2. Link back to your website – people will take pride in referencing you as their “point of authority.”
  3. Promote your work – without you having to “push” out your work all the time, others will quote you, link back to your blog on theirs, “share” what you post on social media, and let others know about your upcoming workshops and new product releases.

Signs such as these let you know that you are “unifying the determination of your army,” because your army consists of your unique insights, thoughts and ideas – all the different but related teachings that you offer as a thought-leader.

A Very Important Point

People themselves are not your army. (You’re not putting 100,000 soldiers and chariot-drivers into the field.)

Your army is your thoughts and ideas, your unique insights that differentiate you.

However, people will join you emotionally and intellectually – this is when you gain terrain. At this stage, you are a thought-leader with an established platform and multiple products (books, e-books, instructional programs, etc.). People will be identify themselves with you; this is represented in your combined sales, and in your ever-growing Opt-In List.

P.S. “Dispersive thinking” is not always bad.

There are times that you will need to be “dispersive” – to investigate new grounds, to create new alliances, to spread the word.

However, always do this with a view in mind to bringing people back to you – to go from your dispersive outreach to your convergent attraction.

Who’s Your Yoda?

Choosing Your Master Teachers – An Essential Step for Long-Term Success

Luke Skywalker, in Star Wars, had Obi-Wan Kenobi, and then Yoda.

Wars, was coached by Jedi Master Yoda.

Luke Skywalker, in Star Wars, was coached by Jedi Master Yoda.

Young Daniel LaRusso, in The Karate Kid, had Mr. Miyagi. And Harry Potter, in both books and movies, has had Professor Dumbledore.

What do these young men all have in common?

They’ve all set out on their Heroic Quests.

And they’ve all gotten coaching from a Master Teacher.

Who Is a Master Teacher?

Professor Dumbledore has been Harry Potter's Master Teacher.

Professor Dumbledore has been Harry Potter’s Master Teacher.

When we work with a Master Teacher, we are learning something that is “outside the box” of normalcy.

We are learning – in essence – how to master the Force.

A Master Teacher meets three very challenging criteria. (That’s why there are not too many of them.)

 

A Master Teacher must, by very definition:
  1. Be skilled in an area that is difficult, demanding, and arduous – one in which there may be many who talk, but few who really know how to do “the real thing,”
  2. Be one of the most knowledgeable persons in the world about the one particular area in which he or she is “Master,” and
  3. Be committed to teaching in a life-transforming way.

When Do We Really Need a Master Teacher?

It’s simple.

We need a Master Teacher when our survival – or the survival of something even more important than our life – is at stake.

  • Luke Skywalker didn’t really put himself in the hands of Obi-Wan, and then Yoda, until he knew that it was up to him to rescue Princess Leia.
  • Daniel wouldn’t have done the “wax on, wax off” for Mr. Miyagi if he were not in grave danger of being beaten up – every single day – by the school bully.
  • Harry Potter wouldn’t have committed himself so deeply to being Professor Dumbledore’s protégé if he were not in a life-threatening situation; book after book. (And movie after movie.)

Studying with a Master Teacher Is Never Easy

What do we know – from all our books and movies, our myths and legends – about studying with a Master Teacher?

Don Diego coaches protege Murrieta in The Mask of Zorro.

Don Diego coaches protege Murrieta in The Mask of Zorro.

It’s never easy.

To be reminded of this, we only need to see this YouTube clip of Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas), studying with Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) in The Mask of Zorro.

Never easy. And always necessary.

Would Murrieta have won if he’d just signed up for lessons with a local fencing master? Would he have fought off Don Rafael Montero and his troops as brilliantly? Would he have won the hand of beautiful Elena?

Probably not.

Master Teachers are tough. They’re demanding. And sometimes, they’re essential if we’re to bring our dreams to fruition.

Some Master Teachers Come Via Books

Not every encounter with a Master Teacher needs to be face-to-face. Personal study, of course, is ideal. With today’s technology, a dedicated Master Teacher can coach students using a wide range of options.

But some of our most insightful, powerful, and effective Master Teachers are long since gone.

