Parshat Vayishlach contains 2 major stories of military strategy employed by Yaakov and his sons on their return to Israel. The first story concerns Yaakov’s confrontation with his brother Eisav, and the second tells us of his sons’ dealings with Chamor and Shchem.
But what do these have to do with business? It’s not a coincidence that military strategy books, such as Sun Tzu’s The Art of War have become invaluable resources to business people all over the world.
Businesses cannot rest in peace any more than a Country in the game Risk can rely defenselessly on a treaty with a fellow player, no more than Shchem could trust the treaty with the children of Yaakov, the very people he defiled.
Employing business strategies is not reserved for the ruthless and unethical masses. Those strategies, if gone unchecked, are despicable in the eyes of G-d, and will ultimately fail as the people become aware of this deplorable behavior. Responsible and honest strategies, on the other hand, are a necessity to the survival of any business. Any success, no matter the barrier to entry, will meet some conflict, either by competition, government, or the people. Preparing for conflict is an obligation. Just as Yaakov employed careful strategies when approaching Eisav, such as dividing his camp, sending gifts, and parting ways quickly, to name a few, so should we be equally careful with our businesses.
Delving a bit deeper, the splitting of the camp into 2 is presented in the Torah as Yaakov’s most blatant act of preparation for war. Unfortunately, many business people fail to learn the lesson of "don’t put all your eggs in one basket" and lack vital things such as:
- Multiple suppliers
- Multiple buyers/revenue streams
- Exit strategy (plan for failure)
- Willingness to take a small loss
Let us all learn these lessons from our forefathers and prepare our businesses to guarantee for future successes.