 |
|
       |
|
|
|
|
More than war, the book is all about victory. How to get what you want without conflict. How to win if conflict arises. To describe his strategy, in the first chapter, Sun Tzu describes its five elements:
| Chinese Character | Direct translation | Meaning in the Art of War | Examples |
 - dao |
path | mutual philosophy & purpose of the group | patriotism, team sprit, shared values |
 - tian |
heaven | environmental factors | time, seasons, light, darkness |
 - di |
earth | situation | distance from opponent, even or uneven ground |
 -
jiang |
leader | leadership | intelligence, credibility, compassion, courage, discipline |
 - fa |
law | art, as in "Art of War" | the ability to perceive and implement the strategic concept |
Even enemies will help each other if they are together on a boat that is in trouble. Similarly shared ideas and identification bind people together into a useful, cohesive team.
Business examples: Team spirit, employees identification with the brand, mission statement (in the rare case that the staff actually believe in it), mutual trust amongst staff and management.
The prevailing conditions determine what plans you can undertake.
These conditions are to big and general to be controlled by people, hence
the use of the Chinese character for heaven ().
You need to understand them and take them into account.
Business examples: Economic cycle, election cycle, financial reporting cycle, shopping season, zeitgeist.
This is similar in effect to environment but on a smaller scale that you and your opponent can control, if you know how.
Leadership allows you to make good plans because of your perception, foresight, emotional intelligence and objectivity. It allows you to implement your plans because of your control of your troops.
This is the skill and ability to implement your strategy. Preparation and coordination are essential here.
Sun Tzu explains several times that you should make yourself well defended, but that victory comes from taking advantage of your opponents' actions.
Straightforward attacks are hard to win.
Having a conflict is bad. Having a long conflict is always a disaster, even if you are victorious in the end.
Site Map site About this site