Thankfully, we can still study with them. We can read their books.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that 'A man is known by the books he reads.'

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that ‘A man is known by the books he reads.’

Reading – if we allow it to – can have a powerful influence on our lives.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

“A man is known by the books he reads, by the company he keeps …”

Notice that the first thing that Emerson cited – as a primary influence – was “the books he reads.”

Sun Tzu – One of the World’s Greatest Military Strategists

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu, 544-496 BCE; Chinese general and military strategist, author of “The Art of War.”

There are some books that influence generations. The Bible would be one such book. Another would The Art of War, by the brilliant Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu.

Sun Tzu’s book, The Art of War, has influenced countless military, political, and business leaders up through current times. Not only did Sun Tzu’s guidance bring about the first unification of China, but he strongly influenced the later evolving Japanese samurai warrior class.

Later, Napoleon relied on a newly-translated version of The Art of War as he laid out his European campaigns.

Allied commanders, in Operation Fortitude, relied heavily on one of the key Art of War strategies in misleading Axis forces prior to the Allied D-Day invasion.

What If You Could Be Coached by Sun Tzu Today?

Sun Tzu’s book, The Art of War, is a fairly straightforward read. However, applying it to business today takes a lot of thought, and a lot of deciphering.

The reason?

Sun Tzu wrote about troops, terrain, and maneuver.

Business leaders today deal with products and pricing, with marketing.

In launching a book, product, or service, you are becoming a thought-leader.

You are seeking to gain mindshare – your equivalent of “conquering terrain.”

Sun Tzu’s guidance – properly interpreted – can be essential to your strategic marketing.

But in order to take advantage of his insights and guidance, you need to interpret The Art of War into your own reference frame. You need a personal Rosetta Stone; one that will translate Sun Tzu’s world of troops, terrain, and maneuver into ideas, mindshare, and marketing.

You can make Sun Tzu one of your own, private Master Teachers.

The secret? Get the Online Guide that translates Sun Tzu’s guidance into specifics that are relevant for your online business, today.


Apply the secrets of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to your internet marketing campaign.

Gain immediate access to:

  • Five key analogies that translate Sun Tzu’s world of troops, terrain, and maneuver into your world of ideas, mindshare, and marketing campaign,
  • Seven essential lessons that make The Art of War immediately relevant to your online business, today, and
  • Three strategic imperatives – the essence of The Art of War – decoded into success strategies that you can use to build your business, capture mindshare, and become the preeminent thought-leader in your area!






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Then, I’ll follow up. You’ll get regular emails coaching you with specifics – from Sun Tzu, and from other legendary leaders – giving you strategic advice on cultivating your campaign.

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Do You Have Sun Tzu’s “Moral Influence”?

Before Starting a Business or Launching Your Social Marketing Campaign: Know That You Have Sun Tzu’s “Moral Influence”

Before we move ahead – as authors, as entrepreneurs about to start a business, or as both – we can apply concepts from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. This time-honored classic is relevant today for social marketing campaigns and to guide advertising for a small business. This is especially important if you are about to start a small business. Before you open a business, be sure to study The Art of War!

Even if yours is a home business, the business strategy recommended here – based on Sun Tzu’s writings – is essential. First, we need to assess ourselves using Sun Tzu’s “five fundamentals.” The first of these is “moral influence.”

Sun Tzu, author of  "The Art of  War."

Sun Tzu, author of the Chinese military strategy classic, “The Art of War.”

In Chapter 1 of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, he identifies his “five fundamentals”:

  1. Moral Influence,
  2. Weather,
  3. Terrain,
  4. Command, and
  5. Doctrine.

(Go to Kingmaker to learn how each of Sun Tzu’s “five fundamentals” applies to the early-stage author/entrepreneur.)

Sun Tzu opens his second chapter by estimating the cost, per day, to field a large army. He makes it very clear that waging war (or in our terms, mounting a marketing campaign) is an expensive business. It will place a huge toll on a nation’s (or business’s) reserves.

So, before making campaign plans – whether for military, political, or business – we each need to ask ourselves, “Do I have the ‘moral influence’ that will impel me to see this through?”

