Art of War is one of those classic works that everyone talks about but not many people read or truly understand. These days it is mostly talked about in the context of business as war. Well, business is not war. Business is business. War is a political tool that a nation uses to enforce its interests. Business is about the pursuit of profit.
You are going to want to read Art of War - not all at once, but take it a few pages at a time. The easiest way is to read the free and excellent translation at Sonshi.
I assume most of the people reading this are not involved in an actual war so the primary question about the usefulness of this book is: "what is my enemy?". After answering the question of "what do I want (out of life)?" this is probably the most useful question you can ask yourself.
Your enemy can be nearly anything but I would caution you from dwelling on the term. Blaming all of your problems on "enemies" might, over time, lead you to shift towards an external locus of control and begin to feel powerless to control your life. For the purpose of this discussion, an enemy represents opportunity to both learn about yourself and take tactical action to advance your strategic interests.
One of the central points of Art of War is the idea that victory is best attained by means other than direct force. Even when you have a significant advantage in size or resources, a direct attack against a well defended opponent is inefficient and uncertain; defense is much stronger than offense.
Sun Tzu writes that we take on invulnerability by defending and vulnerability by attacking. This idea cautions us to wait and watch. What is the best way to ask for a raise or try to increase your head count? It may be less a matter of technique and more about timing and perception.
In business, it can be tempting to compare competitors to an enemy nation and imagine the glory (and profit!) in defeating them. The primary difference between war and business (apart from all the violence) is that if you don't like where your business is or what it is about, you can change it. Pick a new market, sell through different channels or develop an entirely new product line. In war, you do not have the freedom to discard an unsatisfactory opponent or pick a more desirable theater should your enemy start driving tanks over your mountain range.
There are a few key points from Art of War that most people can quickly learn and apply to some part of their life. Whether it is office politics, dealing with a difficult boss, devising a new marketing strategy or dealing with unhappy customers, this book has practical guidance for dealing with conflict in our modern lives.
I will explore some of these as well as other topics in future posts:
- War is about deception
- Attack the plan
- Vulnerability and defense
- The 5 faults of a general
A good portion of this blog will be focused on strategic vision; seeing the future before it happens and delivering it in a way that dispels fear and inspires hope. That is ultimately what Art of War was designed to do - help people understand the purpose of war, remove much of the uncertainty and offer an ultimate ideal - that the greatest of all victories are won without spilling a single drop of blood.
