How Law Firms Can Commit to Victory Via Boats, Tattoos, and The Art of War

Down here in South Florida, we’re still licking our wounds after the Heat lost to Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Alas. 🙁

One thing is certain. Jason Terry, of the Mavs, certainly turned some heads with his prescient (some would say arrogant) bicep tattoo of the NBA’s championship trophy.

Granted, Terry said he would remove the tattoo if they lost, but then he’d be left with a scarred memento of his hubris.

Terry’s tattoo represented a hell-bent commitment to an accomplishment, and reminded me of Chapter 11 of Sun Tzu’s Art of War:

At the critical moment, the leader of an army acts like one who has climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder behind him… He burns his boats and breaks his cooking-pots…

By kicking away the ladder, burning your boats, or tattooing a victory symbol on your arm, you’re eliminating defeat as an option. When you have no retreat, you fight with a survivor’s dedication to win.