What Exactly Is “Moral Influence”?

Chang Yü (whose comments on Sun Tzu’s initial writings are included in most versions of The Art of War) said:

“The systematic order above is perfectly clear. When troops are raised to chastise transgressors, the temple council first considers the adequacy of the ruler’s benevolence and the confidence of their peoples.”

Sun Tzu further explained:

“By moral influence I mean that which causes the people to be in harmony with their leaders, so that they will accompany them in life and unto death without fear of mortal peril.” (Chapter 1, Sentence 4)

Chang Yü’s comment on this is:

“When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and rightousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders. The Book of Changes says: ‘In happiness at overcoming difficulties, people forget the danger of death.'”

Paper

Kindle

So what do “temple councils” and the “ruler’s benevolence” have to do with us?


Everything.

Translating Sun Tzu’s “Moral Influence” into a Social Marketing Campaign or Starting a Business

We don’t really need Sun Tzu’s writings to know that a marketing campaign will tax us greatly – in time, energy, and money. Our families and closest friends will “feel the pain.” We’ll have less time to spend with them, and less money for fun. Austerity, coupled with less “personal time,” will put a strain on everyone.

Thus, before we even begin, we have to know that the people closest to us are on our side.

Even more, we have to know – in our deepest heart of hearts – that we have something of great value to offer. We have to be supremely convinced of this value.

Further, each of us must be deeply convinced that we are the best person in the world to carry out this mission. This can’t be delegated. It’s our personal vision; our raison d’être. Our personal vision has to be so compelling, so authoritative, and so commanding, that others are willing to support us – well before the accolades, success stories, and profits come rolling in.

Your Private “Temple Council” – Your Advisory “Inner Circle” Guiding Your Business Launch

Chang Yü (see quote earlier in this post) said that the “temple council” will consider the “adequacy of the ruler’s benevolence and the confidence of their peoples.”

 Borusa's Inner Council talks with the Master.

From the Dr. Who TV Series: Borusa’s Inner Council talks with the Master. (TV: The Five Doctors)

The “temple council” is your private, typically informal, “inner circle” of business advisers. These are your “go-to” people; those whom you turn to for the deepest wisdom and guidance. You select them not only because of their smarts and savvy, but also their wisdom and spiritual maturity.

Your “temple council” will be the ones who will ask you: “Are you really ready for this?” And, “Is what you’re proposing really worth the pain that everyone will go through?”


You have to know that you’re ready.

Do You Have “Adequate Benevolence” to Start a Successful Business?

In helping you determine if you’re “launch-ready,” your “temple council” – your private “advisory inner circle” will first make their own assessment of you. They will consider the “adequacy of [your] benevolence and the confidence of [your] peoples.”

Your “benevolence” is a significant factor. Will your book, product, or service really be a benefit to others? Will it really help people in a strong, useful, meaningful way? Is what you are proposing really “benevolent”?

Second, your “temple council” will assess your personal maturity. They’ll ask themselves – and you – “Do you really have the whole-hearted support – the confidence – of the people in your life?”

You may not be asking your spouse, significant other, or family to follow you “unto death” in battle, but you may very likely be asking them to sacrifice vacations, luxuries, and time with you. Do those around you have confidence in you and your vision?


Do you have what Sun Tzu describes as “moral influence”? Do you have mastery of the remaining four of his “five fundamentals”?

Learn how to apply Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to your business launch or marketing campaign.

Join me – “Opt-In” using the form to the right. I’ll give you a “heads-up” when I publish the next strategic step that will help you evaluate where you are with each of the “five fundamentals” – and apply them to your own venture!






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Before any politician embarks on a campaign, his or her inner circle carefully considers the politician’s spouse or significant other, as well as the most important and connected family members. Are they “confident” in this person? Will they “follow” her or him?

Before promoting an officer to the more senior ranks, the military commanders consider the officer’s spouse as a factor in the selection process. Is the spouse supportive in a useful and sustaining way? The next promotion will mean even more challenges; will the officer’s spouse help this officer succeed?

