Injure the Corners or Attack the Core?

In a book I wrote last year "The Essence of Strategy", I noted the distinction between a strategy (a clear vision of where you (will) play, how you (will) win and what capabilities you have/ will build) and stratagems (tactical ploys). You may employ no, one, or many stratagems in the course of executing your strategy.

There are many stratagems we can use, depending on the circumstance. I plan to write about some in the coming weeks. One stratagem, highlighted in "The Book of Five Rings", is injuring the corners. When we are faced with a formidable challenge, it may be unwise to try to take on the main body of the challenge immediately, and we might feel overwhelmed if we do. We may instead want to injure the corners, i.e. eat away at the periphery of the challenge.

The term injure the corners refers to damaging an opponent in small ways in a fight, in order to slightly reduce their capability, and possibly demoralize them whilst at the same time making yourself feel more confident, without taking much risk or expending too much effort.

This principle applies to any challenge, with our without an opponent. For example, if you have to create a very challenging, important Powerpoint presentation, have limited time to do it, but are having trouble getting focused/ up for the challenge, first do some minor things, like finding graphic elements/ company logos/ etc. that you will need. Sometimes, doing these small things can have a disproportionately large impact, in terms of getting us going/ unstuck, and making the challenge seem accessible and achievable.

Of course we can't tinker around forever. At some point we have to get stuck into the meat of it. In fact, sometimes, it is important not to injure the corners, but to dive straight into the hardest bit, like jumping in at the deep end of a swimming pool.

I would like to suggest to you that consciously balancing injuring the corners and attacking the core, based on the nature of the challenge and how you're feeling, is a key meta-skill, and is worth each of us thinking about and practicing. (In fact, I have used the writing of this short article as a way of injuring the corners of my day. Thank you - I now feel ready to take on the world!)