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Chapter: Laying of Plans

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故經之以五事，校之以計，而索其情，一曰道，二曰天，三曰地，四曰將，五曰法。

Translation:

It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

Commentary

War will happen, with you or without you. If you are not strong and wily then others will overrun you. If you wage war unwisely, you will only weaken yourself.

In business, focusing on customers is not enough. Sounding aggressive is also not enough. Spending wildly on advertising campaigns or otherwise blithely attacking others may also lead to ruin.

War and competition needs intelligent and constant attention.