In one company which I co-founded, two of my male colleagues – part of the “initial five” – had wives who brought in six-figure incomes. Their financial support for their husbands made it possible for the husbands to focus on the new venture. They had to have the confidence of their people (their wives and children) in order to move ahead.

How To Know If You’re Really Ready to Launch Your Business or Start a Marketing Campaign

If you’re an author, the answer is usually clear. The book is done. You’re holding a copy in your hands.

Perhaps it’s not yet done, but there is enough of a draft manuscript so that you can put it down in front of someone and say, “Here. Read this.”

If you’re a product developer, you can take someone to a website and say, “Here. Try out this beta version.”

Even a good, solid, well-thought-out business plan – one with a compelling case, good research, and strong financials – can be “ready enough.”

Most often, there needs to be some prototype (in the case of a product), or some track record of providing the kind of service that you’re proposing. That’s why most initial, or “angel,” funding is for prototype development.

Government Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) awards are first for small (typically $100K) “Phase I” proof-of-concept efforts, and then – if the “proof” is sufficiently convincing – for a (typically closer to $1M) “Phase II” prototype development. In order to get the Phase II funding, a company will have to show that the “commercialization transition” has already been worked out; a major company with strong revenues and an established product/service line is willing to take the new invention to its clients. This is where the “people” (the established transition-sponsor company) have “confidence” in the new company’s invention.

Assessing Your Own “Moral Influence”

Before you “go to war” – start your marketing campaign – you need to be sufficiently together; enough to have your own compelling sense of “moral influence.” You will know that you are ready – not when you have sufficient money in the bank, or a “finished enough” book/product/service – but rather, when you can say “yes” to these criteria:

  1. Temple Council Approval: Your “temple council” – your private advisory “inner circle” – gives you the “go-ahead,”
  2. You’re Sufficiently “Benevolent”: You are absolutely convinced that your book/product/service is “benevolent” – it will bring value to other people’s lives – and you can specify how, and
  3. Your People Have Confidence in You: The people closest to you – those whom you’ll rely on for support through thick and thin (and there will assuredly be “thin”) – give you their confidence in specific, tangible ways – such as reading and critiquing your manuscript, giving you encouragement to take your product public, and/or helping you out financially.

This morning, I received a sympathy card and a gift from my sister. My much-beloved cat, “Cuddles,” had died two weeks ago. She did this to encourage me; she had “confidence” in me. Other friends had banded together to help me get Cuddles’ remains cremated. They took me to the crematorium, and one of them picked up the box of ashes the next day. Another brought by a picture of me with my cat; it had been taken when we were both glowing with healthy vigor.

Any one of these people could have said, “Why are you putting yourself through the stress of a new start-up company? Why aren’t you getting a ‘day job’? Why aren’t you going for financial security; a job with good pay and nice benefits?”

Instead, they had confidence in me – and in the “benevolence” of my vision. I’ve shared with them what I’m sharing with you; insights about how to launch a well-structured, orderly, solid business and marketing campaign. They see that my approach is solid, and when the challenges come, they support me.

Before you launch, be certain that your “temple council” believes in you, and that your “people” have “confidence” in your vision and in your ability to bring your vision into being.

With whole-hearted best wishes for your own success –

Alianna

Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.
Founder & Creative Visionary, Mourning Dove Press

Copyright, 2013. Alianna J. Maren. Used by Mourning Dove Press, with permission. For all reproduction, please inquire: alianna1 (at) gmail (dot) com. All rights reserved.

Surviving the “Valley of Death”

For Authors, Entrepreneurs, Speakers, and Business Leaders – Surviving the “Valley of Death” (Until Your “Kingdom” Can Support Itself)

In the Game of Thrones (Season 2), young heroine Daenerys Targaryen, her dragons, and her loyal followers nearly die during a passage through the Red Waste.

Daenerys Targaryen, from the Game of Thrones, nearly dies in the Red Waste

Daenerys Targaryen, from the Game of Thrones, nearly dies in the Red Waste

The Red Waste is by no means the only challenge that young Daenerys has confronted, as she seeks to become the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. In fact, of all the contenders to the Iron Throne, it is Daenerys who both has the greatest right (by legitimate bloodline), and yet – at the same time – the weakest position.

