What Sun Tzu Wrote:
“The art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground: (1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile ground; (3) contentious ground; (4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting highways; (6) serious ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in ground; (9) desperate ground.”
What This Means to the Modern Financial Professional:
The FP must plan for all contingencies and circumstances. This does not guarantee success, nor is it always practical. Yet, it minimizes the possibility of failure due to surprise. Risk always operates as do mercurial world events. Nothing is sacred. Adapting to and surviving change is what distinguishes our species from others and hopefully makes us “evolve” more quickly than our “competitors” on the planet and on the Street. We don’t often have the luxury of choosing our ground. We have to produce and prosper where ever we land, or are “planted.” Resiliency is key. Rigidity not disciple paralyses the modern FP.