The Art of War by Sun Tzu

II Waging War

1. SunT zu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots and a hundred thousand mail clad soldiers, with provision enough to carry them a thousand [miles], the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.

Notes by Zephyrist:

At today's prices this works out at $140,000 a day which even for a primitive army is below the actual cost. So the comparison doesn't hold true today.

Sun Tzu was actually reminding us that not only are there in the field costs but there are basic maintenance and administrative costs. These can be important as the fighting men themselves. Modern armies don't always remember this. They get the men in the field but try to skimp on equipment and maintenance.

The same could be said for a lot of companies, it is modern to cut back-office costs and cut down on expenses and entertaining. Sun Tzu sees this area of business just as important as the fighting front. Without support and investment in the support functions the fighting or customer facing units can not operate effectively.

For an HR Analogy, invest in your recruitment and HR you can get the right people for job. Streamline processes and red tape and the front line staff can concentrate on their job. For every amount of time you ask someone to fill a form in ask is it an effective use of their time, if it isn't loose the form.

Sun Tzu writes almost as if he is justifying to a minister or king how much an army costs. Perhaps a king has questioned why glue or armor repairs have cost so much. Sun Tzu has basically replied by saying if you want a 100,000 men on the field of battle this is how much it costs. I can spend less but I don't guarantee victory.