Of all contenders for the Iron Throne, Daenerys has the fewest followers, and (by the end of Season Two) has dealt with both losses and betrayals. She has, practically speaking, no money. All that she has – besides her royal lineage – are her three young, vulnerable, fire-breathing dragons.

Her dragons are not ready to conquer any kingdoms for her. They are more like toddler children, dependent on her for food.

How Are We Like the Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen?

We may, like Daenerys, have what Sun Tzu described as moral influence. Daenerys has royal lineage and three fire-breathing dragons. You may have a visionary insight and your own “creative fire,” and perhaps a newly-launched product, service, or book. What you offer may (figuratively) be a “fire-breathing dragon-weapon,” but if it is still young (as are Daenerys’ dragons), this product/service/book will need tending, much more than it can actively support you.

If you are starting from scratch, and building up your newly-launched business, or book or product launch on a shoestring budget, you will be more like Daenerys than will be comfortable. The reason?

You’re on what Sun Tzu has described as Death Ground; your own equivalent of Daenerys’ Red Waste.



Lessons from Sun Tzu on Death Ground

In The Art of War, Book XI, Sun Tzu describes nine different kinds of “ground,” or terrain.

As we know from the previous post, Kingmaker, terrain is essential to our survival. In Sun Tzu’s world (and in that of many military leaders), terrain was physical. Over the past many decades, corporate leaders have defined terrain in terms of market share, shelf space, number of franchises, and retail sales.

For us, living in the world where ideas and information are dominant, our terrain is mindshare – an elusive and valuable commodity.

While gaining physical control over physical terrain has required armies, and huge supply lines and command chains to keep these armies going, we work in the world of ideas, knowledge, and influence. Our ability to capture terrainmindshare – requires that we get top-priority attention in people’s minds.

Unless we start off with an unusually strong position – that is, we already have a strong and loyal customer base – we are in the position of Daenerys. We are on Death Ground.

Sun Tzu (The Art of War, Book XI, Phrase 10) describes Death Ground:

Ground in which the army survives only if it fights with the courage of desperation is called ‘death’.

In commentary (also in the Art of War, right after Sun Tzu’s statement), Li Ch’üan says:

Blocked by mountains to the front and rivers to the rear, with provisions exhausted. In this situation it is advantageous to act speedily and dangerous to procrastinate.

Why So Many Authors Sell Only 200 Books

A common (and somewhat frightening) truism among the emerging-author community is that most books sell only 200 copies. The reason?

Circles-of-Influence

“Circles of Influence,” from “The Democratization of Social Influence,” by Todd Wilms, SAP, appearing in Forbes Magazine, 06/08/2012.

The “circle of influence” for most authors reaches only about 200 people.

Think about it. If you comb your email list, you probably have about 200 names and email addresses. Likewise, you probably have about 200 people with whom you connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.

There are about 200 people in your immediate social circle; those whom you see on a regular or semi-regular basis. This includes your family members (telephone connections count), college chums and former roommates, current and former work associates, professional/civic/non-profit organization connections, and people whom you see at regular church, temple, mosque, or synagogue services. Count them all up: people whom you know by name, would stop to say “hi,” catch up.

It’s about 200, right?

Now, if you were to present each of these with your new service, product, or book, you’d get a certain fraction to buy. Let’s assume, just for fun, that you “convert” 50%. That is, out of your “circle-of-influence” of 200 persons, you close sales with 100.

Then, over time, by diligently working to expand your circle, you make another 100 sales.

These new sales are to people whom you have not know before; they come to you strictly because of your unique service/product/book, and not because they already know and like you.

Your “reach-outs” include every media that you can think of: public appearances, press releases, articles for trade magazines, and regular and religious postings on Facebook and other social media. You appear on radio and/or TV. You are, in short, religious about spreading your word.

And – over a year’s worth of time – you have made about 100 additional sales.

Your resources are exhausted; you’re dispirited. And you’re about to give up the dream, and go back to a “day job” as the only means by which you’ll survive for this lifetime.

You’re on Death Ground.

