The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
The Art of War
One of the earliest military treatise written. Sun Tzu's The Art of War was written around 500 B.C. The work written in 13 chapters, is considered definitive on military tactics, and is also considered useful for business strategy.
About the Author
Sun Tzu was an advisor to the king Ho Lu. He is said to be an accomplished military general and a philosopher. His approach to war is well explained in this work.
The Big idea: How to maximise your chances of winning a war
The Art of War written centuries ago is still very popular and relevant today. The wisdom it stores is not only just for the generals, about to engage in war, but for people in different fields. Business, sports, entertainment, are fields where Sun Tzu’s words still resonate today. You enter a battle if you know you can win. If you take it in a context of a business example, why would you even attempt to compete with a company, say, like 3M, which has captured the ‘sticky’ note business and which pours millions of dollars into research to come up with even more innovative products? There are three messages in his writings which ring very true even today.
“Know your enemy and know yourself, and in 100 battles you will never be in peril.”
If you do not know your enemy, how can you then ensure success or victory? In the context of business, how can you start a business without knowing what gap there is in the market, and how well your business will stand out.
“To win 100 battles is not the height of skill.” “To subdue the enemy without fighting is.”
Sun Tzu theorizes that war costs money and takes countless lives. It is better to outsmart your enemy and to take him down. The enemy's strengths and weaknesses are crucial to your success.
“Avoid what is strong. Attack what is weak.”
In a tennis match, a player who knows his opponent’s weakness will continuously return balls on the weakest part of the player. If he knows, the opponent has a weak backhand; he will make sure every return ends up there to give maximum pain.
Sun Tzu was very clear that war was a matter of life and death. This had to be filtered from the generals right down to the soldiers on the battlefield. Everyone had to understand this to ensure victory.
In this quid, you will learn:
That every battle is not worth fighting
To fight a war successfully you must know the enemy as well as yourself
Why it is better to fight a battle without bloodshed and destruction
Do not go out to war without having a plan. Know the enemy and know yourself
Nations which go to war without having considered key questions are likely to fail. Remember, you must be able to survive before you can win a war. Hence, without having a proper plan, it is impudent to strike out at the enemy.
The leader or the general, who has the better plan, will in most cases defeat the one who does not. The basis of the plan is the comparison of strengths and weaknesses of your enemy with your own.
The main points to ponder over are:
1) Which one of the warring leaders/generals has a more loyal following?
2) Which one of the warring leaders/generals is more competent?
3) Which nation has a stronger and more disciplined army?
4) Which nation can enforce strict regimented schedules in their army?
5) What are the conditions in which the war will be fought: terrain, weather, etc.?
Once the above-mentioned questions are answered, you must devise a plan accordingly.
Keep your emotions in check. Skilful Fighters only enter battles they know they can win
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Not every battle is to be fought. As a leader/general, you must know which battles can be won and which cannot. Rather than surrendering to your emotions, you must act more deliberately with a calculated approach.
If you have to attack, attack the weak points of your enemy. Never attack his strengths. Be aware of the terrain and the possible advantages it may bestow on your enemy, and the disadvantages it may bestow upon you. If the enemy is in an advantageous position, defer your attack. Do not move into a position where your reinforcements can be cut off. The spirit of the enemy army is key. If you feel that they are in high spirits and their morale is high, avoid attacking them.
As a general/leader, you must wait for an opportunity when your enemy makes a mistake or happens to be at a disadvantage.
A General or a king can be the cause of defeat for his own army
An army is as strong as its general, and a general is as strong as his leader or nation. War can make people do silly things. A leader of a nation commanding a general can make errors of judgement of the war situation, while sitting far away. He can appoint incompetent generals and officers who can then subsequently be the cause of poor performance.
A general too can make mistakes of his own accord. He can be driven by emotion rather than reason and make decisions in a foolhardy manner. Unnecessarily striking out at an enemy army which is multiple times larger than the one he commands is one of the mistakes he can make. A General has to be responsible for the overall morale, discipline, and culture of the army. He is responsible if the soldiers do not obey their officers' commands. He is responsible if the soldiers are too weak to carry on the duties of battle.
