No argument with Sun Zi's theories about manipulation, war etc. - but it's interesting that it all starts with the idea of enemies, which seems to put everything on a field of competing individual interests, creating at best allies that can be trusted only conditionally. All highly useful, but I wonder, given the development of technology, whether there isn't a limit to the collective survival value of such thinking, and whether we can't come up with an alternative that is less likely to end in, perhaps universal, catastrophe. Evolutionary theory - theory about 'Nature' and the competition of species - presents absolutely no guarantee, and very little encouragement, of the idea that any species might be able to overcome its logic - but then no other species has ever had the resources of very, very radically, intentionally and collectively (with incredible abilities and possibilities for sophisticated communication) modifying and creating its own environment - the 'nature' of humanity is, in a nutshell, to create culture.

Nothing is written, and nothing is guaranteed.

@nnoble
Um..yeah, sort of. The demands are not selfish - I apply risk proportionally and equitably. The problem is today's company's want to sell appliances without taking responsibility for their products and services. I only ask companies (when we can actually get to a negotiation point), to do what they promised, as professionals. You'd be amazed how difficult it is to get that out of companies - once the sales manure is past and we start negotiation contractual terms and conditions. Suddenly, all those sales promises start to look like used car sales spiels.

Yes - I have a god complex or a napoleon complex, because I have things to do and not a lot of time to get them done. Companies and their staff are unreliable, untrustworthy, devious, conniving, fraudulent, lazy, negligent, the gamut of unprofessional things are limitless - so ensuring a demo-godlike retribution for fraud - the stick, is absolutely critical, cuz the carrot ain't free.

I have a lifetime spanning several careers where those behaviors are the corporate cultural norm and it's passed down from the c-level to the lowest paid worker. I refuse to work that way - its irresponsible, unprofessional, and causes infinite risks to project finance - MY financial resources. Unacceptable. Intolerable.

The demands ARE selfish. You and your needs are paramount in each and every one of your increasingly incoherent and indigestible posts. You could at least have the decency to include an abstract.

@nnoble
Ok. I'm open to criticism. Please define if you're interested, point by point - where you feel I'm selfish. If I can see your point and perspective and I believe it's valid and applicable to what I do - I'll work on improving in that area - it can only help.

As for an abstract - sigh...yeah...verbose, I know.

@alien
I don't know either. But I DO know that when trade fails, in our current millennia of civilizations, when we cannot have mutually beneficial trade - war is imminent. So I focus on international trade capable projects. Business is war - but the goal of business is win-win or mutual benefit. War is merely the destruction or enslavement of other's - Win-Lose. It's adversarial.

You link the mundane minutia of your business travails to the possibility of war. That's a stretch of the imagination to say your problems are pivotal in any way at all. There is no opportunity for anyone to assess whether your business problems are down to governmental policies or whether perhaps they might just be down to you being bloody minded. Sounds increasingly like the world doesn't work for you and you lash out and blame.......well, any issue that you can bend, and my god you do some bending, to suit your argument.

@nnoble
Yeah - my opinions get out of hand when they turn towards US-China-Japan relationships - but the prospect of war, the ability to evaluate that is also within my list of professional responsibilities - political risk is a management responsibility as it is a project risk if we work with japanese or US vendors. An embargo or trade barrier can result in work, project, or product stoppage - which is not accounted for in most project plans and is vaguely alluded to in contracts - but it doesn't resolve the issue of - the project is now at risk for an indefinite period of time (usually months, to years). Project and investment are interchangeable terms in this communique.

Risk management means we have to look at worst case scenario feasible risks and have continuity of operations plans (COOPs) and Disaster Recovery Plans (DRPs). Delays cost money. Interruptions of service cost money.

As a professional - I am not permitted the luxury of "oops, I didn't know, who could've known" and derivate excuses, such as act of god or war (force majeur clauses in most contracts).

I am required to manage and control the business regardless of force majeur, such as war, in any of its forms or manifestations.

Most project, accounting, and finance mission critical issues don't suddenly manifest themselves like massive shattering earthquakes - they are the result of a constant pattern of mundane but irregular minutia. The USA flying military sorties into disputed airspace and ramping up its military forces and manpower with accompanying hostile rhetoric is absolutely NOT a minute detail.

In China especially - businesses or business projects must be compliant with government policy (or we will try to create new policy - but that's time consuming and risky) and requires a dearth of government approvals from a plethora of disparate departments. This is reality and must be managed and controlled, with mitigation strategies in the event of blockage, to include ejecting or abandoning the project in that location.

As for bending - absolutely. I'll bend, warp, and break reality to get things done - pursuant to don't lie, don't cheat, and don't steal, with the caveats that if I lie - I'll GENERALLY tell you upfront what is the lie and what is the truth. If I cheat - I'll tell you upfront how I'm going to legally cheat, and if I steal - I'll tell you upfront how I'm going to legally steal - all for legal mutual financial benefit, while providing social responsibility and minimal carbon footprint (environmental impact).

Am I full of myself - yeah, absolutely, My pompous bluster makes British royalty blush and look away in shame. However, I've 100% protected my investment banks and those long-term relationships from loss precisely because I pay attention to minutiae, behavioral abnormalities, and political risk. I've NEVER lost an investment to a project and I have no intention of that ever happening - and THAT is bankable and financeable, with a proven track record.

Fine, so now give it a rest. Again, yet another self indulgent post where 'I', the great saviour dominates. Count the occurrence of 'I' yourself and then ask yourself whether or not that is indicative of being selfish. This topic is not about spreading the gospel according to Latou. I for one am not prepared to accept the word of a self confessed demigod.

@nnoble
It's ok...I'm not asking you to buy into my warped reality, but thanks for your valued and rare opinions.

I used to use "we" to indicate team player and corporate player, but after several bad experiences with teams and team members and corporate misrepresentations - I went back to the "god" approach. For me - it works better than trying to "be just one of the guys". Also - it makes things VERY clear I am the decision maker and the hammer wielder.

Hmm...maybe I should change my moniker to Thor...demigod, hammer - but chunky body...

The goal of the businessman is 'I win' - whether it is win-win with his competitors is secondary, and the fact that it is secondary is what produces the endless cycles of violence. But that's why SunZi, on war, applies. It's about individual ego. Meanwhile, the game itself, which is not a game because with games one can choose not to play, rests on the loss incurred by labor, which is systematically in the position of losing vis-a-vis capital - that's why the system works until it doesn't. Hence the contradiction, the class struggle, the movement of history and the self-destruction of the system - which may just take everybody along with it.
Win-lose - ultimately, it's lose-lose; thanks for participating in the effort that has got us this far, but win-win will now have to be something entirely different. May we be saved from the gods (people, nations) and their ego-problems. Enough with the games awready.

It's been fun and it all relates to the OP, but, obviously, all from a million miles away.

@alien and Management School Instructors

Read this book, "Fraud 101; Techniques and Strategies for Understanding Fraud, 3rd Edition 2009", by Stephen Pedneault. It's a fascinating, depressing, and educational book on identifying many of the white collar forms of fraud in todays business society. It's insidious, pervasive, and virtually un-punishable/un-prosecutable.