Surviving Death Ground – An Advance Preparation Strategy

The "Valley of Death"

The “Valley of Death” – a deadly journey for emerging authors and entrepreneurs

The goal of Mourning Dove Press is to help authors bridge the gap – from a life-threatening 200 sales – to a robust, on-the-way-to-success 2,000 sales, and greater. At 2,000 sales, we figure, you’ll have your “machine” in place. You’ll know what to do, and will be somewhat skilled in doing that-which-needs-to-be-done. And you’ll be almost ready to bring in some more professional, heavyweight talent who will support you in moving to the next level; publicists and more powerful IT teams, etc.

Simply put, at the level of 2,000 sales, you’ll have enough revenue from the sales themselves to help you support your own infrastructure.

The challenge is to get from the nearly-predictable 200 to the far-less-predictable 2,000. This is your own, personal, private “Valley of Death.” Your own version of author’s hell.

The next blogpost will give specific survival strategies.

There are things that must be done – that WILL be done – by any successful author, professional, or entrepreneur. These are necessary, and they take time. They are part of why it DOES take time to get through our own “Valley of Death.”

However, there are things that we can do – at the outset – that will lead to building our “kingdom” (our “tribe”) even as we go through the “Valley of Death” stage. If we do these things right – and if we do them in the right order – and if we start early enough – we have a chance of surviving. Our book/product/service will go on to start generating income. We will actually reach the other side – to Daenerys’s city of Qarth. To the pioneer’s West Coast. To the Hebrew people’s “land of milk and honey.”

Our goal is simply to survive the journey through the desert (on manna and miracles, or so it will seem), and to shorten the timeline. Our goal is to we can cut the “time in the desert” from Moses’ forty years to less than a year. If we can do this, we will, as military strategist and Sun Tzu commentator Li Ch’üan advised, have “acted speedily.” Then, we will have not only survived, but will be likely to succeed.


P.S. Are you fascinated by the character Daenerys Targaryen from George Martin’s The Song of Ice and Fire and HBO’s series the Game of Thrones? Peter Schmidt, Professor of English Literature at Swarthmore College, has written an interesting and in-depth profile of her. Read Peter’s blog: Some Reasons Why Daenerys Targaryen’s Character Is Even Better in Game of Thrones Than in Song of Ice and Fire.

Kingmaker

Kingmaker – Plain and Simple

You’re a “domain expert” in your field. That means: You are already one of the most knowledgeable persons in your community.

How do you know that you already are in this elite category? Look in your life for several tell-tale signs that you are a king (or queen)-in-the-making:

  • People seek you out when you’re at a conference or other “meeting of peers,”
  • You often advise others – even in the context of casual conversations, and
  • Your colleagues defer to you when you voice an opinion. Or, if they contest what you say, they will carefully support their arguments – if they don’t want to look like a fool.

Now, you desire to be recognized as such. It’s time for some kingmaking. That would be: moving to the place of leadership, influence, and opportunity that you know is right for you.

Transition: From Respected Peer to Kingmaker

So what are your next steps?







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Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick

Painting by Henry Tresham representing Warwick’s alleged vow prior to the Battle of Towton

You’ve “paid your dues” with the obligatory years of study; practicing your craft and honing your skills. You’ve already done what it takes to become an established (and even respected, and deferred-to) member of your elite specialty area.

But now, you’re about to go beyond the comfort realm of “safety in numbers.” You’re going to step out, and assume a more prominent role. You are about to become one of the most-recognized, most sought-after, and most influential thought-leaders in your field.

And that means, you’re going to get into the ring with the “big guys.”

This takes strategy. This takes aforethought and planning. This takes courage, because the voices that you’ll have to defeat, most often, will be those inside your head.

Who Is the Kingmaker? Who is the King?

One note, before we begin.

You may be the kingmaker. You may be the king or queen. Either way, with or without the “title,” you are going to step out.

During the famed English “War of the Roses,” Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, was the first to whom the term “kingmaker” was actually applied. He was the most powerful man in the realm. As the Governor of Abbeville wrote to the French King Louis XI, when Henry VI was king of England:

They have but two rulers, M de warwick [Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick] and another whose name I have forgotten.

