Enemies Continue to Come
In this martial passage, Musashi advises confronting the strongest attacker, staying mobile, and avoiding encirclement. As an analogy for competing demands, the lesson is to identify the main threat and keep enough attention available to respond as conditions change.
THE IDEA
ENEMIES CONTINUE TO COME
This is a very important lesson. When you are fighting more than one enemy you must use both of your swords and strike quickly and strongly without hesitation. You must go for the strongest attacker first, regardless of the appearances of the others. With practice you will understand how to recognize the strongest attacker.
You must constantly move around the fighting area and make sure to befuddle the “gang” by constantly moving into them and keeping them to one side. You must constantly chase them and not permit them to surround you. They are generally not prepared for this type of retaliation and you will have them under your control if you remember to maintain your spirit and destroy them one after another in a consistent fashion. You must continue to fire at them until they are all down and you are certain that they cannot regroup for another attack. If you fail to do this and come under their influence, you will surely be beaten. You must never let this happen. There are more than one against you and you must even the sides as quickly as possible. Therefore, strive to practice with the idea of moving from one technique directly into the rest without hesitation. Practice correct breathing so you are able to maintain the stamina you need. By constantly moving around you give them little choice in their space to fight and they can be controlled and taken out in quick succession. You must also fight with the attitude of no-mind. Do not think of possible outcomes until you have finished with your battle. To do so is foolish and takes your mind off the primary objective, which is to destroy the enemy. Think only of destroying the enemy and the technique will flow of itself.
When to use it
Dealing with multiple bugs in software development: fix the critical bug first while ignoring minor ones.
In a negotiation with multiple stakeholders, address the most influential stakeholder first.
During a crisis with multiple issues, handle the highest risk issue immediately.
In a competitive market, identify which rival or market change poses the greatest threat before choosing where to focus.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Priority Attack in Project Management
When a project faces several critical issues, identify the one with the greatest immediate impact and address it first. Keep monitoring the others so a change in urgency does not go unnoticed.
Defending in Sports
In basketball defense against a fast break, prioritize stopping the player with the ball and best scoring chance, even if other attackers are moving into position.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a time you faced multiple problems at once. Did you prioritize the most significant one first? How could you have applied this heuristic?
In a group project with conflicting deadlines, how would you decide which task to tackle first based on this principle?
When juggling multiple responsibilities, what does it mean to 'move around the fighting area' in a metaphorical sense?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Musashis book of five rings the definitive interpretation of Miyamoto Musashis classic book of strategy (Kaufman, SteveMiyamoto, Musashi)