Loot a Burning House

Strategy 5

When a country is beset by internal conflicts, when disease and famine ravage the population, when corruption and crime are rampant, then it will be unable to deal with an outside threat. This is the time to attack.

Modern Example

This concept illustrates the "eye of the hurricane" theory. I used to work at a place where the boss had conflicts with a co-worker and his own boss. If he had not had this to distract him, he might have been focusing on problems with my work, because there were plenty of slipped deadlines on one of my projects. Of course, this was due to my client's constant mind changing, but I would have been held responsible. Instead, my boss first concentrated on finding a way to get his peer canned. This bought me almost two months' worth of peace and quiet while he was occupied elsewhere. Later, he was so busy dealing with his supervisor that he found little time to interact with me. It bought me enough time to find a better job, give notice, and leave.