So in answer to the twin questions – Who is the Kingmaker? Who is the King? – you may be either. You may be both.

You may be the author of an emerging work that has the power to change the world. You may be the creative visionary of a new product line, or a whole new company. You may be the Publicity Chair for an underfunded, overworked non-profit; one in hot competition (for attendance, donations, and overall public support) with several other non-profits in your area.

The title doesn’t matter. Effectiveness does.

Sun Tzu and Machiavelli: Essential Reading

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu, 544-496 BCE; Chinese general and military strategist, author of “The Art of War.”

This post series assumes that you’re taking your new role seriously. How do you know?

  • You have at least two copies of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. One beside your bed, another behind your (ahem) “throne.”
  • You treasure your copy(ies) of Machiavelli’s The Prince, and reread at least every year.
  • You critique the strategies used by various “agonists” in the Game of Thrones, and know that you could do better.

Now, let’s get serious.

Sun Tzu opened The Art of War with the following:

  1. War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.
  2. Therefore, appraise it in terms of the five fundamental factors and make comparisons of the seven elements later named…
  3. The first of these factors is moral influence; the second, weather; the third, terrain; the fourth, command; and the fifth, doctrine.
  4. By moral influence I mean that which causes the people to be in harmony with their leaders, so that they will accompany them in life and unto death without fear of mortal peril.
  5. By weather I mean the interaction of natural forces; the effects of winter’s cold and summer’s heat and the conduct of military operations in accordance with the seasons.
  6. By terrain I mean distances, weather the ground is traversed with ease or difficulty, whether it is open or constricted, and the chances of life or death.
  7. By command I mean the general’s qualities of wisdom, sincerity, humanity, courage, and strictness.
  8. By doctrine I mean organization, control, assignment of appropriate ranks to officers, regulation of supply routes, and the provision of principal items used by the army.
  9. [Phrases 11-14] … If you say which ruler possess moral influence, which commander is more able, which army obtains the advantages of nature and the terrain, in which regulations and instructions are better carried out, which troops are the stronger; … which has the better trained officers and men; … and which administers rewards and punishments in a more enlightened manner; … I will be able to forecast which side will be victorious and which defeated.

Paper

Kindle

Practical Mind Control: Sun Tzu’s Warfare in the World Today

Let’s start the first two of Sun Tzu’s “fundamental factors,” as listed above: moral influence and weather. If you nodded your head as you read the opening paragraph of this post, if you were saying, “Yes, that’s me” – thinking about your own “domain expertise” – then you already have moral influence. You already have the right – and even the obligation – to lead.

The whole concept of weather we will defer to another post; for our purposes now, it means the confluence of all factors that can influence the outcome of a strategic campaign. These can range from emergence of new technologies for communication (Facebook, Pinterest, even blogging) to factors such as economic conditions and the various “stresses” and “concerns” facing your target demographic.

Likewise, we defer to a later post consideration of the last two factors, command and doctrine. More to the point, we will integrate consideration of these two factors with other strategic components.

Here, we focus on the one factor that is truly essential to your success: terrain.

Obviously, we’re not talking about the local hills and valleys. Our terrain is not the physical layout of the land.

Rather, for our purposes, our terrain lies within the minds of our target audience.

We are competing, not so much for an immediate purchase or “Like” on a Facebook page, but for mindshare.

In any realm in which we seek strategic position, our dominant concern is with the minds of the people whom we would take into our “realm.”

In short: the most valuable thing in the world today – the most hard-fought and difficult-to-keep commodity – is mindshare. Our entire strategy is devoted to claiming this.

First Strategic Imperative

The first task that we must do is to get some sense of the terrain – the “mental maps” within our target demographic. This presupposes, of course, that we actually have a target demographic.

Exercise 1: If you haven’t done this already, write up a description of your target demographic. Identify things such as gender (if appropriate), likely age ranges, education, work/profession/income, social interests/hobbies, and – most importantly – needs. Why would this person possibly be interested in what you have to offer? (50 bonus points if you’ve already done this, and have your target demographic written up already. An additional 50 bonus points if your Target Demographic Description is included within your written Business Plan.)