If a general is indecisive, then it would confuse the ranks and may lead to defeat.
Use anything you can, deceive your enemy to impose your will on them
In war, you must deceive your enemy to keep them guessing what your next move is going to be.
"All warfare is based on deception. Hence when able to attack we must seem unable. When using our forces, we must seem inactive. When we are near, we make the enemy believe we are far away. When far away we must make the enemy believe we are near".
Create an illusion of weakness while being strong underneath to make the enemy complacent and thus, prone to making mistakes. Always seize the initiative and place importance on the element of surprise.
Deception is a tactic which is useful because it manipulates the enemy into doing what you want. This will help you in getting to know what the enemy is really like, and thus, help you make better strategies.
Strategize to conserve resources. Do not engage in costly destructive battles, instead, try to capture the enemy armies intact to lessen the cost of battle.
Battles should be over quickly because there is an economic cost of war. Huge armies can only be maintained by employing and using huge resources. This leads to a weakening of the nation, even if their armies win. Such a scenario is not healthy since it can leave the state vulnerable to attacks from others.
The aim of a leader/general should always be to win with the least amount of effort and cost. It should be as smooth as possible. It is therefore imperative that efforts be made to capture the enemy without destruction of property and bloodshed as far as possible. Bloody battles are expensive.
Employ spies to extract useful information from the enemy camp and strengthen your own plan based on it. However, to ensure complete confidentiality of the plan, you must eliminate those spies whose information you use to create a new strategy.
Always be aware of your surroundings. The tactics change with the terrain
A good general knows that fighting tactics change with the surroundings. If the enemy occupies an area which is higher in altitude, do not attack. Take care not to move away from natural resources like rivers, or lakes, etc., which are essential for the survival of an army. Take care not to be trapped in a confined area, from where there is no escape.
While being aware of one's own army's morale, it is also important to keep an eye on the enemy soldiers. Their morale can be known by observing their actions. If they lean on their weapons for support while standing, they have been hungry for quite some time.
However, if they start eating their own animals and act as if they will not retreat to their camps, beware, because they intend to fight to the death.
Lead your men as you would lead a single man. Put your soldiers in situations which are inescapable to leave them no option but to fight to the death
Commanding one man is no different from commanding a few thousand. A general must treat his army as a unit and manage the numbers by dividing them into smaller groups and coordinate by way of signals. He must always keep his men on their toes, by not letting them settle in their comfort zones.
A general must treat the soldiers carefully. While on the one hand, he should treat them as his own sons, on the other, he must also be able to enforce strict discipline amongst them. Not all information needs to be shared with the soldiers. When the army is doing well, there is no problem in telling this to the soldiers to boost their morale even higher. However, when the army is in a weak position, a general must not tell his soldiers about it.
As one fights the battle and penetrates deep within enemy lines, your real situation and strategy can be revealed to your men.
Final Summary
A book written centuries ago has relevance to the world we live in. Sun Tzu has a clear message, that avoid war if you can, but if you must, at least plan it well so that it is not long and depletes the resources which begs the question :Is anyone listening?
If we put aside war for a minute and ask ourselves this question,
“How can the Art of War Impact my life? What am I at war with?”
Imagine the following scenarios:
You have just been laid off, and are struggling to look for work. Instead of being depressed, but listing your strengths and weakness and then forming a plan to make sure you set yourself a goal to get a job in x amount of time, is the Art of War! How? Well, you are strategizing, aren’t you? Your enemy is the other job candidates. You will not hurt them but attempt to win that job by outsmarting and outmanoeuvring them….
You are part of a world class cricket team. At every game, one of the guys on your team is sitting on the bench and inputting data on a laptop or IPad? What is he doing? As the “battle” on the field is being played, he is still strategizing how the game can be improved further by watching how your opponent’s play and what their weak points are…
Suddenly, Sun Tzu makes so much of sense.
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