|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As I stood in the Great Hall of The People in Beijing, China, an entourage was approaching. The next thing I knew I was shaking hands with the Premier of ChinaLi Peng. The introduction was part of a journey to China to deliver a presentation concerning the use of Sun Tzu's strategies for business at an international symposium on The Art of War. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sun Tzu was a practical philosopher who wrote the 7,000-word The Art of War in about 500 B.C. I read it while researching my book Winning the Marketing War and found the content to be quite useful. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you've read James Clavell's Noble House or seen the movie Wall Street, you've encountered some of the wisdom of this ancient Chinese strategist. In both the book and the movie, the major characters quote from Sun Tzu as a foundation for their strategy. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Art of War might be one of the oldest books you will ever read. Originally written on bamboo strips, this acclaimed work has achieved international recognition as the concentrated essence of winning strategy. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For centuries, The Art of War has held a preeminent position among both Chinese and Japanese strategists. Many of the sayings of Chairman Mao are simple restatements of Sun Tzu's philosophies. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When Chiang Kai-shek's military attaché advised British military strategist B. H. Liddell Hart that Chinese officers were trained from Hart's books, he replied it was time they went back to Sun Tzu: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since in that one short book was embodied almost as much about the fundamentals of strategy and tactics as I [Hart] had covered in more than twenty books. In brief, Sun Tzu was the best short introduction to the study of warfare. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Confirming again that The Art of War is the sound fundamental text on strategy. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eastern versus Western Strategy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Art of War is the foundation of Eastern strategy. Sun Tzu's central thesis is that you can avoid fighting when you plan the right strategy before the battle. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On War by Carl von Clausewitz, a German officer who wrote in Napoleon's time, is the foundation of much of Western strategy. Clausewitzian theory concentrates on the big battle as the way to win. |
|
|
|
|
|