Now, look at the world through the eyes of your imagined Target Demographic Person. In particular, look at the world in the area where you are offering a product or service.

Suppose, for example, that you are the author of a new book, and you’re about to launch (or re-launch) your marketing campaign. What are the books already on your Target’s bookshelf? (Hint: They’re likely to be the books already on your bookshelf, and referenced – at least mentally – in your own book.)

Exercise 2: Identify the “dimensions” in which your product/service lives. Then break this down into “dimensional pairs,” so that you can draw pictures on a sheet of paper.

Backing off for a moment from the needs, interests, and concerns of your imagined Target Demographic Person, go back to your own product/service/offering. Typically, the “essence” of what you offer will live in more than one “dimension.”

Examples of Dimensional Pairs:

  • You offer “success coaching,” and have a book on that topic. One of your “dimensions” will include “values/goal-setting/prioritization/use-of-time.” Another of your “dimensions” would potentially be specific to your Target Demographic Person – for example, women of retirement age or top insurance salespeople.
  • You’re the Publicity Chair for a non-profit organization; a symphonic orchestra made up of local, volunteer musicians. One “dimension” would certainly be “symphonic music performances.” Another could be – depending on your Target Demographic Person – music education, or community involvement, or support for a much-beloved conductor, soloist, or special invited guest artist. Or – if you’re appealing for dollars – it could be the “enrichment factor” that the symphony brings to the local area. (Do you see that we’re heading towards multiple Target Peronae? Yes. This will be the subject of future posts.)

Exercise 3: This will require research. For each set of dimensional pairs, you’ll develop a “mental map.” This represents the world according to your Target Person, and to some extent, an “objective world” backing that up. For each dimensional “pairwise set,” do the following:

  1. Find the “leaders” for each “dimension,” and estimate the “size” of the area that they “control.” For example, if one of your “dimensions” is “values/goal-setting/etc”, you would almost certainly identify Stephen Covey as a leader. You’d want to estimate the “size” of the “area” that he “controls” by estimating total book sales for his books. (Yes, research.) Find a reasonable and representative number of such “leaders,” and be sure to include both dimensions. Of a certainty, identify any products/services/packages that appeal to BOTH of your dimensions. If you find “singletons” (like Covey for leadership), try to figure out where they would impact the “other dimension.”
  2. Start drawing these on paper – draw circles for each different “thought-leader,” and make the circles roughly corresponding to “importance.” (You might use a log-10 scheme; a circle for 1 million copies sold would be twice the size of a circle for 100,000 copies, which would be twice that of 10,000 copies, etc.)
  3. Play with this until it “feels right.” Don’t waste too much time on precision, and don’t overdo the research; if you have to, estimate influence. (Compare completeness of product lines, etc., with competitors to gauge someone’s or some company’s likely influence; look for newspaper articles and/or reviews, etc.).

You’ve now created your first draft of a mind-map. You’ll create several, and update these, over the course of your work.

Next Step(s)

You have your first mind-map. This is – to the best of your ability, right now – your understanding of terrain.

Where are you, and where do you think that you can be, with due diligence over time?

If you’re just starting off, and your mind-map has some big “mountains” on it (those areas “owned” by established thought-leaders, such as Stephen Covey), you are probably in some valley or desert terrain, and are barely a flyspeck on the paper.

Take a long, meditative break. When you come back (which may be days later), you’re ready for:

Exercise 4: Carefully consider where you’ve put yourself in the mind-map that you’ve constructed. You should be “near” those authors or products or speakers or service providers with whom you have the greatest “kinship.” These will both be your strongest allies (should they choose to support you, over time) and those who will be most reluctant to release mindshare to you. After all, they’ve developed their own “following” through trial and error, and much hard work, over many years.

Now you know what faces you. You understand that which Sun Tzu described as “terrain,” taken into the reality of today’s world, in which mind-share rather than physical space is the dominating factor.

In future posts, we’ll take on strategies for gaining ground in this “terrain of the mind.”